Is group polarization bad?
Of enclave deliberationOf course we cannot say, from the mere fact of group polarization, that there has been a movement in the wrong direction. Notwithstanding some of the grotesque examples given here, the more extreme tendency might be better rather than worse. Indeed, group polarization helped fuel many movements of great value–including, for example, the civil rights movement, the antislavery movement, and the movement for sex equality. Each of these movements was extreme in its time, and within-group discussion certainly bred greater extremism; but extremism should not be a word of opprobrium. If greater communications choices produce greater extremism, society may, in many cases, be better off as a result. One reason is that when many different groups are deliberating with one another, society will hear a far wider range of views as a result. Even if the “information diet” of many individuals is homogeneous or insufficiently diverse, society as a whole might have a more richer
