The Rise Of The Excruciating Mevangelical
Is anyone particularly concerned about the rise of hyper-individualism and its perceived negative consequences?
William Blakes, Paradise Lost
The Erosion of Collective Purpose and the Rise of the Mevangelical
A fundamental shift occurred, moving away from a societal structure where individuals derived purpose from inherited roles and community obligations to one where purpose is self-invented. Now that relatively affluent societies have ‘progressed’ through several periods of ‘enlightenment,’ exacerbated by modern consumerism and digital ‘culture,’ we are firmly enbubbled “Mevangelicals.”
Mevangelicals are narcissists, or budding narcissists, obsessed with their experiences, their things, and how much the Universe, God, and other people love them. They are also acutely aware of the many rigorous challenges, the hard work, and the terrible traumas they’ve endured and continue to endure to remain powerful, self-actualized, and hyper-individuals with a godlike purpose. They are heroes in a mythomaniacal story playing out on a cosmic stage.
One significant manifestation of this is the decline in traditional community engagement and civic participation. Religious affiliation and attendance have seen a steady decline. While not a direct measure of community, religious institutions historically served as strong communal anchors.
Membership in voluntary associations and civic groups has also decreased. While specific comprehensive, recent data across all types of groups is complex to aggregate, studies by organizations like the National Council of Nonprofits and analyses of data from the General Social Survey (GSS) indicate a long-term trend of declining participation in traditional civic groups (e.g., parent-teacher associations, labor unions, fraternal organizations) since the mid-20th century. This contributes to a feeling of disconnectedness, as the avenues for shared purpose outside of individual pursuits diminish.
This shift fosters a sense of personal responsibility for well-being that can become overwhelming. When there's no inherited code to determine what one ought to do, individuals are left to construct their own moral frameworks, often leading to a hedonic treadmill and an 'avoid pain at all costs' heuristic.
Our capitalist culture does this by design. We are programmed to pay rent and consume to facilitate financial transactions in the markets that funnel capital returns to large institutions and their shareholders.
Our growth-obsessed economy is a cancer to living systems and causes mental illnesses that seem normal to us. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2022 that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated 25% increase in both. While multifactorial, the pressure of individual self-reliance and the absence of robust communal support systems can exacerbate these struggles. Chronic anxieties, climate despair, narcissism, addiction, and depression are logical and inevitable symptoms of hyper-individualism.
There is an Increased focus on personal healing journeys. You’re nothing if not healing. The intergenerational trauma trend suggests it has become another self-referential pursuit. Therapeutic work is essential in some cases, but we are now seeing a cultural emphasis on individual introspection and recovery, sometimes at the expense of outward-looking, collective action or gratitude. This is less about specific statistics and more about a cultural narrative that has gained prominence, often seen in popular discourse around wellness and self-help.
The Pervasive Influence of the Attention Economy and Consumerism
Our popular consumer economy stems from deep-seated desires that are often exploited by evangelical preachers, snake oil salesmen, marketing geniuses, public relations partnerships, think tanks, and now large language models powered by massive, energy-hungry data centers, which continue to shape our beliefs and thoughts, influencing our actions and behaviors. Our attention-driven economy, particularly amplified by social media, has intensified the focus on individual gratification and external validation.
We are all Mevangelicals now.
Consider the following trends:
According to data from Statista, in 2024, the average daily time spent on social media by internet users worldwide is approximately 2 hours and 23 minutes. This sustained engagement exposes individuals to constant streams of curated, often aspirational, content, fueling comparisons and the desire for immediate gratification. The "Main Character Syndrome" and the continuous live posting of one’s life are direct consequences of this environment.
We are all aspirational consumers. The global influencer marketing industry was valued at approximately $21.1 billion in 2023 (Influencer Marketing Hub). This industry thrives on presenting idealized lifestyles and promoting products as pathways to personal fulfillment, directly mirroring the historical redemption promised by earlier marketers. The emphasis is on TAG Heuer watches and red-bottomed shoes. Blue checks and Big Dumb Hats as symbols of smarter, sexier, more respected, or more spiritual directly illustrate this trend.
America flunks the marshmallow test every single time. If we are not instantly gratified, we are chumps. While it is challenging to quantify broadly, behavioral economics research consistently highlights a human tendency towards immediate rewards, a trait that is often exploited by consumer culture. The proliferation of "buy now, pay later" schemes and instant delivery services caters to this ingrained desire for immediate satisfaction, reinforcing the idea that later doesn't cut it. Our addictions demand to be satiated. If we can’t maintain addictions, we are losers.
The Looming Challenge of a Less Secure Future
For at least a century, we have lived in a consumptive, redemptive capitalism that’s about to peak and will soon come to an end. Future generations will face a less prosperous and stable reality than their predecessors. This sentiment is increasingly reflected in public opinion and economic indicators.
Even people with inherited wealth believe they won’t do as well as their parents. They can see natural systems breaking down and feel that things are changing fast. While precise, consistently tracked data on this exact sentiment can vary by survey, multiple polls corroborate a growing concern. For example, a 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 65% of Americans believe the next generation will be worse off financially than their parents' generation.
Economic anxieties reflect concrete economic realities. In June 2024, the annual inflation rate in the Eurozone was 2.6%. Although varying, many Western economies have experienced periods of elevated inflation in recent years. Simultaneously, personal savings rates have fluctuated, with many households feeling the squeeze. For instance, the personal saving rate in the United States has seen significant declines from pandemic highs, indicating less financial buffer for many.
Social Security benefits may not be available as early as 2037. While projections vary slightly, the 2024 Trustees' Report for Social Security and Medicare in the U.S. projects that the Social Security trust funds will be able to pay 100% of scheduled benefits until the mid-2030s, at which point, if no legislative action is taken, they will be able to pay about 83% of benefits. This concrete concern adds to the sense of future instability.
There are numerous weak points in the structure of our economic system, all of which relate to limits to growth. Highlighting a few can never adequately illustrate the precariousness of our current circumstances.
We are animals embedded in complex living systems with emergent properties that are further embedded in natural cosmic systems that are unfathomable to us now. We must learn our place in the natural order of the world and discover and create cultures that can thrive in humble harmony within our environment.
Before we check into rehabilitation, we will have destroyed so much and suffered so much violence and indignity that it will make our current traumas seem mild. Tragically, we don’t belong to transgenerational, integrated, integral, intimate communities that could help us avoid the horrendous pain of detoxification. The road back to good health will be a precarious, arduous, and long journey. We can only pray some of us will get there.
It is the intuitive feeling that our hardships have only begun that makes some of us pine for more traditional times, times we can hardly imagine.
