Jul

8

Tribe vs. Cause

Filed Under Life's Journey 

TribeEver since I started working at Foursquare (six years ago) and getting inside the culture and familiarity of all that it means to “be” Foursquare, I’ve been mildly observant of tribalism. The concept of loyalty and identification with a particular group of people–for the sake first and foremost of those same people–seems to be rare these days. This is especially true in the U.S. where individualism is so prevalent.

My hunch has been that humanity’s steady departure from tribalism is being replaced by our fascination with causes. Religion, poverty, the environment, education, health care, deadly diseases, water supply, public transportation, are all becoming rallying points for people to come together. Because we’re not already together as a tribe, we’re coming together instead around a cause.

A slightly contradicting viewpoint comes from one of my favorite magazines, The Economist. They recently wrote about how Americans are increasingly choosing to live among like-minded neighbors. The article refers several times to a new book out by Bill Bishop called The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart.

Needless to say the book is on order. And my thinking about tribalism continues.

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