Individualism is great. There's no point following books or customs from centuries ago when the world has long moved on. A farmer 200 years ago didn't really need to learn to read and write. Just pay off his patron landowner that was exploiting him and use whatever scraps that were left to try and survive.

These days we can move beyond survival and into real fulfillment. And we need to, as well. We can't live without knowledge anymore. Critical thought brought us this far. And we're really far from extinction. We could do with a few billion less people if we want to be sustainable. The transition will be tough for those getting old but it'll be worth it.