The manifestation of this division takes many forms. We see civilized political differences like in Western Democracies. An example is the increasingly divisive politics of the democrats and the republicans in the United States.
Others take the
extreme form, and the Al Qaeda comes to mind. The burning and bombings in Iraq
and Afghanistan as well as the war in Syria and Somalia are other examples of
extremism.
Many of these
polarizing issues become more extreme and appear to correlate with more freedom
or democracy. Examples are the Buddhist attack on the Muslim population in
Myanmar and the turmoil in Egypt. This is not to suggest that we stop striving
for greater freedom. We are reminded of the famous quotation from Patrick
Henry, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”.
In Malaysia, I
believe we are now living in a much more polarized country, in issues of race,
religion and politics. The politics of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat have
sharply divided the nation. The “Allah” and forced conversion issues brought
religion to the forefront of daily conversations and shows rising intolerance. Perkasa
and others have removed any pretension or embarrassment to take extreme and
bigoted views on race.
What account for the
rise in polarization?
When people are
placed in groups, they tend to make decisions and form opinions that are more
extreme than their initial views as an individual. Sociologists describe this
tendency as “group polarization”.
There are different
theories proposed. One school of thought is the desire of individuals for
acceptance by the group and they therefore take a position similar to everyone
else’s. They are also tempted to be a little more extreme to present themselves
as group “leaders”.
Another theory
suggests that people become even more convinced of their views as they hear
similar and more novel arguments amongst the group members.
Political scientists
have also shown that politicians have an incentive to advance and support
polarized positions. Besides, elites (whether politicians, businessmen or
social figures) when threatened and feeling insecure, will often resort to
provocations, name-calling, incitement and false accusations to legitimize
their extractive and monopolistic behaviours.
Further,
gerrymandering, or the practice of redistricting creates political polarization
by making more homogeneous electoral districts.
The fragmented,
high-choice media scene (both print and online) has moved contents to one that
is more antagonistic and one-sided from more even-toned programming to induce
readerships and audiences.
All the reasons above
that support the rise of group polarization are further compounded and
accelerated by the popular use of the Internet and online networking. Online social
media such as Facebook and Twitter encourage people to seek out others who
share similar interests, ideas and values.
Studies have found
that group discussions, conducted when discussants are in a distributed (cannot
see one another) or anonymous (cannot identify one another) environment will
lead to even higher levels of group polarization compared to traditional face
to face meetings.
What can we do?
The analysis above
suggests that the tendency for extremism is real and the causes for polarization
are inherent in our behavior. It is now further exaggerated by the popular use
of the Internet and online networking media.
If left unchecked, we
are heading to the abyss of a divisive society.
I believe people of
knowledge, people of moderation and people of goodwill are duty bound to act to
try to prevent this calamity.
Society do tend to
bend towards the course of fairness, justice and moderation, But they do not
bend easily on its own. We need to help it along. It is our human value and
responsibility.
Given that the
Internet and social media has now become the dominant facilitator of group
polarization, we can only begin to help society away from this polarizing trend
by also being part of the Internet and social media.
