The reflexive impulse to mirror others is part of our collective affliction

Evidence

Oh. I had never thought to notice. But that raised another question: Did I want him to mirror? If so, mirror whom? Me? Other kids? Cartoon characters? Isn’t the reflexive impulse to copy what everyone else is doing part of what has landed us in such a mess? Sure, it would make life easier. But is it so bad to have a few kids in the mix who are tuned in to their own inner music? — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 714

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the book’s core doubling/mirroring device — Klein turns the personal ‘mirror’ of autism therapy back onto the wider cultural condition she describes throughout. — connects to: Solidarity degenerates into fear-driven obedience when followers forfeit independent judgment; Ego psychology spread because individuals mirrored society’s objective trends. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 1551; Passenger pigeons’ extreme social empathy made them an easy prey for humans — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1487 (+1 more)