The end of the belief in salvation by society may even lead to a return to individual responsibility.
Surely the collapse of Marxism as a creed signifies the end of the belief in salvation by society. What will emerge next, we cannot know; we can only hope and pray. Perhaps nothing beyond stoic resignation? Perhaps a rebirth of traditional religion, addressing itself to the needs and challenges of the person in the knowledge society? The explosive growth of what I call “pastoral” Christian churches in America—Protestant, Catholic, nondenominational—might be a portent. But so might the resurgence of fundamentalist Islam. For the young people in the Muslim world who now so fervently embrace Islamic fundamentalism would, forty years ago, have been equally fervent Marxists. Or will there be new religions? Still, redemption, self-renewal, spiritual growth, goodness, and virtue—the “New Man,” to use the traditional term—are likely to be seen again as existential rather than social goals or political prescriptions. The end of the belief in salvation by society surely marks an inward turning. It makes possible renewed emphasis on the individual, the person. It may even lead—at least we can so hope—to a return to individual responsibility.
ACTION POINT: The human resources department is not responsible for taking care of you; you are. Know what you are good at, make sure your results are equal to your expectations, and manage yourself. Continually ask yourself, “What should MY contribution be?”
Post-Capitalist Society
* Source: The Daily Drucker by Peter F. Drucker