Unconscious Bias: The Power and Risks of Societal Narratives
Societal narratives like the American Dream shape our reality and influence our actions. Yet they are incomplete and often distorted
Last Saturday was the Fourth of July, perhaps the most important holiday in terms of its significance to American identity, idealism, and its two and a half hundred years of history. Celebrated with fireworks, barbecues, and family get-togethers, it has become synonymous with patriotism and the love of all things American. At the heart of what the Fourth of July stands for is the story of American liberalism, which has been the preeminent lens through which American history and its present have been analyzed.
Although the exact interpretations vary depending on the time period and the political party, liberalism has generally been defined by the narratives of political equality, social and economic mobility, and the sanctity of the individual. Political equality emphasizes the right to participate in a functioning democracy, enshrined in the Constitution with the phrase “all men are created equal” under the law. Social and economic mobility reflects the ideal of an egalitarian society in which merit is rewarded and can be encapsulated in the story of the American Dream. Sanctity of the individual is a broad narrative that includes concepts like natural human rights and the right to private property, both of which have been marked by the spirit of rugged individualism within the nation.
Whether during the tribulations of the Early Republic, the struggle during the Civil War, or the economic prosperity of the 1950s, these three narratives have endured as a source of historical pride, defined our present identity, and served as a stream of optimism for the future for the average American. Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy In America, Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech and JFK’s rhetoric are but a few examples of the use of the story of American liberalism as an interpretation of our history, present, and future.
The emphasis of narratives reflects the general conscious or unconscious disposition of the public and the political process to view history and analyze the present using narratives and stories. Humans as a whole relate more with a narrative in which they are willing participants than impersonal facts. Examples of narratives range from the historical concept of Manifest Destiny in westward expansion to the present myth of the“glorious past” (think slogans like “Make America Great Again) to the narrative of inexorable automation in attempting to analyze the future.
On the macro level, social change and political change can thus be understood not only as a product of the objective reality but also guided and motivated by the influence of such narratives. For example, one can conceivably argue that the narrative of the American Dream had a tangible impact on creating and propagating a culture expecting inexhaustible and inevitable economic growth alongside a culture that deeply embraced consumerism. This can be seen specifically in the narrative’s emphasis on homeownership as an essential component and symbol of American individualism. While economic growth and population contributed to the surge in demand for living space, such an obsession for ownership over renting can be seen as a direct result of the influence of the American Dream.
With the objective reality and the perspective of the public constantly changing, narratives often adapt through subtle alterations or sometimes disappear in the public sphere altogether. When FDR proved during the Great Depression that government intervention in the markets can at least to an extent alleviate the downturns of the business cycle, the American liberal narrative shifted from the long-held belief that the invisible hand of laissez-faire economics triumphed over any government intervention held by classical economists, to a more Keynesian approach. Though different political parties in the following decades debated over the extent of government intervention, the base concept of government intervention in the markets as a possible force of good was assimilated into the overall narrative of American liberalism. The same could be said for the slow shift in the narrative of political equality away from just white landowning males to eventually include all races throughout American history. Meanwhile, the narrative of the mental inferiority of African Americans widely held during the late 19th to early 20th century by Americans has disappeared as a legitimate narrative after it was disproved shortly after the Second World War. In its place sprouted the now almost universally accepted narrative of the irrelevance of race with regard to intelligence. These are just a few examples of the shifts in narratives and changes of narratives throughout history.
In recent years the liberal narrative has come under increased question. The rise of illiberal quasi-democratic governments, coupled with the stagnation of the median household income and widening economic inequality undermine democratic values and socioeconomic mobility. Consumer privacy concerns threaten to violate an individual’s right to privacy. And while the 20th century was defined by the struggle between the narratives of liberalism, fascism, and communism, with liberalism being the de facto ideological survivor post-1990, distrust in the liberal narrative has left Americans uncertain and hopelessly nihilistic as a result of a lack of alternatives.
So what went wrong with the liberal narrative?
In subscribing to the validity of a narrative, an individual, community, or even a nation limits its view to a narrow aperture that filters the objective reality. Narratives ground the subjective reality of society, so when the objective reality doesn’t fit within the expectations of the narrative, society is unable to reconcile the difference between the two realities, and distrust in the narrative along with related narratives ensues. Returning to the example of homeownership in the American Dream, when the homeownership rate dropped to record lows during the Great Recession, Americans grew unsure of the tangibility of the American Dream, as a drop in homeownership conflicted with the American Dream narrative of inexhaustible long term economic growth and a trend of increasing homeownership. Not only did the validity of the American Dream come under question, but also the fundamental concept of American liberalism itself as the metanarrative. Thus, while the 2008 recession did increase economic uncertainty within the economy of the United States, the apparent contradiction to long-held optimistic narratives like the American Dream added to the pessimistic belief in the failure of the overall liberal narrative, as phrases like the “end of capitalism” were thrown around. In short, the narrative nature of the liberal story is what predicated such nihilism.
Hence, the fundamental problem with a society focused solely on narratives to interpret and act upon the past, present, and future is the assumption that narratives offer a complete image of reality. While narratives built on the observations of reality and truth, it is essential to remember that objective reality is far more complex and is not dictated by our artificially constructed and often oversimplified narrative. All narratives by definition require a perspective for interpretation and thus are inherently biased from the perspective-less reality. At best, they act similar to data-based models that attempt to describe a trend like the rapid growth of online business during the dot com boom, and at worst they act as propaganda tools for political power like xenophobic narratives of inferiority directed against immigrants.
Consequently, to mitigate the potentially damaging real-world effects of a biased and incomplete narrative, we must as a society analyze our commonly held narratives for its biases, mischaracterizations, and imperfections. In the end, narratives are simply stories and nothing more: tales that should be understood but not used as the predominant lens through which we formulate our opinions and perspectives.
