A society of singles

The cancellation of the private sphere does not lead to a greater opening to the social, nor to perfecting the ability to relate to others. Individualization, as a false knowledge of oneself, leads to greater isolation. That this trend has been evident for a long time is demonstrated by the process of reduction of family relationships, starting with the change undergone by the patriarchal peasant family. From the traditional family, where several generations lived under the same roof, subject to the authority of the pater familias , we have gradually moved on to the nuclear family, consisting of a couple, with or without children. The next step saw the family shrink even further, becoming ‘mononuclear’ (with only one member) or ‘single-parent’ (consisting of a parent and one or more children).