Hello, Human

We take as our jumping-off point David Brooks' recent article in the New York Times about what he calls, 'thick institutions'. That is, institutions that support deep social ties, shared values, a common history and set of ideals, an ethical framework, stories, and rituals. For Brooks' some examples are institutions like St. Johns College, fire departments, strong civil society organizations, the military, and fraternal societies.  We discuss what happens when thick institutions face thin cultures. Is it possible for thick institutions to thrive in thin cultures; is it even possible to create new thick institutions in cultures that are attenuated, distracted, and dissociative? The essential problem is one of belonging, and in this the problem of thick institutions is in good company. Contemporary technically-mediated cultures pretend to thickness as a way to appeal to new users, most of whom--once on board--discover how thin this pretense is.  David Brooks, "How to leave a mark