"The Deal We Didn't Know We Were Making"

"The Deal We Didn't Know We Were Making"

From More In Common by More In Common Podcast

May 29, 2026 · 33 min · Episode 236

About this episode

The episode explores the origins and costs of American hyper-individualism through historical and philosophical lenses.

The pitch was freedom. Nobody mentioned what we'd have to give up. This week Keith and Gerren start a three-episode arc on where American hyper-individualism came from, who constructed it, and what it cost us. From Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged to Reagan's government-is-the-problem reframe, to the suburbs, the single-family home, and the structural dismantling of collective institutions every time they started serving people they weren't supposed to. Part one of three. Hard questions. No easy answers. Key Topics: The philosophy of radical individualism, the Cold War and collectivism as the enemy, Reagan and the moral reframe of government, the structural isolation of suburban life, welfare and unions dismantled by race, and why you can't individual-choice your way out of a structure built to isolate you. Find Us: 🌐 https://www.moreincommonent.com 📸 https://www.instagram.com/moreincommonent 🐦 https://twitter.com/MoreInCommonent 📘 https://www.facebook.com/moreincommonpod Gerren Taylor: 🎵 https://www.tiktok.com/@gerrent 💼 https://linkedin.com/in/gerrenT Thinking out loud about what gets in the way of connection. Like what you heard? Leave us a comment in your podcast app. See…

People in this episode

Hosts: Keith, Gerren

Topics covered

  • American hyper-individualism
  • radical individualism
  • Cold War
  • suburban life
  • collective institutions
  • government reframe

Keywords

  • individualism
  • collectivism
  • Reagan
  • suburbs
  • welfare
  • unions
  • Ayn Rand
  • Atlas Shrugged

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Atlas Shrugged

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