Richer individuals need wider choice circles to satisfy their specific needs

Evidence

A more profound meaning of freedom emerges here: individual freedom is freedom that is limited by individuality. Out of the uniqueness of the individual’s being, there arises a corresponding uniqueness of that which can complement and free him, a specificity of needs whose correlate is the availability of the largest possible circle of possible selections, since as one’s wishes and inner drives become more individual, it becomes that much less likely that they will find satisfaction in a narrowly bounded domain. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 646

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the positive meaning of freedom as constrained by individuality, contrasting with negative freedom of nondifferentiation.
• XREF: Pertinent to the flâneur argument — the blasé individual’s highly differentiated needs demand the vast urban circle. — connects to: In narrow circles individuality requires leadership or complete inner independence — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 621; Larger social circles encourage individual freedom; smaller ones restrict it — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 642; Money expands economic circles and individualizes participants simultaneously — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 664 (+4 more)

Related

• Larger social circles encourage individual freedom; smaller ones restrict it (similarity 0.85)
• Money expands economic circles and individualizes participants simultaneously (similarity 0.84)
• The narrow circle and the large circle yield equal life chances (similarity 0.84)
• Individuality increases as the social circle expands (similarity 0.83)
• The cash economy correlates social expansion with individual differentiation (similarity 0.83)
• Larger social circles expand possibilities for developing unique inner lives. (similarity 0.82)
• In narrow circles individuality requires leadership or complete inner independence (similarity 0.81)
• Individualism of equality and individualism of inequality both require large social circles. (similarity 0.81)
• Money economy reduces persons to quantitative exchange value (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The cash economy correlates social expansion with individual differentiation #expands (0.60) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 663
• Individuality increases as the social circle expands #corroborates (0.55) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 591
• Larger social circles encourage individual freedom; smaller ones restrict it #expands (0.50) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 642
• The narrow circle and the large circle yield equal life chances #contradicts (0.45) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 680
• Money expands economic circles and individualizes participants simultaneously #complicates (0.40) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 664