A Minority View
Why it's often good to be in the minority
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You may be wondering: how I can justifiably be in the minority, considering my pasty white skin and heterosexual tendencies? Well, that’s very simple; I’m not talking about the attributes which should never define me, such as my appearance and sexual preferences, but my thoughts and beliefs.
Surely how I think and what I believe are vastly more important, as these are areas more within my control.
"Judge a man not by the colour of his skin, but by the content of his character" - Martin Luther King Jr.
I hold very different opinions, beliefs, and worldviews than the majority of people around me, I always have. I attribute this to many factors, such as my desire for knowledge, enjoying research, being analytically minded, naturally skeptical, willing to question, and having supportive and open-minded parents. This has, unsurprisingly, led to a difficult life at times, as expected when one disagrees in key areas with the majority of people they meet!
"In any great organisation it is far, far safer to be wrong with the majority, than to be right alone" - John Kenneth Galbraith
In contrast to the factors listed above, there is one statement in varying forms I’ve heard many times over the years to explain my views: “you just want to be different!”, and I’ve given this a lot of thought over the years. Am I motivated to be unique, and does it lead me to take a certain stance? Do I espouse certain views merely because they’re in opposition to the mainstream?
I don’t believe the statement to be entirely true; however, I do believe I’m more likely to consider something which runs counter to the mainstream view. This became more evident once I’d decided to write this article on why being in a worldview minority is a good thing - showing myself I’d clearly decided to defend this position. Now I wish to find out to what extent and the reasons why.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" - Mark Twain
I’ll begin by hazarding a guess at why I believe people are so susceptible to groupthink, and why they tend to vilify those who think differently.
People desire to be socially accepted, so they tend to largely do what everyone else is doing and think what everyone else is thinking. They place their social status on a pedestal, making it of higher value than almost anything else, whether they’re aware of it or not. I’d suggest even when we choose to assert our individualism, we do it largely in the same way as everyone else. As an example, I’m often the most uniquely tattooed person in any given room, simply because I don’t have any.
"If your thinking is causing you to do what everyone else is doing, you are only contributing to the average"
- Andy Andrews
At the same time as wanting to be in the majority, we don’t ever want to be normal or average. No-one would ever say their driving skills are below average, or their IQ is about 100. We don’t enter a race hoping for 5th place, nor do we want to live for an average amount of time, with an average amount of wealth, with an average partner, and have average children. Thus, we have a dichotomy, wherein we seek to be the same whilst not being the same.
I believe we try to be as individual as possible whilst remaining within the majority. The most successful of us toe this line like a tight-rope walker, when one step too far results in your fall from social grace. One moment a maverick, the next a dangerous conspiracy theorist. From leading public consensus to becoming a threat to society in a single tweet, such is the culture we have cultivated.
We can look to our history for examples of persecuting societies, with majorities inflicting great harm on minorities. We look at this and claim it would never happen under our watch, yet do little to prevent us from becoming a persecuting society today.
Whether that be condoning censorship, eliminating individual freedoms, or generally supporting authoritarian policies. Majority Rule in our democracy is extremely dangerous and Minority Rights must be of highest priority.
"In a democracy, the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority"
- Edmund Burke
A major factor contributing to any disposition I have to stand in opposition to many mainstream views, is the majority is often wrong. Many of you reading this will know you are in certain worldview minorities, whether that be your beliefs around spirituality and religion, teaching and education, animals and the environment, or war and peace.
You may believe it’s wrong how much of the global population is still religious, or that schools are vital for a child’s social skills and growth, perhaps you believe women should have fewer rights than men, or petrol cars should be banned. Whatever your opinion, defending it with the phrase “because everyone else is doing it” sounds as ridiculous as it is.
"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority of people share in it" - Leo Tolstoy
Yet, I hear this so very often and from supposedly intelligent people. “It can’t be bad if everyone is doing it”, “they can’t all be wrong”, or “there’s (scientific) consensus”.
Let’s take a look at 10 things the majority of people used to believe
Smoking is safe
Methamphetamine, Cocaine, and Heroin are effective medications
Slavery is acceptable
Mercury is an effective treatment for syphilis and a safe to use in manufacturing
Lead is safe to use in pipes, paint, and fuel
Drilling holes into brains is a great treatment for mental ill health
Asbestos is safe to use everywhere
Human zoos are acceptable
A giant inflatable balloon filled with a highly flammable gas is suitable transport
The Earth is the centre of the Solar System
I feel safe in saying you will be appalled at what was accepted by the majority and, in some cases, until very recently.
Now for 10 contemporary beliefs of the majority:
Consumption of heavily processed and fast foods is OK
Using so many antibiotics is perfectly fine
Mercury is safe to use in dental fillings and as a preservative in vaccines
Daily use of cosmetics full of chemicals is fine
Animal zoos are acceptable
It’s ok to purchase cheap goods on Amazon shipped 1000s of miles
Hormone therapy from puberty is recommended
Fluoride is safe and effective
Working 40+ hours per week inside in front of a screen is acceptable
There will undoubtedly be a mix of opinion here. After all, these are ongoing issues and haven’t been ‘settled’ as of yet.
Now for 10 things the majority may very well believe in the future
Most plastics should be avoided, including fabrics (carpets, clothing etc.)
Eliminating 99.9% of germs isn’t such a great idea after all
Mental ill health is better treated with Complimentary & Alternative Medicine than with pharmaceuticals
Using air fresheners, deodorants, and antiperspirants full of toxins is a bad idea
Chemical-laden sun creams and sun beds are more harmful than sun exposure
E-cigarettes are hazardous to health and shouldn't be used
Modern slavery and human trafficking are top priorities
Heavy metals are rightly banned from all consumer items
Artificial sweeteners pose greater health risks than sugar
CO2 might not be the villain we thought it was
This final list represents the tightrope walker stepping over the line. You were likely with me all the way through the first list, teetered on the second, and, following this final list, now consider me to be a dangerous lunatic :P
"In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act"
- George Orwell
Now, I’m not going to claim everything in the 30 bullet points is factual and that The Majority is wrong in every instance, but I intend it to highlight a simple point; that what is accepted as truth by the majority today, may very well be rejected as lies tomorrow.
Within the age of the internet, opinion is swayed quickly and easily, as information comes in many forms and from many sources. In this fast-moving situation, there is no safety in conformity and majority thinking. It is time to take responsibility back from society for making decisions on behalf of us and choose to make up our own minds.
"Before I can live with other folks, I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience" - Harper Lee
We must also be open to being wrong. We spend almost every waking moment in the state of feeling right, desperately trying to avoid the associated feelings of being wrong. When confronted with information which contradicts our position, we tend to adopt what Julia Galef refers to as the ‘Soldier Mindset’. This is otherwise known as Motivated Reasoning, where we attack or defend ideas which contradict or corroborate our position respectively.
What we require instead is the ‘Scout Mindset’, the ability to see the facts and evidence as objectively as possible, limiting the influence of personal bias or prejudice. When I used to watch football with those supporting the same team, I would defend the referee for making a ‘correct’ decision which negatively impacted our team, and call him out when he made an ‘incorrect’ one which benefitted us. Invariably, my position would come under attack from fellow supporters, with my support called into question. I could never understand how anyone could overlook clear evidence, but Julia’s Soldier Mindset certainly goes some way to explaining it.
Recommended: Developing new skills and ways of discerning truth is a core aspect of Joe Martino & Dr Madhava Setty’s course Overcoming Bias & Improving Critical Thinking course. Check it out here.
Instead of feeling threatened or afraid, we should embrace curiosity and an openness to new information, even if it’s uncomfortable or perhaps even offensive. By needing to be right all the time, we place great restrictions upon ourselves. The best thing about embracing the possibility of being wrong is you don’t know where you’ll end up, and it’s often better than where you’d be if you were right! I was very wrong about where I would be right now, how I’d be spending my time and who it would be with, but I’m so very happy I wasn’t right.
We also seem keen to divulge responsibility to experts or professionals without doing the research ourselves, and this is fraught with problems. The expert in question may have ulterior motives or conflicts of interest, they may be a hack or otherwise ignorant, they may well be operating from a soldier mindset, and they may just be innocently mistaken. There’s also undoubtedly an expert saying something to the contrary and you end up in some pseudo game of Top Trumps, pitting your experts against one another in a ludicrous battle of authority, reputation, and credentials.
If you’re going to be wrong about something, you may as well make that decision yourself. That way you can be certain whether it’s been adequately researched, analyzed, questioned, and ultimately if it stands up to your own criteria. If I’m wrong about something, at least I know I tried my best, rather than feeling foolish and blaming it on that Instagram account with the fancy aesthetics, or that great bastion of unbiased reporting, the mainstream news outlets.
Final Thoughts
To be clear, I'm not suggesting the minority opinion is always right, merely the majority should not always be viewed as right either. I'm hoping to challenge the "everybody else thinks/does/says" mentality, which far too many turn to when their views are challenged. If that's all you have, then you have nothing.
As I lay on the grass watching the sunset last night, I once again considered if my views were merely driven by a desire to be unique. It occurred to me that I couldn't even imagine what it must feel like to exist in a world where my opinions and beliefs are also those of the media, general society, celebrities, corporations, and governments.
To feel aligned with everyone around me and supported by my peers. Comfortable and secure in the knowledge I'm in the majority, and I'm almost certainly right.
It must feel amazing.
Adam Pike is a freelance Writer / Researcher who aims to improve lives by seeking and sharing valuable knowledge. He is also the owner of Spiritual England, a non-profit centred around spirituality and personal development. You can check out his Substack here.