Truth or Tribalism?
"The average human doesn't process information through a true/false filter but through an us/them filter" - Michael Malice
Too many of us would rather say what our group wants to hear than say what we think is true. This is unfortunate. We often succumb to self-censorship more frequently than external censorship, due to what evolution has programmed into us.
Let’s explore further.
Our evolutionary need
Feeling safe is a primary motivator for human behaviour. Tribes are a great way to secure this feeling of comfort. Being in a community allows us to predict the behaviour of those around us. If someone behaves irrationally and outside of what we'd expect, they become difficult to trust in the future, resulting in us and the rest of the tribe having feelings of uncertainty. Continued irrational behaviour may lead to ostracisation from the tribe. Therefore, the tribe self-selects those who make its members feel comfortable.
Tribalism is an anthropological solution to our evolutionary need for comfort. When humans were groups of wandering hunter-gatherers, tribe membership was largely predetermined by birth. Now, it's different.
In today’s hyper-connected age, what unifies people is no longer geographical proximity but ideological alignment. The internet has allowed us to form communities around anything, and we have generally chosen to form groups based on similar beliefs or interests. People’s beliefs influence how they act, therefore, once we know their beliefs, we know how they will act. This fulfils our need for safety.
As I mentioned above, trust is essential for a group to thrive. If one’s beliefs, just like their actions, differ too much from the tribe, they may be seen as untrustworthy, even treasonous. Ostracisation is enforced to preserve the group’s need for comfort.
Back to self-censorship: the last thing an individual wants is to have the spotlight of suspicion cast upon them. While some disagreements are tolerated, if one strays too far on the core issues, they might be seen as a ‘them’ instead of an ‘us’. Thus, self-censorship is a tool to prevent social ostracisation.
Unfortunately, this means that truth is seen as a lower priority.
Truth
You’re seeking the truth… right? That’s the common claim. But does our desire for truth beat our need to belong to a tribe? I’d argue for most people, it doesn’t.
If we find the truth contradicts what our tribe believes - from an evolutionary standpoint - it may be socially beneficial to ignore it. Better yet, we might somehow reason ourselves into disbelieving the truth. All in the name of tribalism.
So, how can you tell someone is genuinely seeking the truth? Well, I know a way to identify when someone isn’t. It’s when they have what is called a constellation of beliefs. This is when their seemingly unrelated beliefs are somehow connected and highly correlated with people of similar beliefs.
With the majority of people, discovering one belief about them allows you to extrapolate and learn a wide range of other disconnected beliefs. If you know someone’s stance on climate change, you probably know their stance on abortion. Similarly, if you know someone’s stance on Russia/Ukraine, this correlates to their stance on immigration and guns. So from knowing one belief, you can piece together the constellation of all their other beliefs.
This would not be the case if they were thinking individuals on a quest for truth. The conclusions to all questions should be independent of one another and yet so often they match the opinions of their political allies. This is how we know people look at the world through an ‘us vs them’ filter, not a ‘true vs false’ filter.
They are told what their side believes, they identify with that group, and consume that belief as their own: “Well, I’m a conservative, and this is what conservatives believe, therefore this is what I believe”.
Want proof? Look no further.
These types of interviews are fascinating and you cannot get a better example of people not thinking for themselves. “I’m a Clinton supporter, oh these are Clinton’s tax plans? Yes, I support them”. If they were initially told they were Trump’s tax plans, how do you think they would have answered?
Exactly.
They’re answering in a tribal frame, not a truthful one.
Signalling
#blackouttuesday was a hashtag trending on Instagram after the George Floyd incident. Participants would post a black square with the hashtag to supposedly show solidarity with Black Lives Matter. However, this was less about genuine solidarity and more about signalling allegiance. It was performative activism, indicating who is on the ‘right side’ without having to perform any actionable deeds.
This is looking good rather than doing good.
People who place pronouns or flags in their bio and usernames are doing the same, they’re signalling to others. It’s a peacock displaying its feathers, telling outsiders where they stand on a particular issue. Groups have always used code to help identify who else is in their tribe and this practice continues today on social media.
Don’t listen to rubbish
A lot of people aren’t worth listening to. Lance from The Serfs is a perfect example. I can guess his stance on every topic with pinpoint precision even before he knows what his stance is. He’s an ultra-progressive, so he holds all the typical ultra-progressive beliefs. And more importantly - I have never once heard him stray from the progressive mindset.
Hasan is another example. His entire belief system is “America bad”. He will always find a way to blame America and make them out to be the bad ones. If America goes one way, he goes the other.
What are you going to gain from listening to these people? Absolutely nothing. They are merely mouthpieces for the progressive mind. You’d only listen to these people for entertainment (because of how ridiculous they are) or because you need to reinforce your own beliefs.
These figures aren’t pursuing the truth. Hasan has his position of “America bad” and will seek to prove this to be true, rather than coming to a conclusion based on the evidence. His verdict is already set. Hasan and Lance are pursuing what their tribe wants to hear which takes precedence over the truth.
Audience capture is a powerful force.
On the flip side, the second someone surprises you with a take of theirs is the second you should start taking them seriously. Even if you think they’re wrong, they are actively thinking about issues rather than saying what those in their ideological echo chamber want to hear. These people are risking something by saying what they believe to be true. They are risking the comfort of their group, and oftentimes financial gain. It means they are looking for something deeper – the truth.
What about me?
I believe I am genuinely in pursuit of truth. Of course, you ask anyone this and they’ll tell you the same thing. However, I believe I have evidence for this. I find myself aligning with both conservatives and liberals depending on the issue.
This confuses people because I don’t play into their binary worldview: the ‘us’ vs ‘them’ filter. To me, there is no ‘us’ or ‘them’. I want the truth to prevail, so I don’t pick a side, I pick what I believe to be true regardless of political affiliation. Sometimes the conservatives will be correct, sometimes the liberals will be correct.
I find myself completely politically homeless.
I get accused of being both a far-left commie and a far-right Nazi and I take this as a point of pride. This is an indication I have a ‘true/false’ filter activated not an ‘us vs them’ one. I don’t care what either team believes, I only care if they are right or not.
I am rejected by the tribes of the left/right duopoly because I do not subscribe to all of their beliefs, which is fine because I do not seek comfort in a tribe.
Anyway, these are my thoughts on Michael Malice’s post. Most people are mindless, don’t think through their positions and go with what their team believe. They have a black-and-white, binary worldview where if you’re not an ‘us’ you’re a ‘them’. Coincidentally, if you’re an ‘us’, you’re one of the good guys, if you’re a ‘them’, you’re evil. It’s team play, exacerbated by the news and social media.
It feels great to be outside of it.