Societal Evolution
Between the Great Depression and WWII Americans started using the word  'need' more than the word 'love'.

Usage of the words love (blue) versus need (red) in the American Corpus over the last 300 years.
Source: Google ngram/American English Corpus

"At one point in time in the English language, (the word) love was the driver. Over time the needs of the individual overcame the unity of a shared reality and ushered in the age of the individual and their needs."

Friends, from where I sit the age of the individual is not working out too well. As John Lennon suggested, love might be the answer. Part of the puzzle might be reframing love as a commitment to learning to channel energies of cooperation toward the common good. 

Article: Words Create Worlds