All of my Democratic friends claimed that Bush was evil because of drone strikes that killed innocent civilians. Then Obama continued the drone strikes that killed innocent civilians and none of them complained. Then later Trump was evil because of separating immigrant families - which had also taken place under Obama. One of the reasons I respect Glenn Greenwald is that he was one of the few writers who was as critical of Democrats as he had been of Republicans for the same policies.
This (almost ubiquitous) conception of Left/Right, Democrat/Republican, Labour/Tory, Progressive/Conservative in terms of warring political tribes is a seriously misleading conception in the 21st c. Western world....a hangover from a (mid-20th c.) illusion of democratic electoral pluralism. What has actually happened since then is that - via the medium of 'higher education' - 'Progressivism' has come to dominate most every locus of power in the West. The 'Progress' Tribe is 90% of the liberal establishment and the 'Conservative' tribe is a largely apathetic, substantially alienated and loosely connected remnant of a vanished world.
Thank you very much for this thought-provoking piece. As you have so clearly pointed out, tribalism, or seeing distinct differences between 'our' group and 'other' groups is a fundamental cognitive algorithm which is difficult to dislodge and easily stoked. Ironically, it is especially high in academia and — I assume — will be quite high in those that volunteer to participate in a study about their personal points of view. The recalcitrance of the us-them mentality is evidenced in the fact that even when faced with contradictory data, we cannot abandon the perception, e.g., "When ‘Black’ & ‘Hispanic’ Students Outscore ‘Asian’ & ‘White’ Students on the ACT, Nobody Notices" https://everythingisbiology.substack.com/p/when-black-and-hispanic-students . Again, thank you very much for summarizing your work in this very accessible essay. Sincerely, Frederick
I am very curious what kind of influence the feminization of society has on the bias. It is clear that politics became a lot more 'feelings' oriented, since Bill Clinton campaigns have much less focused on achievements and significantly more on empathy[1]. Clearly males are as partisan as females but until about the 90's I felt more that we're on one team, our country, with some bickering. It is not until that time that the Manichean model became more popular, where the opponent is not wrong but evil, that the partisanship became so strong. Personally, I think that political correct speech is a great culprit because it prevented any arguments that could have relieved the pressure, now it builds up. It is amazingly common that women under 40 try to angrily shut you up for what were quite normal dinner topics until recently.
The feminization of society was a gigantic revolution in my life time (I am 65) that dramatically altered the western societies. I am more and more flabbergasted how studies and analysis virtually completely ignores that it might have had some effects. The word does not even exist according to my browser!
[1] What our Mother's didn't tell us, Danielle Critenden
And don't forget his intro: "National Brotherhood Week is just one of many such weeks honoring worthy causes...the first day of that week this year Malcolm X was killed, which gives you an idea just how effective the whole thing is...."
Love Tom Lehrer. Cautiously optimistic that introducing his work to certain GenZ individuals of my acquaintance has at least slightly inoculated them against today's mind viruses.
It might be interesting to study the source of the tribalism. Is it imposed via a constant barrage of media, government propaganda and schooling? Or does it stem from natural interactions with the family or social group? In either case, is it forced onto people with deliberate, coercive methods or is it simply its pervasiveness, it’s qpresentation as “normal” among your group?
Our society seems to be in the grip of a form of mass hysteria over various topics and I wonder how we can counter it. But first you have to know what causes it. Naturally occurring tribalism, such as in Africa, is strong because it is the “norm”. It’s healthy in some cases, but not so much when encountering the “other”. Our western tribalism seems more imposed upon us, and geared toward destruction of the existing order, customs and morality. Anyway, interesting article and I’m glad to see you are looking into this.
All of my Democratic friends claimed that Bush was evil because of drone strikes that killed innocent civilians. Then Obama continued the drone strikes that killed innocent civilians and none of them complained. Then later Trump was evil because of separating immigrant families - which had also taken place under Obama. One of the reasons I respect Glenn Greenwald is that he was one of the few writers who was as critical of Democrats as he had been of Republicans for the same policies.
This (almost ubiquitous) conception of Left/Right, Democrat/Republican, Labour/Tory, Progressive/Conservative in terms of warring political tribes is a seriously misleading conception in the 21st c. Western world....a hangover from a (mid-20th c.) illusion of democratic electoral pluralism. What has actually happened since then is that - via the medium of 'higher education' - 'Progressivism' has come to dominate most every locus of power in the West. The 'Progress' Tribe is 90% of the liberal establishment and the 'Conservative' tribe is a largely apathetic, substantially alienated and loosely connected remnant of a vanished world.
Great piece, thank you.
Thank you very much for this thought-provoking piece. As you have so clearly pointed out, tribalism, or seeing distinct differences between 'our' group and 'other' groups is a fundamental cognitive algorithm which is difficult to dislodge and easily stoked. Ironically, it is especially high in academia and — I assume — will be quite high in those that volunteer to participate in a study about their personal points of view. The recalcitrance of the us-them mentality is evidenced in the fact that even when faced with contradictory data, we cannot abandon the perception, e.g., "When ‘Black’ & ‘Hispanic’ Students Outscore ‘Asian’ & ‘White’ Students on the ACT, Nobody Notices" https://everythingisbiology.substack.com/p/when-black-and-hispanic-students . Again, thank you very much for summarizing your work in this very accessible essay. Sincerely, Frederick
I am very curious what kind of influence the feminization of society has on the bias. It is clear that politics became a lot more 'feelings' oriented, since Bill Clinton campaigns have much less focused on achievements and significantly more on empathy[1]. Clearly males are as partisan as females but until about the 90's I felt more that we're on one team, our country, with some bickering. It is not until that time that the Manichean model became more popular, where the opponent is not wrong but evil, that the partisanship became so strong. Personally, I think that political correct speech is a great culprit because it prevented any arguments that could have relieved the pressure, now it builds up. It is amazingly common that women under 40 try to angrily shut you up for what were quite normal dinner topics until recently.
The feminization of society was a gigantic revolution in my life time (I am 65) that dramatically altered the western societies. I am more and more flabbergasted how studies and analysis virtually completely ignores that it might have had some effects. The word does not even exist according to my browser!
[1] What our Mother's didn't tell us, Danielle Critenden
Very interesting and eye opening. I think there are some instances where you used Biden’s name instead of Obama’s (at least I it seemed so to me).
More from Lehrer in the same song:
"...Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics,
And the Catholics hate the Protestants,
And the Hindus hate the Moslems,
And everybody hates the Jews...."
And don't forget his intro: "National Brotherhood Week is just one of many such weeks honoring worthy causes...the first day of that week this year Malcolm X was killed, which gives you an idea just how effective the whole thing is...."
Love Tom Lehrer. Cautiously optimistic that introducing his work to certain GenZ individuals of my acquaintance has at least slightly inoculated them against today's mind viruses.
I grew up listening to his first two LPs. In the '50s. I don't know that I got inoculated to anything, but I did think it was pretty funny stuff.
And then I met him in '65. He's really not like the other children....
It might be interesting to study the source of the tribalism. Is it imposed via a constant barrage of media, government propaganda and schooling? Or does it stem from natural interactions with the family or social group? In either case, is it forced onto people with deliberate, coercive methods or is it simply its pervasiveness, it’s qpresentation as “normal” among your group?
Our society seems to be in the grip of a form of mass hysteria over various topics and I wonder how we can counter it. But first you have to know what causes it. Naturally occurring tribalism, such as in Africa, is strong because it is the “norm”. It’s healthy in some cases, but not so much when encountering the “other”. Our western tribalism seems more imposed upon us, and geared toward destruction of the existing order, customs and morality. Anyway, interesting article and I’m glad to see you are looking into this.