Friedrich Nietzsche said, “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” It’s a haunting observation that feels just as relevant today as it did over a century ago — perhaps even more.
You ever notice how folks these days don’t just have opinions — they’ve got battle flags, marching songs, and a fully loaded cannon aimed at anyone who dares to think different?
Used to be you could sit on a front porch, chew on a blade of grass, and disagree with your neighbor about politics, religion, or whether ketchup belongs on eggs — and when it was all said and done, you’d shake hands, pour a drink, and talk about the weather. Nowadays, if you so much as breathe a thought outside your assigned tribe, the CROWDTHINK machine fires up, and next thing you know, you’re the villain of the week.
CROWDTHINK — Ancient Madness with Modern Tools
Now, CROWDTHINK isn’t new. Mobs have been forming since the first caveman figured out how to point and yell, and the rest decided it was easier to follow than think. But back then, if you wanted to join a mob, you at least had to put your shoes on and walk to the town square.
Now? Thanks to the internet and social media, every fool with a phone can climb onto a soapbox without even changing out of their pajamas. And they don’t just join the mob — they amplify it, like some kind of sinusoidal feedback loop, where every scream bounces back louder until nobody remembers what they were hollering about in the first place.
Used to be, madness in a crowd took some time to boil over — a few heated speeches, maybe a pitchfork or two. Today, all it takes is a bad headline, a viral tweet, and a few thousand keyboard warriors with nothing better to do. Technology has turned human foolishness into a high-speed, high-volume echo chamber, where every bad idea ricochets around the globe at the speed of Wi-Fi. And every time it bounces, it gains momentum, like a broken amplifier feeding back on itself until it’s loud enough to blow out your eardrums — or your common sense.
Social media doesn’t just spread CROWDTHINK — it turbo-charges it, slaps a hashtag on it, and serves it up with a side of outrage. And the more extreme the take, the more applause it gets from the crowd, until reason, doubt, and nuance are drowned out completely. It’s no longer a conversation — it’s a contest to see who can yell the loudest and get the most likes.
Nietzsche Saw It Coming
What old Friedrich Nietzsche probably never imagined was how technology would crank up this madness to eleven. He said it plain and clear:
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”
He saw it back when mobs had to march on foot. Today, you can join ten mobs at once without leaving your couch — all while eating Cheetos in your underwear. The result? A world where no topic is safe — not politics, not religion, not science, not even how you raise your kids or what kind of car you drive. Every single subject has become a holy war, and anyone who thinks differently is treated not as wrong, but as evil.
The Death of Listening
The most dangerous part of all this? Nobody listens anymore.
Conversation has become a battle to win, not to understand. If you dare to say, “I see your point, but I disagree,” the mob pounces, eager to devour anyone who steps out of line. Doubt, curiosity, and independent thought have been rebranded as disloyalty. You either swear fealty to your tribe, or you’re cast out into the digital wilderness.
It’s no wonder Nietzsche called it madness — because that’s exactly what it is. Alone, most folks have a touch of sense, enough to admit they might not know everything. But put those same people into a crowd wrapped in digital armor, with a thousand voices cheering them on, and they’ll believe the wildest things — so long as it keeps them safe in the warm embrace of the mob.
Partisan Madness Everywhere
This madness isn’t just confined to politics — it’s seeped into every corner of life. Religion, science, health, even entertainment — every conversation is a potential battleground.
Partisanship has become a way of life. People aren’t just wrong — they’re threats to your very identity. Disagreement isn’t debate anymore; it’s betrayal. And once you’re labeled the enemy, there’s no road back.
The irony is, this extreme tribalism — this refusal to make space for differences — is exactly what drives societies to collapse. Progress, innovation, even basic human decency all depend on our ability to hold space for ideas we don’t like, to listen without leaping to judgment, and to admit — even for a moment — that no side has a monopoly on truth.
If we can’t learn to value independent thought over group loyalty, we risk becoming exactly what Nietzsche warned — a society where madness isn’t the exception, but the rule.
The Cure — If There Is One
Now, I ain’t saying folks in the old days were saints — we had plenty of fools, scoundrels, and self-important gasbags. But at least back then, your foolishness had to work a little harder to make it past the front porch. Nowadays, the whole world can hear your bad ideas before you’ve finished your morning coffee.
If there’s any cure, it’s old-fashioned conversation — the kind where you actually listen to folks who don’t think like you. Not because you’re trying to convert them, but because somewhere between your opinion and theirs might be a scrap of truth you hadn’t considered.
And maybe — just maybe — the real trick is remembering what Mark Twain himself said: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
So pause. Reflect. Maybe even shut off the phone for a while. Because sanity — and maybe even a little wisdom — isn’t found in the roar of the crowd. It’s found in the quiet space where you question your own beliefs and listen — really listen — to someone else’s.
After all, if we can’t laugh at our own foolishness, we might just be the biggest fools of all.
But of course I am right and you are wrong….
EXTRA CREDIT
A Dark Soul and important read in this AI world – Friedrich Nietzsche
How to be a Prince by Machiavelli
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