Even the most jaded critic of Big Government must have been aghast to learn that British tax authorities inadvertently lost the personal identity information for 25mm British citizens when a set of unencrypted disks went missing last week. Ooops. Identity thieves are now expected to embark on an identity theft spree, manufacturing phony documents. Just in time for the holiday shopping season! Seven million British households have already been placed on high alert for identity theft.

We live in a world where personal medical and financial records are shuffled electronically between vast bureaucracies and international corporations. One mistake and ... ooops! By now most of us have some awareness of the prospect of identity theft, and we cope with it with a collective shrug until we read about yet another security breach in a vast database. Then we react with righteous indignation for ten minutes and turn the problem over to our highly trusted elected officials to resolve it in their usual glacial pace.

It's easy to get indignant about incompetent bureaucrats. But how many of us are vigilant about other forms of identity loss? I am referring the intangible losses incurred when we give up parts of our own identity quite voluntarily.

Such as?

When we sacrifice individual identity for fashion. Nowadays you can buy into a group identity just by visiting your nearest Ralph Lauren shop (or Nike Store, or Juicy Couture shop, or the FuBu display in your local sportswear store). When we wear branded merchandise, we're giving up more than dollars for a commodity garment: we're also trading in our uniqueness for uniformity.

When we stifle our personal convictions to fit into a group. Have you found yourself censoring yourself in order to gain acceptance with a social group? The pressure to conform is great, and the price of resistance is high. Years ago, I voiced my objection when a group of co-workers were making nasty jokes about gay people. As a result they excluded me, and eventually I switched jobs. I haven't wavered in my convictions about intolerance though it has cost me dearly sometimes. I wonder, though, if I've compromised my values in other parts of my life in order to win acceptance.

When we allow status symbols to define us. No, it's not just rappers with gold chains who wear their status symbols proudly. To a certain extent we all do: just check out your car, your home or your golf course membership. These status symbols communicate a vast amount about the self-image we're trying to project. Any time you get that smug feeling of satisfaction about an item you've purchased, be aware that your ego is getting inflated with a sense of superiority at the expense of others. Comparing toys is the most obvious example. Comparing holiday travel, schools, clubs, collections or anything else with our friends and neighbors is just another way to bolster the ego with a quick burst of superiority

In each of these cases, we trade in a part of our unique identity in exchange for the illusion of a collective identity. We are effectively trading away parts of ourselves. For what? The empty promises of a fashion commercial or a fragrance advert.

It takes courage to stick to your own personal identity. But if you discover you've compromised yourself in some way, don't be too hard on yourself. This is a universal human defect. We all do it. We're all hungry for approval and acceptance by the group. So learn to detect it, recognize it and laugh about it. Give yourself a break!