Freud emphasized child rearing experiences in his biological model of personality formation. Neo-Freudians such as Adler, Horney Fromm, others and more recently Erikson placed additional emphasis on the influence of society, economics ,religion and politics on the developing personality. Since the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Reformation,the family, social , political ,religious ,technological, and economic forces affecting man's development have changed significantly . This brief disquisition associates the impact of today's society and technology affecting child rearing on the development of the Gen X personality. An article titled "There Is a Way to Bring Back Childhood “in the June 22, 2025 edition of The New York Times was pertinent.
Early on, the religious ideas of Luther and Calvin pointed to a powerful authoritarian God who had unrestricted power over man. And man was taught to accept his powerlessness and evilness. But, he could atone for his sins only by his submission to God. The idea of God has altered but not the authoritarian -slave-dynamic economically and politically.
A compulsion to work ,passion for thrift and a sense of duty were ,early on, significant character traits necessary and important tendencies for production and profit in the rapidly developing capitalistic economy. With that being said, at one time multiple children were reared traditionally by both a mother and father and mother was a stay at home mom.The children learned and incorporated their beliefs and responsibilities to God, to each other and to others as in the Golden Rule..
It’s clear that economically and psychologically, capitalism is predicated on profitable consumption; meeting of physiological needs ;perpetuating the demand and desire for things, items,and objects ;searching for and pursuing happiness, “the American Dream;”power ,possession and status. Briefly, it's supply ,demand , profit and consumption.
Back in the day, I was reared by mom and dad and lived with my two sibs. Dad worked outside the home and mom remained at home and ran the household. Economically , dad provided for our family on his salary. Mom,Bev, Ron and I had breakfast together-dad had left for work; we kids had lunch at school and the entire family ate dinner together . That was also the norm for my neighbors - Klaus,Noseda,Morrison,Russo, Forsyth, Pringle and Peppler families. I was cognizant about religion, economics, socialization, education and preparing for a career. Plus,my grandparents resided nearby and all my aunts, uncles and cousins on mom's side lived in Detroit as well .
Later, child rearing changed because of parents chasing the economic propaganda of "Keeping up with the Jones ;" the rate of divorce increased; moms entered the work force and children were saddled with multiple caretakers. These changes had a disastrous effect on the child's emotional,intellectual , moral and behavioral development . Other influences occurred like diminished church attendance , scandals; political ineptness and division ; numerous military involvements and a war on drugs as well. Additionally, homeland freedoms diminished; income discrepancy flourished ; homelessness; poverty , debt and young adults not being able to leave home increased ; school achievement declined while college became unaffordable and technology became the new "god."
To make matters worse, remote work also contributed to isolation and a deterioration in mental health as individuals felt lless connected.Further, Plato warned us about wealth disparity and in the Republic stated that “ significant wealth disparity is not a state at all but rather two states, the one of poor, the other of rich men , and they are living on the same spot and always conspiring against one another.”
Within the changes previously mentioned, a receptive character orientation tendency was developing and also being reinforced by capitalism and its technology. This receptive character orientation requires support from the outside-parents, friends, consensus, authorities, God and authoritarians. Because the person believes that the only way to get what he wants, be it material, affection, love, knowledge, pleasure, etc. is to receive it from that outside source. In other words, in this orientation , the problem of love is almost exclusively that of "being loved" and not that of loving.
These people tend to be indiscriminate in their choice of the love objects and they "fall for anybody or anything that gives them love or what looks like love.”If intelligent, they make the best listeners since their orientation is one of receiving. It is the characteristic of these individuals and their first thought is to find somebody else or something else to give them that needed information or input rather than to make even the smallest effort to find the answer on their own. And,they are proficient at rationalizing their behavior.
Their critical thinking has been replaced and their reliance on memory has been greatly reduced. Intellectually they are most susceptible , follow consensus and rely on someone or something else for decision making .
By themselves, these people feel helpless and alone. However, they are also optimistic, friendly, loving when things go well, but easily become anxious and distraught with any rebuff or equivocation on the part of authorities because they depend on the strength of their masters for their security and well-being even if the masters are selfish , exploitative , sadistic, don’t care and cruel.
These individuals also find consolation in eating, drinking, smoking and the dream of being fed as a sign of being loved-issues with obesity come to mind. This group is easily exploited by misleading advertising with its fast food bargains. In other words, the power of the food , nutrition and health industries are easily able to exploit their consumers. Further, there’s a plethora of get rich schemes; well-being and happiness books advertised and an excess of electronic apps and gadgets available for these vulnerable characters. We even have a gadget that allows us to remain seated while changing TV channels .
To be continued.
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