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Originally Posted by Erki  In the essay, it's the men and men's relationships that withhold individuality. |
Funny, I read it differently. What I got from it is that men's large networks shallow relationships necessitate developing unique traits to make you stand out. Without something to set you apart from the rest, you don't stand a chance to become king of the hill.
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In a cooperative community, consisting of individuals who all are distinct and have distinct and non-replaceable "tasks to do", you can't replace anyone so easily.
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Which makes such cooperative communities quite fragile. If one of the non-replaceable individuals perishes, what happens to the group as a whole? If the hunter of the tribe dies, someone will have to step up and replace him (or her), otherwise the tribe as a whole can't continue to exist.
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Which is easier to replace: president of a country or a parent of a child?
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That is
precisely the point that mr. Baumeister makes in his address. Government (a male dominated large network of shallow relationships) was designed to have all the individuals within that organization be replaceable. A family is built on a few of the close and intimate relationships that are - in general - preferred by women.
Governments also can't exist without the families that ultimately support them. Men and women are not at odds with each other, they just have different roles to play in society at large.