Mentally healthy or mentally unhealthy societies?

[Banefull]

Originally Posted by Tsyal Makto

Doesn't hurt, though.

I remember a while ago someone (caveman? Sempu?) mentioned interdependence, where a society both values community and independence. Why not strive for this? Many tribal societies had (have) it, the Na'vi had it, why can't we? Egalitarian tribal societies were both open to individual freedom/free expression, and had a tight-knit community, why must we in this modern world have to choose between one or the other? Couldn't the sense of community have remained in the bloc countries if the Soviet government hadn't restricted individual freedom? Why couldn't they have had both? If the community is strong enough, it should be able to handle individuals' differences in thought, belief, sexuality, etc., and not only tolerate these differences, but celebrate them, not try and force them all into a common denominator.

The problem today is that we now strive for independence but not community. The problem is reversed these days. We take individualism too far to the point where it shuts out a sense of community. We have switched from dependence to independence but have still failed to achieve interdependence. Are people really restrained in expressing themselves? or just afraid to let others into their lives? No one is actively preventing you from expressing your inner self.

Originally Posted by Tsyal Makto

The other reason too that the workload is so stressful today relates back to Dunbar's Number, again. The farming village you mentioned is just that, a village. The group is small enough to where each individual gets to know everyone else, and the whole society basically evolves into one large family. It would be easier to work around-the-clock if you were doing it next to your defacto flesh-and-blood. The one you will share the fruits of your labor with. Not so with the modern system. Work is globalized, and it is specialized. Because people now work either alone, or with others in shifts, it is harder to form the same relationships today, and thus a support group, resulting in more stress. It's been especially bad recently because the only real modern equivalent, labor unions, are taking such a hit (in the US, at least).

On this I agree. Its not the workload itself, its how we value work. But I have to add, Dunbar's Number or not we are happy so long as we value our work. Dunbar's Number may create an environment conducive to recognizing the value in one's own work; however, there are plenty of people in today's society who value their work and are at peace with themselves.