Welcome to Cato Daily

Kato Daily podcast for Thursday, May 31st. I'm your host Anastasia

Yugova.

Kenneth Manogue, the distinguished professor emeritus of political science

at the London School of Economics,

gave a talk recently at the Hudson Institute

titled Individualism True, False, and Muttled. Cato's Vice President for International

Programs Tom Palmer commented on Professor Manogue's remarks.

Tom is the guest for today's podcast.

You recently commented critically on Professor Kenneth Manogue's talk at the Hudson

Institute.

So would you care to just summarize the gist of his argument here?

Well it was a complex presentation, unfortunately made primarily from notes so there wasn't a written

version on which to comment, but he made a historical claim that individualism emerged

at a particular time, and particularly the 17th century in England.

Then he argued that individualism was connected with a kind of vaunting arrogance of the individual,

being somehow celebrated.

And then finally, that he felt that that led inexorably to what he called impulsivism,

which is to say that this individual would just act however he or she please without any

concern for normal social constraints or concerns about moral behavior or impact on others.

And the argument was that this is made possible by material abundance.

As we become a richer society, he argued in an individualist society, people become more

...