"Nowadays there is more of an emphasis placed on individual achievement, how one's talents or abilities can separate oneself from the broader mass, on individual specialization and skills. This is in turn rewarded with individual satisfaction and outsized praise and awards. Consumerism is a symptom, not the cause."
I'd add all fed by an underperforming elementary and secondary education system and a national media that is effectively juvenile and dominated by the 'entertainment' industry.