Individuality or distinction? (Heath & Potter)
February 2nd, 2008 | Published in Psychology, Quotes, Culture
If what people really wanted to establish was their individuality, they could do so quite easily, simply by acting randomly. But what we are all really after is not individuality, it is distinction, and distinction is achieved not by being different, but by being different in a way that makes us recognizable as members of an exclusive club.
–Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter, Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture (UK Edition, 2004), p. 214.