Thomas Friedman on the limits of individualism

"Many Americans can easily identify with modernization, technology and the Internet because one of the most important things these do is increase individual choices. At their best, they empower and emancipate the individual. But for traditional societies, such as Egypt's, the collective, the group, is much more important than the individual, and empowering the individual is equated with dividing the society."
--Thomas Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (1999)