The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

Understand: The social force is neither positive nor negative. It is
simply a physiological part of our nature. Many aspects of this force
that evolved so long ago are quite dangerous in the modern world. For
instance, the deep suspicion we tend to feel toward outsiders to our
group, and our need to demonize them, evolved among our earliest
ancestors because of the tremendous dangers of infectious diseases
and the aggressive intentions of rival hunter-gatherers. But such group
reactions are no longer relevant in the twenty-first century. In fact,
with our technological prowess, they can be the source of our most
violent and genocidal behavior. In general, to the degree that the social

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force tends to degrade our ability to think independently and
rationally, we can say it exerts a downward pull into more primitive
ways of behaving, unsuited to modern conditions.
The social force, however, can be used and shaped for positive
purposes, for high-level cooperation and empathy, for an upward pull,
which we experience when we create something together in a group.
The problem we face as social animals is not that we experience this
force, which occurs automatically, but that we are in denial of its
existence. We become influenced by others without realizing it.
Accustomed to unconsciously following what others say and do, we
lose the ability to think for ourselves. When faced with critical
decisions in life, we simply imitate what others have done or listen to
people who parrot conventional wisdom. This can lead to many
inappropriate decisions. We also lose contact with what makes us
unique, the source of our power as individuals (see chapter 13 for more
on this).
Some people, aware of these tendencies in our nature, may choose
to rebel and become nonconformists. But this can be equally mindless
and self-destructive. We are social creatures. We depend on our ability
to work with others. Rebelling for its own sake will simply marginalize
us.
What we need more than anything is group intelligence. This
intelligence includes a thorough understanding of the effect that
groups have on our thinking and emotions; with such awareness, we
can resist the downward pull. It also includes understanding how
human groups operate according to certain laws and dynamics, which
can make it easier to navigate through such spaces. With such
intelligence, we can do a delicate dance—we can become gifted social
actors and outwardly fit in, while inwardly maintaining some distance
and some mental space to think for ourselves. With this degree of
independence, we can make decisions in life that are appropriate to
who we are and our circumstances.
To acquire this intelligence, we must study and master the two
aspects of the social force outlined above—the individual effect of
groups on us and the patterns and dynamics that groups will almost
always tend to fall into.
The Individual Effect

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