Conformism is a form of behavior in which an individual does not oppose himself to society, trying to comply with its norms as much as possible. On the one hand, this quality is useful for socialization, but on the other hand, it can cause personal degradation.
Who are the conformists?
Conformists are people who are welcome in any community, since they resignedly accept any rules and norms, easily abandoning their own principles and values in favor of society. A certain level of conformism is inherent in most people, since without this quality it is impossible to effectively exist in human society. In addition, conformism is a fairly effective defensive reaction, allowing a person not to draw undue attention to himself.
A striking example of conformism is given by Hans Christian Andersen in the fairy tale "The King's New Dress", where a small child was the only non-conformist.
However, as is the case with most phenomena, there are also downsides to conformist behavior. First of all, this is a voluntary refusal of the opportunity to have your own opinion. If a person is so strongly interested in being accepted into a particular social group that he is always ready to sacrifice his point of view, this means a significant degradation of the personality. In the end, such people become incapable of independent thinking and evaluating facts, phenomena or events. Paradoxically, society also suffers from conformists, since lack of initiative, inertia, passivity of its members leads to stagnation.
Many psychologists, such as Erich Fromm, believed that conformism is the price people are willing to pay to get rid of loneliness, although this destroys their "I".
Fighting passivity
To defeat the conformist in oneself, one must not be afraid of public reaction to one's own opinion, even if it does not coincide with the point of view of the majority. Of course, society educates conformists, instilling that initiative is punishable, but on the other hand, it is society that ultimately encourages initiative individuals when they achieve success.
Much attention must be paid to the awareness of their own freedoms. What distinguishes humans from animals is, in particular, the ability to make decisions not for reasons of survival, dictated by the instinct of self-preservation, but on the basis of moral and ethical principles. It is foolish not to use this ability, leaving society to make the choice for you. Conformity doesn't make people more successful, richer, or more interesting. The only thing it brings is calmness and confidence in the future, but it is the calmness of swamp water. Only bright and strong personalities are able to achieve the heights of a career and recognition, while they are guided only by their own interests, and not by public ones. You can fight comfortism by constantly reminding people that their personality is no less important and valuable than public opinion. Unfortunately, those individuals who are capable of independent choice, and so have the necessary share of non-conformism, and people who voluntarily renounced freedom, it is very difficult to convince.
