“Madness is something rare in individuals — but in groups, parties, peoples, and ages, it is the rule.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

The first half of the 20th century saw the rise of socialist ideology in present-day Russia and neighboring nations, then referred to as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A detailed discussion of this ideology is out of scope for now, but the idea seems pretty good on the surface, where each individual works for the whole society’s betterment in a reign of economic, social, and political equality, devoid of any competitiveness. But as humans do, we took it to the extreme. And extremes can get pretty ugly.

Soon, in an attempt to level the society, the state started targeting people who were deemed prosperous. But this even included those peasants who had just a couple of cows or 5-6 acres more land than their neighbors. And of course, other educated members of society like the doctors, scientists, and previous government officials were targeted as well.

And now the ugliest part. Today, we know that millions of these people who were tagged as “prosperous” were killed or died working 12-14 hours every day in the harsh conditions of labor camps. While we cannot say that all were innocent but remember that most of these were humans with dreams who had worked hard to reach where they did. But all of them were killed in the chase of a utopian society.

Us vs Them

In this complex world, we feel the need to define our identity, to feel a sense of who we are. And what easier way to do this than by affiliating ourselves with a group? This comes without the massive struggle of understanding self (more on this in the next mission), as groups come with a predefined set of dos and don’ts. All we need to do is conform to the group, like a football club, political ideology, or religion, and let it shape our behavior and norms.

But this simplicity comes at a cost. To make sense of the world, we tend to categorize things, especially as positive (helpful/valuable/good) and negative (harmful/inferior/bad). And when we identify ourselves with a group, then we categorize it as “us” (the in-group) while everyone else belongs to “them” (the out-groups). And of course, we want to belong to a helpful and superior group, so we go on to enhance the traits of our in-group (“we’re great”) and denigrate the out-groups (“they’re bad”). This eventually turns into an “Us vs Them.”

When we operate with an Us vs Them mindset, we risk creating an environment of zero tolerance. Everything bad appears to be a problem created by “them” and the only solution lies with “us.” This cheap method of raising our self-esteem comes at the cost of chaos in society, as often seen in the conflicts amongst groups, like cops vs commons, or bourgeoisie vs proletariat (in Marxist context).

The case of millions of deaths in the USSR we saw earlier was just one of the countless examples of how “Us vs Them” has harmed us in the past. And the “Us vs Them” mentality is everywhere, like Republicans vs Democrats, cats vs dogs, Coke vs Pepsi, Hindu vs Muslim, etc.

So how can we resolve it?

Challenge the Expectations

Categorization in groups is a part of human nature. It helps us make sense of the world to adapt and trying to get rid of it is a futile exercise. For example, when you get promoted from the role of a worker to manager, you need to change your behavior to suit the new role.

The real problem lies in generalization and expectations. This is when you let your categorization overpower your worldview, as you start thinking of the in-group as superior and out-group as inferior. For example, a manager thinking of all the workers as fools, or a worker thinking of managers as evil.

And this precisely is the key to solving the problem: challenge the expectations.

Here are a few ways to challenge your expectations:

1. See the similarities:

• Focusing on differences broadens the gap in groups. We need to go opposite and see similarities

• Empathize with how the people in out-groups are like you across roles of a father, mother, citizen, etc.

• Ultimately, see the human and life within every being and how everyone is just trying to live

2. Break the biases:

• Ignorance of our biases is the breeding ground for discrimination

• Broaden your perspective to break these biases. Look for examples that blur the lines between groups

• For example, racism loses its weightage when you make biracial friends, the bad image of cops gets better when you see how some cops help people of color, etc.

Express Yourself

When we start identifying with a group, our first response is to conform to its norms. But what we forget is that total conformity is stagnant, counterintuitive to growth. A group that is blind to its members’ voices and everyone follows select few leaders, runs the fatal risk as shown by the USSR and Nazis in the past. With unchecked biases, such groups do more harm than good.

What a group needs is the voice of its members.

But isn’t a group above the individual? – Yes, and no.

Shouldn’t everyone conform to its ways for it to flourish? – Yes, and no.

Such binary thinking is a pitfall. Rather, see both the group and the individual as essentials. Yes, you still need to follow a group’s norms to hold its structure, but it should not be taken as written in stone. The group also needs to listen to its members to stay fresh. It needs to embrace diversity, where arguments are seen as a sign of health and not attack. What is rigid will fall, only the flexible can grow.

For a group to be progressive, we need a feedback loop between the group and its individuals. Neither the group is above the individual nor the individual is above the group. Only together do they exist.

We often take conformity as the holy grail of groups, but instead, it is the diversity that makes them powerful. The strengths of different people come together to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Today, it is best evident with nations like the USA and Canada which allow people from diverse origins to come together and contribute to their growth. Yes, there are counter-arguments as well, but the ultimate curve is progressive (disregarding the recent rise in hate due to divisive propaganda of leaders for personal gains).

And since diversity is as important as conformity, if not more, it is only when a group’s diverse members, like YOU, express themselves, that a group can be led to everyone’s wellbeing, on a path of peace and prosperity.

One for all, all for one! 😊