Pastoralism is a common form of elitist thinking. The term refers to nostalgia for the pristine “good old days” coupled with future technology to perpetuate a vision for all of society.
The problem with pastoralism is the one size fits all concept. It ignores each individual’s needs and forces them into a predetermined lifestyle.
The prime example of this is the white picket fence suburbia of the 1950s. It’s highly romanticized with cool futuristic technology like jetpacks and flying cars, merely updated for the ideal nuclear family.
What pastoralists don’t understand is that technology was meant to disrupt traditional lifestyles and usher in a new defining age like the one we live in today. Startups flourish by disrupting traditional office environments and it gave people more freedom to define their lives on their own terms. Compare it to the pastoralist’s view that the only path to success is earning a degree, owning a house, getting married, and having kids.
Pastoralism is elitist thinking because it sets back progress (both technological and moral) and demands everyone to live by their one cultural standard. The pastoralist views of the 1950s still affect us greatly today.
Modernist planners created the suburbs to center around the car and commute to work. The problem was it priced the poor out and separated people from economic centers and places with lots of jobs. Not everyone can afford a car.
You can read a longer explanation of pastoralism by Venkatesh Rao.