(General Studies IV – Human Values – the role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.)
- Conformity plays a powerful role in shaping human behaviour and social structures. It influences actions, ideas and even societal norms, ranging from public health laws to more extreme events in human history.
- In modern pedagogical practice, there is an unspoken emphasis on conformity. The classroom, while ostensibly a space for dissent and debate, is often structured to encourage agreement rather than disruption.
- As educators, we may inadvertently create an environment where students feel compelled to conform, silencing their genuine opinions and disagreements.
The teaching of Silence and Agreement in School –
- Politeness and Compliance: The classroom’s invisible codes often foster politeness and compliance. Students are conditioned to maintain harmony, fearing the “noise” that accompanies dissent.
- Agreeability over Authenticity: This results in students writing emails or participating in discussions in ways that conform to societal expectations of agreeability, rather than expressing their authentic thoughts.
- Avoiding Conflict: Conformity, in this sense, is not about achieving consensus through meaningful debate, but about avoiding discomfort and conflict. While courses teach the importance of questioning, debating, and engaging in Socratic dialogue (as seen in Plato’s Republic), the reality is often different.
- Dominant Narrative over Diversity: It suppresses intellectual diversity and critical thinking, encouraging students to align with the dominant narrative rather than challenge it. The result is a classroom culture prioritises eventual agreement over sustained intellectual debate.
Conformity in Broader Social Spaces –
- Consensus: This inclination toward agreement is not limited to the classroom. It extends to social media platforms, where individuals are often pressured to align with the prevailing consensus.
- Social Ostracism: Those who deviate from this consensus face verbal backlash, career consequences, or social ostracism.
- Defensive mode of Agreement: Academics and professionals, instead of fostering diverse perspectives, often engage in a defensive mode of agreement, protecting their intellectual and emotional territories.
- Agreementative Indian: Conformity breeds the “agreementative Indian,” where societal and intellectual spaces are becoming increasingly intolerant of differing opinions.
- Expectation of Uniformity: The tradition of rich debate, disagreement, and intellectual diversity is being replaced by an expectation of uniformity.
- Safety and Comfort: The linguistic root of “agree” comes from the Latin gratus, meaning “to please,” implying that agreement is often driven by a desire for safety and comfort rather than the pursuit of truth. This form of agreement is inherently about control and self-pleasure, rather than intellectual growth.
Resistance to Conformity –
- Bhakti Movement: Historically, movements like the Bhakti poets’ rebellion against institutionalized religion symbolized resistance to conformity.
- Ideological Cults: Modern society appears to be moving in the opposite direction, where people, irrespective of political ideology, are being conditioned to be blind followers who agree with each other without critical engagement. This has resulted in a culture where even minor disagreements are seen as personal affronts, stifling intellectual and social diversity.
- Diversity: Disagreement is a natural part of a pluralistic society like India, there is a need to come out of intellectual and emotional safety.
- Dissent and Innovation: There is a need to foster a society that thrives on critical thinking, creativity, and innovation, it is essential to revive the spirit of dissent and disagreement.
| Benefits of Conformity To build Civic Sense: People often follow the rules of traffic under societal norms. Helps to avoid cultural struggles turning violent: recently European countries facing violent incidences over a lack of sympathy from immigrants for European values like tolerance, peace etc. Rapid Economic growth: China’s rapid economic growth is unmatched in human history, on the contrary India often backtracks essential bitter reforms of short-term pain and long-term good. E.g. Farm sector reforms, land reforms, labour reforms, taxation reforms. |
Conformity, while sometimes beneficial for social order and harmony, can also stifle critical thinking, creativity, and moral judgment. A balance between respect for differing opinions and the pursuit of truth should be encouraged. Only by embracing the noise of disagreement can we truly create a space where ideas can be challenged, and progress can be made. Encouraging a culture that values dissent over blind agreement is essential for societal growth, governance, and innovation.
