On Desocialization

Research indicates that children’s self-esteem has surged since 1980. In my 1998 book, Crítica de la pasión pura, I argued that parents were obsessively encouraging their children to believe they were as exceptional as Newton, Picasso, or Marilyn Monroe because they feared failure in a hyper-competitive society. The proliferation of self-help books served to enrich their authors, feeding the self-help narrative while boosting sales.

Increasingly, the emphasis is on the belief that happiness is tied to individual success, epitomized by phrases like “yes, you can” and “before anything, love yourself,” implying competence is crucial. Success and self-esteem, intertwined with failure and humiliation, pave the way for electing narcissistic leaders who personify these ideals.

How did we arrive here? Historically, private property was limited to essentials, like a home or the tools of an heir. The existence of trade throughout centuries underscores a primitive form of property: trading a cedar from China for an amber with an ant trapped inside, a contraceptive plant like silphium for an aphrodisiac, or a goat for ten shekels in Sumer. In many societies, private property was restricted or non-existent, especially in terms of lowlands or abstract assets, until the 17th century’s global trading ventures. 

In medieval Europe, private property was primarily held by the nobility. Peasants, artisans, and soldiers had little: no land, no surnames. Yet they possessed more rights than chattel slaves, including security to occupy their lord’s lands—not out of altruism, but because they were valued labor. The introduction of money as a societal tool and the rise of the bourgeoisie democratized access to property, untethering individuals from the constraints of land and class.

Medieval noblemen transformed into liberals, opposing centralized power structures—monarchies, socialist states—that threatened their freedom to trade and wield power over people. In France, they opposed monarchies; in England, they allied with them. Modern states, theoretically created to protect common citizens, were swiftly commanded by powerful elites who monopolized capital and finance, buying control over military might.

Capitalism, distinct from previous economic systems, introduced abstract exchange values divorced from tangible use values, driving a wedge between economy and production, and later between economy and finance. This abstraction culminated in phenomena like virtual currencies and capital generation from nothing, as symbolic as medieval cathedrals or pyramids were extravagant displays of power.

Historically, private property was the domain of the noble elite. While capitalism broke class-based property concentration, liberalism exploited new technologies to re-establish similar hierarchies. Universal property ownership ironically enabled new minorities to consolidate power. In late 19th century Mexico, land privatization dispossessed 80% of peasants, as property bought could also be lost financially. Similar dynamics played out on U.S. indigenous reservations. Following the official end of chattel slavery, salaried slavery emerged, maintaining hierarchical control over blacks and poor whites alike. As Britons and Americans noted, consumerism had to replace direct subjugation, fueling desires for unnecessary possessions.

Let us consider the psychological impact. The focus rests not just on desire, but critically on fear. This anxiety over private property ownership fostered a new individual, one obsessed with accumulation for personal and familial survival. The ensuing anxiety and fanaticism spurred a painful cycle of sadomasochistic behaviors.

Reflecting on social structures like those of pre-colonial Native Americans—more socially advanced than their European counterparts before their destruction—reveals societies where individual identity was intimately tied to collective life. Plans and dreams could hold political significance. The advent of private property doctrine and survival predicated on individual gain (“one person’s greed is everyone’s prosperity”) catalyzed the individual’s desocialization. Social interactions became refracted through a lens of self-interest and accumulation. Even those less driven by greed conformed to these cannibalistic norms.

Consequently, individuals became desocialized, and in their desocialization, they became dehumanized.

Jorge Majfud. Summary of a chapter from an upcoming book to be published in 2025

Ideology and Intervention: A Critical Review of Jorge Majfud’s The Wild Frontier