Why Do Societies Need Dissent And The Herd Instinct

The wish of being accepted in a group is a common need among many people. Yet, the effects of conforming to groups leave people stripped of their personal identity. The comparison between two congruent texts, “Why Societies Need Dissent” and “The Herd Instinct” interprets humans’ conformity to a group as irrational due to groups’ similar mindset. Roger Sandall states in “The Herd instinct” that herd mentality stifles original thought in favor of uniform thinking among its participants. In particular, the two texts illustrate similar ideas about the link between individualism and rationalism, rejecting conformity, peoples’ fears of being ostracized, and self-trust. In the works of Roger Sandall’s “The Herd Instinct” and Cass R. Sunstein’s “Why Societies Need Dissent” the writers’ state the link between individualism and rationalism. Sunstein states that although conformists are protective of social interests and by contrast dissenters are selfish people, the opposite is really the truth. For instance, when injustice was undergone it was often the people who were holding their tongues that were conforming to the groups’ silence. Similarly,
In “The Herd Instinct” Sir Francis Galton made interesting points comparing the nature of conforming cattle he observed in South West Africa and by people in herding societies. The problem that Galton pointed to was in herding societies, men “overanxiously look to each other for reassuring definitions of the good, the beautiful, and the true.” In other words, as Sunstein initially states in “Why Societies Need Dissent”, “we do best, by our own lights, if we do what others do….” To both Sunstein and Sandall conformity meant people being influenced by their herd. The effects of rejecting conformity meant people fostering original thoughts and becoming self-reliant. In short, rejecting conformity was a necessary course of action for