PSYCHOLOGY TODAY | Freedom is the most popular buzzword in politics.  It’s perhaps the one slogan that unites movements—left, right, and center—across the world.

But what if “freedom”—in the sense of our personal prerogative to do whatever we want—isn’t actually what most people are yearning for today?

In my latest article for Psychology Today, I make the case that solutions to the most pressing issues facing the world—from extremism to inequality to environmental degradation—all depend more on shared belonging than our individual autonomy.  Belonging requires going beyond the self, refining our wants and our values in communion with others, and ultimately working with other people to build a better world.