The Need for Pragmatists (post 29)

All societies are hierarchical.  This includes egalitarian societies.  This includes anarchist societies, as well as societies that employ no coercion, make rules by consensus and don't recognize leaders. For primates, the primary means by which hierarchy is established has never been coercion - it has instead been grooming. For humans, grooming has been superseded by language. When we use language, we are engaging in the establishment of hierarchy.

At any given time one could be engaged in an effort to raise one's hierarchical rank within one's society. Also at any given time, one could be engaged in an effort to improve one's society overall (for example, by increasing the abundance of resources or increasing safety or raising the status of the society relative to other societies or by promoting a beneficial change in culture).

These pursuits need not be mutually exclusive, and in healthy society we might imagine that they largely coincide.

It makes sense that one would increase their rank within a society by doing things that are helpful for the society.

However, this is not necessarily the case. In dysfunctional societies the means for rising within the hierarchy could prove detrimental to the society as a whole.

What determines whether or not a society is healthy or dysfunctional?

The answer must be found within the worldviews, culture, beliefs and values of the individuals who make up the society.

Whenever a significant number of individuals within a society begin admiring, respecting or lauding actions and rhetoric that are detrimental to the society overall - the society takes a turn from healthy toward dysfunctional.

Disputes within a society over whether certain ideas are positive or negative can themselves either be positive or negative depending on their severity. If the disputes are handled in a civil, charitable manner, they can lead to improved culture on both sides. If they instead become bitter and entrenched, they can turn the entire society toward dysfunction.  This is especially true if a primary means of gaining status within a particular faction is to work toward the detriment of rivals.

When disputes between factions become heated to the point where they threaten to be dysfunctional, it is up to the centrists, moderates and pragmatists - the peacemakers - to attempt to tone down the rhetoric and foster mutual understanding.

In the United States of America we are in desperate need of such pragmatists right now.