Dr. Robert Malone, who got a reputation as a skeptic over the ruling class COVID response, has penned a piece on “The Madness of Groupthink.” To which I would say: Yes, but. Says he:
Irving Janis developed the concept of groupthink to explain the disordered decision-making process that occurs in groups whose members work together over an extended period of time. His research into groupthink led to the wide acceptance of the power of peer pressure.
Problem is that in a group there “develops an illusion of invulnerability,” plus too much confidence “in the inherent accuracy of the group’s beliefs,” and a tendency to pressure members towards unanimity, and “mindguard” against dissent.
And when you have a long-established bureaucracy there’s a tendency to do real stupid stuff, because of the illusion of expertise. Because everyone agrees, right?
Rather obviously this applied to government bureaucracies all over the world in the COVID response.
But I started to think about why human groups would tend to develop “groupthink.” There must be a pro-social reason, otherwise it would have been selected against. So my guess is that, for a military “band of brothers,” the groupthink and unanimity and confidence in the group is necessary to march to war and win the battle.
But, I judge that the groupthink culture doesn’t work at the strategic level. Tactically, for the next battle, you either win or you lose, so the groupthink either wins or the group is outta here.
Strategy is different; it takes creativity. It requires looking at all sides of the situation. It needs a “Team B” to critique the plans of the leader’s clique. And, of course, it requires “us” to learn about “them,” the enemy. But bureaucracies don’t do that: not government bureaucracies, not corporate bureaucracies, not military bureaucracies. Bureaucracies are not strategic; they are “same old same old.” Until they get run over by a truck.