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> To be clear: I'm not saying we should seek to distance ourselves from other people, and eschew deep, real relationships. But I am saying that the distance and things intermediating is actually a feature in many cases, and that kind of independence is valuable.

> - Social stuff is messy and exhausting, you don't want to invoke it every time you need to take trash out or fix a leak, if you can avoid it;

> - Doing something yourself is often immediate, while asking for help (including hired help) takes much, much longer, so this kind of independence is worth it for time/focus savings

This is one of the cases where our impulses to reduce friction may ultimately be harmful, in this case especially for introverts. You solve all the "problems" like the ones you list, and then you find yourself isolated and alone without really meaning it.

I don't think people have the instincts to directly seek all the things they need (proof: if we did, almost everyone would be fit and no one would be fat). We're adapted to live in a particular environment, and features of that environment (especially in the past) would indirectly force us to get some of the things we don't have an instinct to directly seek, even if we didn't really like it at the time (e.g. if you have no option but to walk everywhere, you're going to be a lot fitter than most of us who can drive).

> Social stuff is messy and exhausting, you don't want to invoke it every time you need to take trash out or fix a leak, if you can avoid it;

I think it's a lot less exhausting when it's a skill you use often. The problem is that modern society and technology allow us to solve 99% of our problems alone so those social muscles are deeply atrophied for many people.

Is it worth it or not can be function of your income and your skill set obviously; So it it about your level of independence.

During covid era, I fixed someone else's toilet because her condo management was not picking up the phone. You assume that there is always someone that would respond and that is not always the case.

I will change the dishwasher that is leaking at the bottom my self and I am capable of figuring if say the dishwasher is fixable at a cost lower than buying a new one or not or is it just the hose that is leaking. If you can't diagnose it, do indeed call the plumber but make sure that you turn off the valve or you would damage to the walls and the floors below. Interdependence will not necessarily replace the ability to diagnose and figure what are necessary actions.

I find the article to be morally upright and goodfeeling nonsense being used as a cudgel to redefine independence as dependence rather than acknowledging that the two factors coexist in different concentrations depending on class.

Independence is not infrastructural support, it is *choice*. You may depend on a housekeeper, but I depend on my own body to clean. That housekeeper doesn't get to say "I'm too busy to do my job"; not many times, at least. Because wealth means you get a new housekeeper, while poverty means you get a single aging body.

In the context of a world with AI increasingly being positioned to become a mediator of reality and access, I find the article distasteful and dishonest.

Just for the record - it's not a class thing; the colonial cultures stem from the Viking culture (largely) which favoured independence over interdependence.

Most other cultures favour interdependence - Asia, rather famously, doesn't have a pension/superannuation program (in general) because their cultures are heavily geared toward elderly living with their children and grandchildren.

How is that not pseudo science. Colonialism and Vikings would be separated hundreds of years and long distances. And there are no indication Vikings were less dependent on each other than in other iron age cultures.

Not sure why you think lashing out with claims of pseudo science is anything but poor behaviour and misinformation, but let's have a quick look at your claims.

1. Colonialism and Vikings would he separated by hundreds of years...

Vikings were colonists, famous colonies include Normandy, large parts of the British isles, and, Russia.

Note that they also settled in other lands.

2. The iron age comparison.

Not sure how carefully you read, but you might notice that there is a parenthesised word in my comment, (largely) indicating precisely what you are arguing i missed.

Note that i had to edit this because the phone and i disagreed on what words I was intending to use

What happens to people in those societies who don't have kids?

They are discarded to care homes much like elderly people globally

https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2026/01/china-elder-care-p...

beggars in the street.. or a walk to the closest river or lake!

Before pensions in the West, they'd get help from other relatives, nieces and nephews most commonly or others from the extended family. If there were no relatives, usually the village or church would give some very meager charity to them, called "going on the parish", or they'd become beggars in towns.

In China, at least 100 million retired people with rural Hukou (户口) can only get 100-300 CNY (or ~15-45 USD) pension per month from the government. Note that they just pay their taxes like everyone else. That's why raising children so they can help you when you're old (养儿防老) is so wide spreading in rural China.

Ask me how I know this? Most (99.999999%) people in China do not have the freedom to express themselves online safely. You meet them and ask them personally to know this kind of thing exists. Then you check the statistics from Chinese government about pension distribution, retired people with rural Hukou get the most discrimination from the government.