The U.S.

“We’re not the most non-conformist, and we’re not the most individualized,” says Iyengar. “But what Americans do have is a very strong dogma. We believe ourselves to be the most autonomous; we value autonomy more than any other culture; we value the concept of non-conformity more than any other culture; and we value the concept of individual freedom and individual choice more than any other culture, at least rhetorically. But we’re certainly not the most radical in offering freedoms, such as with gay rights or getting women the right to vote. We are not the first ones to actually empower people with autonomy.”

So we like PERCEIVED autonomy but not ACTUAL autonomy?

I call that The Illusion of Choice.

"Our fixation on individual choice is actually dangerous to our society, because it pacifies our activism"... and this is where I stopped reading.

Our fixation on choice is dangerous because it makes us spend energy on lots of little decisions.

while true, that's not the author's thesis, which is essentially a love letter to pseudo-Volkisch political conformism ending with a begged question between straw arguments.

Yes, humans are social creatures. Yes, we need to be part of a group.  But American autonomism serves two of the most important human rights ever conceived: 1) the right to freely choose the culture you adhere to and 2) the right to disregard the political machinations of the state.

Low voter turnout is not a culture problem or pathology, it is a hallmark ACHIEVEMENT.

I'm still trying to grok if the paradox of choice is real.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/more-is-more-why-the-paradox-of-choice-might-be-a-myth/278658/