Sebastian Junger points out in Tribe that the sheer size of our modern societies poses a significant challenge to our ingrained instinct for unity and connection. It is, after all, the first sustained period in human history when a person can go an entire day surrounded by people who are complete strangers. This lack of familiarity with others means the checks and balances a smaller group imposes on its members to discourage cheating, dishonesty, and fraud no longer function effectively.
In theory, we rely on our institutions to reign in this behavior and make up for what we’ve lost as we’ve scaled. However, a cursory glance at the newspaper tells a different story. We’ve become so accustomed to contempt as a substitute for criticism that public conversations take on the tone of a morality contest rather than serve as a means for cooperative problem solving. The stage is set by our so-called leaders who accuse rivals of trying to harm the country (a stance Junger notes was once referred to as treason) rather than accepting an opponent’s divergent views as a starting point for working together to solve difficult problems.
The biggest threat that modern society poses to our natural inclination for solidarity is its emphasis on underscoring differences. We talk of diversity as a means to embrace differences but I agree with Junger that societies can only focus so much on differences before it stops functioning. I feel the best approach is to acknowledge differences as preparation for eventually relating across those differences. As Junger points out, there is no better way to move toward this ideal than focusing on how someone contributes to the collective effort.
