We Live In A Brave New World That Depends Upon Talent

David Brooks recites some data on marriage and concludes that we live in a brave new world of rugged individualism. It is a world in which the talented can thrive, but also one in which those without talent would have been better off in the old world of more stable relationships. In other words, talent is rewarded and the lack of talent is punished. It is not a world that favors the 1% against the 99%. Brooks never makes that point, but it is implied by his portrait of the brave new world. The talented are able to thrive in one bedroom apartments so wealth does not matter. They have obtained exactly what they wanted working in their information age jobs. The losers in this world are those without the talent to survive without social support.