Summary of Yascha Mounk's The Great Experiment

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I believe that the best way to avoid dangerous forms of tribalism is to remain resolutely individualistic. I thought that the age of nationalism would eventually give way to an era of cosmopolitanism, in which we cared about those around us rather than those with whom we shared blood.

#2 Our tendency to form groups is what makes us humans, and it is what has enabled us to accomplish some of the greatest things in history. But it is also what has led to the worst chapters in human history.

#3 The study of groups was started by the Polish psychologist Henri Tajfel. He would create groups that were so devoid of meaning that none of their members would favor their own. Then, he would add more features to these groups, observing when they crossed the magical threshold that made their members willing to discriminate against outsiders.

#4 The tendency to form groups and discriminate against out-groups is in all of us. We may think of ourselves as individualists who want to be fair towards everyone, but in reality we are willing to help the underestimators against the overestimators.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822507920

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Yascha Mounk's The Great Experiment

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I believe that the best way to avoid dangerous forms of tribalism is to remain resolutely individualistic. I thought that the age of nationalism would eventually give way to an era of cosmopolitanism, in which we cared about those around us rather than those with whom we shared blood.

#2

Our tendency to form groups is what makes us humans, and it is what has enabled us to accomplish some of the greatest things in history. But it is also what has led to the worst chapters in human history.

#3

The study of groups was started by the Polish psychologist Henri Tajfel. He would create groups that were so devoid of meaning that none of their members would favor their own. Then, he would add more features to these groups, observing when they crossed the magical threshold that made their members willing to discriminate against outsiders.

#4

The tendency to form groups and discriminate against out-groups is in all of us. We may think of ourselves as individualists who want to be fair towards everyone, but in reality we are willing to help the underestimators against the overestimators.

#5

The past hundred years have shown us that the most deadly conflicts are not always motivated by groups that are as arbitrary as those created by Tajfel. Many of the most deadly conflicts have been driven by real differences in attributes that have persisted for a very long time.

#6

The groups that are most important in real life are typically deeply meaningful entities that track natural, biological, or longstanding historical distinctions. However, many claims about the average differences between members of different groups are significantly overstated

Reviews for Summary of Yascha Mounk's The Great Experiment

[Andrew Rommes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good book, good read, very contampory and and an excellent summary