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Going to Extremes: How Like Minds Unite and Divide
 
 
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Going to Extremes: How Like Minds Unite and Divide (Hardcover)

by Cass R. Sunstein (Author) "What explains the rise of fascism in the 1930s? ..." (more)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 208 pages
  • Publisher: OUP USA; 1 edition (9 Jul 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0195378016
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195378016
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.6 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 78,412 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #24 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Political Science & Ideology > Democracy
    #97 in  Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Psychology & Psychiatry > Social & Developmental Psychology > Social

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Review

Timely and absorbing book. (Boyd Tonkin, The Observer )


Product Description

Why do people become extremists? What makes people become so dismissive of opposing views? Why is political and cultural polarization so pervasive in America? Why do groups of teenagers, investors, and corporations take unnecessary risks? What leads groups to engage in such destructive acts as terrorism and ethic cleansing? In Going to Extremes, renowned legal scholar and best-selling author Cass Sunstein offers startling insights into why and when people gravitate toward extremism. Sunstein marshals an abundance of evidence that shows that when like-minded people talk to one another, they tend to become more extreme in their views than they were before. This point applies to such diverse groups as religious organizations, corporate boards, investment clubs, and White House officials. Sunstein introduces original research to show that when liberals are brought together to debate climate change, they end up more alarmed about climate change, while conservatives brought together to discuss same-sex unions become skeptical about same-sex unions. In courtrooms, radio stations, and chatrooms, enclaves of like-minded people are breeding ground for extreme movements. Sunstein shows that a good way to create an extremist group, or a cult of any kind, is to separate members from the rest of society, either physically or psychologically. This disturbing finding casts new light on the dangers that arise whenever people self-select into niche groups of the like-minded. Sunstein's findings help to explain such diverse phenomena as political outrage on the Internet, unanticipated "blockbusters" in the film and music industry, the success of the disability rights movement, ethnic conflict in Iraq and former Yugoslavia, and Islamic terrorism. Providing a wealth of real-world examples--sometimes entertaining, sometimes alarming-- Sunstein offers a fresh explanation of why partisanship has become so bitter and debate so rancorous in America and abroad--and of what concrete steps citizens and nations might take to halt the drift towards unjustified extremism.
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What explains the rise of fascism in the 1930s? Read the first page
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The merits and dangers of consensus, 8 Jun 2009
The book starts with something we all know, that it is more pleasant to talk with people that agree with you than with those that disagree with you. What we do not realize is that by acting this way we become "polarized". As all agree with what we think we start to believe that what we think is true. The author Cass Sunstein does an excellent job to make you aware of this happening and the consequences.

An extreme example is terrorists that form groups with extreme polarization. Most of these terrorists have experienced moral outrage, personal experience of discrimination, economic exclusion, even though many are well educated and come from middle-class families.

Polarization can be bad but also good like overthrowing the Lenin Communist system in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, or abolishing slavery in the United States.

The author presents his view as to what can be done to avoid bad polarization and tolerate good polarization. He believes the only answer is free speech and tolerance; acceptance and respect for diverse views, for diversity. He points out that dictatorships are breeding grounds for terrorism. Polarized groups objecting to dictatorships do not trust what the dictatorships claim to be the truth. Discrimination and outrage do the rest.

It is also relevant for business. Leaders that act like dictators will before or after their death ruin the company. A board of directors must contain members with different perspectives that forcefully argue with each other and management. Also at the level of management vigorous arguments about different perspectives are essential. What the author omits is the importance that after vigorous argument in boards and management a decision taken must be supported 100% by all the members of the board and of top management.

The book also enriches your vocabulary and concepts with words like: conspiracy entrepreneur, interactive echo-chamber, first and second order diversity, enclave deliberation, public forum doctrine, informational cascade and more.

Finally the book gets off to a slow start but towards the end it becomes exciting to read.
The Leader's Way: Business, Buddhism and Happiness in an Interconnected World
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fools seldom differ?, 25 Sep 2009
By Dr. Nicholas P. G. Davies (Halifax, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This is an excellent short, punchy and important book. It contains some very useful ideas, both for personal use, and which will help us in business and political settings.

Its basic point is two fold. Firstly that birds of a feather flock together. Secondly, as they do this they tend to narrow their field of options, and magnify each other's prejudices and misconceptions.

This phenomenon which affects all of us up to a point, becomes dangerous quickly, particularly when we do not accept the discipline of wide reading or other exposure to many different people and ideas. One of the privileges of working as a doctor is that by default I meet people from most walks of life, and learn a lot about them, and about how to adapt my style to meet the needs of different patients. The medicine is the same- but my presentation of it alters according to who I am treating. My medical experience has led to me becoming more moderate over time, and to recognition that there are often many options to approach any one particular problem.

The opposite of meeting, learning and debating with many others is the in group, the phenomenon of looking for reinforcement of previous prejudices, rather than for new knowledge, or counter examples. The extreme of this in group thinking, and ignoring, or misinterpreting the rest of the world is seen in terrorism, and other single issue fanaticisms.

Sunstein has done us a great favour by summarising the cognitive work needed to be done to become a dogmatic fanatic or terrorist, and by showing us what we need to do to avoid this.

Some degree of associating with birds of a feather is useful (e.g. a learned society, a local football club) in terms of sharing experience and developing focused expertise. But we lose so much if we go too far down this specialisation process and develop a blind spot for the rest of the world.

Great minds think alike? Fools seldom differ? This book navigates the balance between these two opposites beautifully.



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