[PeterStuer]

In short it is a consequence of everyone became a seller and every conversation became a salespitch. There is never nuance in a salespitch. Everything projected needs to be flawless and beyond reproach, every competition vilified and without merit.

If everyone is competition, there is no more 'us' outside the context of 'them', and you can never show weakness in front of the 'enemy'.

Ultimately it is this projection of everything being a zero sum game that fuels our decend into tribalism.