This is one of those questions where people can reference their pet Big Theory: corporate dominion, government coercion, individualism vs collectivism, insurance, secularization, leaderlessness...<p>It's hard to pin cultural changes to anything definiteively. So, my 2c with the same grain of salt...<p>Personally, I think it's the regionalism vs globalism dynamic. At least, I think that's the force acting on me.<p>We think of our political & cultural identities as part of a much bigger whole. Solidarity and identitiy are closely related. Take HN, for example. If HN was regional and something happened in our region then we'd be far more inclined mobalize. If we regulalry met in person to discuss ideas, we'd have more solidarity. We'd probably be an impactful force.<p>As an online group, we draw from a much bigger pool. The intellectual aspects are richer. But, the community is weaker.<p>TLDR, solidarity of mass culture, maybe. Could be something else.