Benefits of Conflicts in Movements?

Like all movements, the Objectivist movement has suffered conflicts. The drawbacks of conflicts are easy to identify, but are there benefits that rational individuals can gain from them?

Wherever two or more individuals associate, conflicts can occur. A movement is a group of individuals, a group defined only by a common goal of changing the world in some way. If all the members of a movement were to act as isolated individuals, conflicts would not arise. However, most members of movements do associate: They communicate; they trade; and they form networks, ad hoc organizations, and institutions. They differ in their senses of life, strategies, tactics, communication styles, personalities, level of knowledge, social skills, level of morality, and degree of mental health. Conflicts arise.

Within a movement, a conflict is a disagreement between two or more individuals that leads at least one of them to devote resources to making a change that ends the disagreement -- one way or the other.

Conflict is not merely the presence of different viewpoints, such as differing opinions about the style of clothing one should wear to a formal dinner for local members of the movement. A conflict, as I am using the term, is a disagreement that lasts long enough and is painful enough, at least to one side, that the aggrieved side takes action to change the situation. The other side reacts. Tension flares.

Example changes one side might seek are: persuading other members of the movement to donate or stop donating to certain projects; convincing members of the movement to adopt a particular strategy or tactic for achieving the movement's goals; and ostracizing a destructive individual from the movement.

DRAWBACKS. The potential drawbacks of conflicts within a movement are clear. Conflicts take attention and resources away from directly supporting the common, defining goals of the movement -- as when time and effort spent gathering evidence about a member's behavior might have been spent advocating the movement's principles to the society outside the movement. Second, conflicts can lead to schisms (refusals to associate), which might reduce the effectiveness of the movement. Third, conflicts can destroy friendships. Fourth, for those individuals who choose to become involved in them, conflicts are emotionally draining and can lead to abandoning the movement.

BENEFITS? Are there any ways in which rational individuals might gain from conflicts? I am basing my answer here only on personal (not systematic, scientific) observation of the Objectivist movement for fifty years, plus observations of other movements for much shorter periods. (I was briefly a participant in the movements against the Vietnam War, against the military draft, and against restrictions on abortion; and for several years, I was a member of the conflict-ridden libertarian movement.)

When disagreements cannot be resolved amicably, I see several potential benefits of conflicts within a movement. First, if the conflict is mainly about ideas, conflict can lead to more individuals within the movement becoming aware of the ideas at issue. Conflicts involving debate over fundamental principles of the movement can help educate members of the movement and thereby make the movement more effective in the long term.

Next, and closely related, is the benefit that comes from considering, discussing, and debating background issues. An example background issue is standards. In a conflict over a particular individual's behavior, what is the proper standard of judgment?[1] Another example background issue is method. If one member of the movement makes an accusation against another individual within the movement, what method should he use to present his accusation? How much evidence does he need to provide? How detailed should his argument -- the chain of inferences connecting the evidence to the accusation -- be for his particular audience?

A third benefit for many members of the movement is learning more about the individuals involved in the conflict. Individuals acting under the stress of a conflict may reveal aspects of their psychology or level of skills that were unknown before. Is a particular individual thoughtful? Does he do the research required to reach an informed judgment? Does he listen to those who might know more than he does? Does he present his evidence, proof, and conclusion for an objective audience or does he appeal to emotionalists? Negative answers to those questions may disqualify some individuals from being leaders, organizers, or consultants -- but positive answers may qualify them for a greater role in future projects.

A fourth potential benefit is greater long-term effectiveness. Quality control matters. A movement that regularly sheds individuals who do not in fact share the defining principles of the movement is a movement that stays focused. With those individuals out of the movement's network, the movement may be able to concentrate more on the key issues that define the movement and less on internal friction.

WHAT ABOUT AN HONEST MISUNDERSTANDING? In all conflicts that I have seen, there are individuals on both sides who act irrationally: emotionalists, moralizers, bomb-throwers, and the arsonists who pour gasoline on the flames of ideational conflicts that degenerate into personal conflicts. Their presence, in itself, is not automatically an indictment of the side they choose to support.

Other individuals, honest ones, sometimes make errors in judgment because of inadequate information or because of flawed methods of judging. Will a movement die as a result of honest errors that lead to a split? It should not. If individuals on both sides genuinely support the defining principles of the movement, then those individuals will continue working toward the original common goals even after an unfortunate and unnecessary split. While there might then be two smaller streams, with little socializing between them, they might be even more effective in changing the society around them. The reason is that after a split there would be two sets of voices calling for essentially the same changes in society. An increase in the number of voices advocating a certain idea will, other factors being equal, improve chances of success.[2]

EFFECT OF SPLITS. From the sidelines, I have witnessed several "splits" in the Objectivist movement. The seemingly most destructive was the split in the late 1960s following Ayn Rand's disavowal of Nathaniel Branden. The Nathaniel Branden Institute at that time was the only institutional voice for Objectivism. It closed at the very time that the communist and other irrationalist movements were marching victoriously around the world. Objectivist social networks fractured, friendships ended, and heated conflict erupted. Yet, through all of that turmoil, dedicated students of Objectivism -- led by the example of Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff -- continued working to articulate the philosophy of Objectivism and to change the culture around them. Their successes have accumulated through the decades.

CONCLUSION. Internal conflict itself does not cause a movement to fail. The most rational and skilled individuals in the movement can even gain from conflict when it does emerge but cannot be amicably resolved.

Burgess Laughlin

Author, The Power and the Glory: The Key Ideas and Crusading Lives of Eight Debaters of Reason vs. Faith, at www.reasonversusmysticism.com

[1] A comment from Betsy Speicher reminded me of the importance of always asking: "By what standard?" [2] Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate, of the Ayn Rand Institute, make the point about multiple voices, not splits, in their excellent 4.5-hour series of lectures, "Cultural Movements: Creating Change," at aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=participate_arc_activism.

Should a movement have watchmen?

A movement has no gatekeepers. That means there is no way to stop destructive individuals from entering the movement. Yet, there must be quality control at some level to prevent damage to efforts to reach the goals of the movement. To detect dangers, a movement needs watchmen as lookouts.

JOB REQUIREMENTS. The individuals who choose to be watchmen and exercise quality control, in some manner and at some level, are necessarily "self-appointed." Such a function is open to anyone who sees a danger worthy of action and has the skills to take appropriate steps -- which means mainly the ability to present an objective argument proving his charges against other individuals in the movement.

Objectivity means drawing all ideas logically from facts of reality. To be objective, an indictment of one individual by another must present facts as well as an argument leading from those facts to the indictment. The facts must be presented with specificity; pointing in the general direction ("Look at his writings!") is not specific. The argument must cover the steps required to move from evidence to conclusion. The indictment must be clear.

Debates among various watchmen are inevitable and desirable. The accusers are akin to prosecuting attorneys. There are defendants, rightly or wrongly accused. There are also the ladies and gentlemen of the jury: anyone who studies the issues, makes a judgment, and acts accordingly. However, there is no judge to set rules of procedure. Nor is there a bailiff, a policeman, or a jailer.

EXAMPLE APPROACHES. There are many optional approaches available to watchmen who are ready to make charges. Here are two examples to consider for their particular methods:

(1) http://www.dianahsieh.com/ff

(2) http://www.checkingpremises.org/

They are widely separated in time. In some ways, they are different in their purposes and methods. The first consists mainly of an annotated list of links to the author's own discussions on particular topics of false friends of Objectivism. The second, in most (but not all) of its tabbed pages (as of the day I viewed it), also consists mainly of links to other writings critiquing individuals the accusers think are pseudo-Objectivists. (The second site is new and the content is evolving.)

A third effort to consider is an apologia, a coherent essay which offers a defense against charges:

(3) http://blog.dianahsieh.com/2012/01/on-some-recent-controversies.html

I have identified the particular writings above because of their virtues, whatever faults they might also have (which must be judged within the context of each project's purposes). Generally, in the links cited both sources are serious and dignified. They deal with issues, which here means individuals and their ideas. They eschew foul language, "hot headed" outbursts, hyperbole, street talk, and other symptoms of profane culture.

CONCLUSION. Does a movement need watchmen? Yes, to protect the movement's efforts to reach its goals. The responsibility of being watchmen is heavy. It requires diligence in research, thought, and argumentation. It also requires the strength to withstand scrutiny.

PERSONAL NOTE: A BRIGHT FUTURE. I judge a movement by the actions of its best individuals, which includes, in part, their efforts to (1) set an example for rational behavior and (2) discourage violations of etiquette. (By "etiquette" I mean principles and rules of behavior that facilitate trade among individuals in a society.)

I have been a student of Objectivism for fifty years. In looking at the best behavior of particular individuals in recent controversies, on both sides, I see some signs of increasing personal maturity and interpersonal civility -- both of which are prerequisites for the trade of ideas, a trade that strengthens a movement. I also keep in mind a generalization: In controversies, the best individuals in a movement are often quiet until they are ready to make a thoughtful statement, if one is even worth formulating.

In preparing to write The Power and the Glory: The Key Ideas and Crusading Lives of Eight Debaters of Reason vs. Faith, I read about conflicts in several movements (such as the movement to overthrow the Enlightenment). Compared to those movements, the Objectivist movement is healthy and growing stronger. For this and other reasons, I am objectively hopeful for the future of the Objectivist movement.

Burgess Laughlin

Author, The Power and the Glory:The Key Ideas and Crusading Lives of Eight Debaters of Reason vs. Faith

P. S. -- I "know" some of the individuals involved in the controversy above, but only through the internet. For personal reasons, I dislike a few and I have ceased communicating with them. The issues in the sites above, however, are not personal issues, but issues of individuals accused of misrepresenting or otherwise damaging the Objectivist movement.

Quality control in movements?

Within a few years I hope to look at one or more movements that have contributed to Western Civilization. (For the nature of a movement, see the July 5, 2008 post.) Examples in the USA are movements to abolish slavery; secure property rights for women; spread the theory of evolution; abolish alcohol Prohibition; and repeal "Jim Crow" laws. Following are preliminary notes for this project; the notes are mostly questions at this beginning stage.

WHAT IS QC? In the electronics industry, from which I retired twenty years ago, quality control is the active, purposeful, and organized effort to make sure that a company's products and services meet the company's standards--and the customer's expectations. The main positive motives for QC are pride in the products and higher profits; negative motives include reducing complaints from customers and the expense of handling returned products.

QC IN A MOVEMENT? What would be QC in a movement, that is, in an effort--especially through advocacy--by various individuals to improve their society in a certain way? Consider the individuals in the movement as individuals acting on their own. (Organizations within a movement can set rules for quality of their own membership and quality of their own product.) QC would consist of individuals examining, not only their own products (lectures, essays, and conversations), but also the products of other individuals in the movement, and then taking action to remove or improve poor quality products. In a free or semi-free society, the control in QC would be peaceful and honest.

MOTIVATIONS? Why examine the products of other individuals in a movement? One example of a member of a movement who might deserve scrutiny is an individual who is influential but is spreading a mixed or erroneous message (an "abolitionist" who wants merely to improve the living conditions of slaves), thereby undercutting the work of other individuals who have perfected their understanding of the issues involved. A second example is an individual who is advocating the correct position of the movement but whose personal behavior is an embarrassment--for instance, destructively poor grammar, foul language, or public displays of mental illness--that might reduce the movement's chances of succeeding.

TECHNIQUES FOR "CONTROLLING" QUALITY? Are such aberrant individuals actually a problem, that is, do they actually threaten the success of an objective movement, one whose goals are drawn logically from facts of reality? If they are, have past movements identified such individuals as a threat? If they have, how have concerned members of those movements handled such problems? Based only on brief personal experience and observation of contemporary movements, I would expect to find, in historical movements, a range of tools being used by some members of a movement to improve the quality of the movement overall. Possible QC tools for individuals who are trying to minimize the effect of counter-productive members of a movement might include the following.

1. Shunning is disassociation. On a personal, face-to-face level, an example of shunning is refusing to speak to a certain person at a party or even refusing to attend the party. Blacklisting, a tool of shunning, is compiling a list, written or not, of individuals to avoid for any kind of formal association such as hiring them or accepting them as members of organizations. Boycotting, a special type of shunning, is specifically economic, neither selling to certain individuals nor buying from them.

2. Criticism is an alternative to shunning. Criticism is pointing out defects either in the person or in his products and then offering a superior alternative. Criticism may be either public or private.

3. Pre-emption is a second major alternative to shunning as a dominant strategy. Pre-emption can take several forms. In one form, a member of a movement may tell his general, non-movement audience that the individuals in the movement agree on the one goal that they all seek, but that otherwise they are as diverse as individuals in the remainder of society, so do not be surprised if you meet a wide variety of individuals bearing the same message. In a second form of pre-empting, a member of a movement might steer listeners who are outside the movement to the best sources of information about the movement's goals. This "positive" approach publicizes superior sources and thus indirectly draws attention from inferior sources of information about the movement's goals. In a third form of pre-empting, a member of a movement might single out particular false representatives of the movement and tell his audience why those individuals are false representatives as a contrast to the true representatives.

In summary, when I research particular movements, I will be looking for evidence, if any, that, outside of organizations, at least some members of each movement considered quality control to be important enough to take action. If they did take action to ensure quality, my next step will be to see what techniques they used. Last, I will try to assess the effectiveness of such efforts.

Burgess Laughlin
Author, The Power and the Glory: The Key Ideas and Crusading Lives of Eight Debaters of Reason vs. Faith