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Whatever Makes Humans Superior Makes Humans Slack
“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” – Friedrich Nietzche (1844–1900)
Despite the works of existential philosophers, Nietzche and Kierkegaard, we still continue to live in a world where we are comfortable being manipulated through rules in the social hierarchy of our civilisation: following crowds, moving in numbers, subservient to social pressures.
Growing as a population, safety is gained in numbers. By sharing resources, both the young and the old are healthy for the community to rise. When change is due, those who are forced to succumb can do nothing but follow those who rise up to the challenge. ‘Safety in numbers’, remember? Thus leaders are highly valued and sought after although some may be stronger pillars than others. Consequently, by looking after one another, members are content with their Lego bricks as they contribute to the architectural magnificence of society.
Let me introduce you to the internet-stars: lemmings
Among the mythical (and false) rumours that they commit suicide, there are the more logical theories of their social backbone that hint of more rational ways of thinking. However, it is undeniable that lemmings do leave their pack due to overpopulation, do jump into rivers, do drown and die. Despite this, they do not perform such acts to end their own lives; quite the contrary, in fact. As their community grows and their resources become scarce, the capable young are forced to leave their group due to the inferred social stress implemented upon them. Thus, in order for their community to continue living they must leave and find life elsewhere, afraid to object to change, in fear of even more change.
So how do they meet their demise with the adversity of nature? When they flee, they simply follow the most confident and capable (male) lemming. What else could they do? Perhaps they had considered the possibility of following the path of a lone wolf before the actuality of their size and (lack of) claws hit home. Thus, they can only (but) follow.
As a result, within the weird and wonderful Urban Dictionary, it is recorded:
Lemming [noun] (lem-ming)
1. A member of the crowd with no originality or voice of his own.
2. One who speaks or repeats only what he has been told to.
3. A tool.
4. A cretin.
An alternative metaphor to sheep
Many mammals at the top of their food chains are bound by such social upbringing, and humans are no different. When things need to be changed and that change is forced upon us, what can we do? Riots, protests, defensive actions, offensive actions... Surely if we have the people, we have the will power and if we have the will power, we have the strength. However, we must have a trigger before we can choose a leader and when times are hopeless, we are most desperate for one. So when one is graced upon us, we follow. Like sheep and like lemmings, we hold the hope that doing so will bring about stability, regardless of risks. (Although we require small doses of familiarity to convince us of choosing such an option, we ultimately succumb to the ironic familiarity of being led.) Of course, there will always exist those who wear red to a funeral, but let us just pretend that the circumstance we speak of is a world where standing out is no more than the attention-seeking method part of our seasonal trends.
The brilliant trends we have in modern society, which bloom in the media and internet, will prove to be a fantastic and relatable analogy where the behaviour mentioned above is most prominent. As Primark dresses their Barbie-like mannequins with the new season’s fashion trend, effectively replicating Selena Gomez’s latest wardrobe changes or Harry Styles’ new womaniser outfit, we may witness the scarily increasing dolls upon the streets. All manufactured from the same factory, they hold the same purpose but a slightly altered inner appeal private to its user.
However, humans have far surpassed the tactical survival skills of lemmings so we bring everything up a notch (or two, if you feel like the comparison of you and a lemming is an insult). When we follow trends and wish to blend in smoothly, we also wish to stand out: not as a deluded freak or a crazy dictator (though no doubt some would follow) but as a ‘unique’ individual. Few men and no women would want to see another person dressed in the exact same clothes. No artist wants to be caught with the same masterpiece as another. No leader wants to live in the shadow of its ancestor.
Human development has not only allowed us to progress with advanced technological and scientific feats but such evolutionary superiority has allowed us to develop in the on-going project of social digression. Having formed civilisations and nations, we have adapted our surroundings to ourselves, no longer needing to rely on variation and natural selection to be at the top of our game. No longer do we find survival a daily necessity. No longer is life to be lived.
Instead, we fill that void in our lives with delusions of pleasure and happiness – so-called sentiments drawn from materialism.
Of course, if your parents purchase a sleek and slender sports car for you, you may feel 'happy' or even ‘over the moon’. However, such 'happiness' is short-term; a lower pleasure, as some philosophers may say. There is the popular belief of "money can't buy happiness but it can buy things that makes you happy". Happiness or contentment or satisfaction (depending upon your standards) is a state of being one induces onto oneself. There are countless children's stories which portraits a joyful beggar against a despaired wealthy man. Surely such a story should be easily understood by the educated individuals of civilization, yet time and time again we manage to conjure up methods of justifying our pointless consumerist, materialistic and money-driven society.
At the end of the day, we do we live for? To get a decent (if not good) education, to be at ease in the social environment of a school, to get better grades than your rival, to go to university, to come out with nothing lower than a second honour, to get a job and slowly climb the social ladder to be able to afford the luxurious Apple products… And how have we come to such a conclusion?
Because it is the course of life. Because everyone does it. Because without it, our identity crumbles away to nothingness; a pile of ash incomparable even to lemmings. Lemmings that are herded away from their community, that unquestioningly follow the one that leads, whose slavery to society led to their demise.
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