Tribalism: what is it and is it good, bad or toxic?

Tribalism is a term that I have been hearing a lot in recent months, particularly in the media and podcasts. I had no idea what it was or what it meant. I had a general idea but in my inquisitive nature, I had to find out more. The basic definition is the state or fact of being organized in a tribe or tribes. It is the behaviors and attitudes that stem from strong loyalty to one’s own tribe in terms of ethnic groups, religious groups, regional or other social groups or political groups. In general, tribalism is seen in a positive light and a needed construct in our society. However, it has a negative connotation in a political context. While I researched this topic, I came across many who argued against political tribalism and others who argued the problem isn’t tribalism but something else entirely. 

Human survival relies on groups. Tribes, clans, nations, have been organized in all societies for the protection, strength, and growth of its members. Today, tribes or groups can be for connections and support with a specific common thread. Whether it is a diet (i.e. vegetarianism) or labor unions or nationality, we all need one or multiple ones (Taylor, 2020). We are drawn to a group or groups based on our identities and tribal identities can and will fluctuate through our lives (Segal, 2019). Tribes can be any group with a deep connection. As the English poet, John Donne writes, “no man’s an island.” When most people argue against tribalism is when it becomes toxic. When a group joins people together out of fear, anger, jealousy and spite and aligns to destroy other groups and fosters bullying and scapegoating of non-members (Segal, 2019). Fear often will bypass logic as the instinct is to fight and ask questions later. The less you know, the easier it is to fear (Javanbakht, 2019). Extreme forms of toxic tribalism is ethnic cleansing and genocide. Every day toxic tribalism is more along the lines of cyberbullying and finger pointing. Good tribalism is what we need, bad tribalism is what we need to avoid. According to Elizabeth Segal (2019), good tribalism is difficult to build but is healthier to maintain with bad tribalism is easy to build but unhealthy to maintain as the constant negative emotions can take its toll on one’s health. 

Tribalism becomes bad when it blinds its members to reason. Michael Adams says when the tribe tells you, “Don’t step outside the bounds. Don’t draw outside the lines. Don’t do anything that your tribe wouldn’t do” (Taylor, 2020). I’ve seen this in certain groups, For example, if someone is gay, they must be progressive because no gay individual would possibly be conservative. This thinking fosters the “us versus them” mentality with a “if you aren’t for us, then you are against us” battle lines. There is a social pressure to go along with the group despite what they see with their own eyes (Taylor, 2020). How often have we been told to hate a group due to a trait that has been deemed “undesirable”? How often do we encounter members of the hated group that don’t fit the portrayal at all? The social pressure as well as fear can blur human logic and the motivations behind their behaviors (Javanbakht, 2019). The most extreme example of this tribal thinking (Taylor, 2020) is Adolf Hitler. Hitler was able to convince an entire population to turn on their neighbors simply because they were Jewish or associated with Jews. It led to the extermination of millions who didn’t fit into the group as described by Hitler. There are countless other examples throughout history and since World War II of atrocities caused by tribal thinking. They all have a common thread. A leader who was able to convert the people’s tribalism and devotion into the fear of others (Taylor, 2020). 

In her article, The Problem Today is Not Tribalism but its Absence, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili argues that the problem is not tribalism but factionalism (2020). In her argument, tribalism is the only way to fix what factionalism has broken. The focus on the smaller group rather than the nation as a whole has caused the conflicts. Tribalism is the only way to work toward meaning, community and connection and the sense of belonging (Murtzashvili, 2020). Alan Finlayson from The Guardian argues that only in politics is tribalism viewed as negative. The idea of tribalism has come to be “unhealthily excessive” and leads to irrational outlooks and hindering our thinking (Finlayson, 2019). I have dealt with this accusation as I have encountered individuals who automatically think that my Christian faith has closed my mind to all other ideas. Rather than let me consider the ideas, use my faith as a part of my decision making process to accept or reject an idea, I am automatically told I will reject it. According to John Patrick Leary, tribalism wasn’t an issue until Trump’s election when political commentators started to complain about how polarized American politics have become, how angry, how uncivil and how tribal (2020). It is nothing new but it is misleading as he continues. Attributing conflicts to ‘tribalism’ allows for the appearance of objectivity, but “it makes it easy to sidestep questions of facts and history and treat everything as an unsolvable matter of interpretation” (Leary, 2020). 

What can we do? How do we change bad tribalism into good tribalism? Elizabeth Segal (2020) has two suggestions. First, recognize that groups built on the foundation of hate, disdain, and anger build those traits in their members. At the constant urging of bad tribalism, members stay angry. I see this all the time on social media. I am supposed to be outraged at X because I am a member of a certain group. And when I’m not? My loyalty is questioned. If a group is demanding you stay outraged, angry or in a state of fear, it is best to take a step back and ask why and possibly find a new group. Second, Empathy is another powerful tool. It can broaden our sense of connections to others and diminishes the connection between bad tribalism (Segal, 2020). As Harper Lee wrote in To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” When we listen to understand, rather to respond, we can learn a great deal about people. 

In conclusion, tribalism, at its core, is not a bad thing. We all belong to one or multiple tribes throughout our lifetimes. We need to help and support our tribes, our communities when they are in trouble. Tribalism becomes bad when the behaviors of group members become toxic and fuel their hate toward others. We need to ask ourselves why do I fear a certain group, why am I angry at this situation? Is it because I am truly afraid or truly angry? Or am I afraid or angry because I have been influenced? It has been stated that we fear what we do not know. If we fear something, we need to learn more about it. We need to make sure our fear is justified or simply because we’ve been influenced to fear. We cannot let others in our tribes tell us how to think, feel and act. 

References

Finlayson, Alan. (December 12, 2019). Stop worrying about 'tribalism' – politics is supposed to be passionate. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/12/political-tribes-passion-politics-voters-involved. Retrieved February 9, 2021. 

Javanbakht, Arash (July 19, 2019). The politics of fear: How it manipulates us to tribalism. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-politics-of-fear-how-it-manipulates-us-to-tribalism-113815. Retrieved February 9, 2021. 

Leary, John Patrick (February 21, 2020). The Troubling Obsession With Political “Tribalism”. The New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/156448/troubling-obsession-political-tribalism. Retrieved February 9, 2021. 

Murtazashvili, Jennifer Brick (May 20, 2020). The Problem Today is Not Tribalism but its Absence. Discourse Magazine. www.https://www.discoursemagazine.com/culture-and-society/2020/05/20/the-problem-today-is-not-tribalism-but-its-absence/. Retrieved February 10, 2021. 

Segal, Elizabeth A. (March 30, 2019) When Tribalism Goes Bad. Psychology Today. www.https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-empathy/201903/when-tribalism-goes-bad. Retrieved February 10, 2021. 

Taylor, Rupert (November 19, 2020). The Good and Bad of Tribalism. Soapboxie. https://soapboxie.com/social-issues/The-Good-and-Bad-of-Tribalism. Retrieved February 10, 2021.