Episode Details

Welcome to Based Camp! In this episode, Malcolm and Simone Collins dive deep into the controversial topic of "us-versus-them" mindsets. Why is this behavior so often villainized in modern culture? Are there situations where group identity and rivalry are not only natural but necessary? The hosts explore the roots of group dynamics, the role of stereotypes, the impact of cultural and political polarization, and how these forces shape our society. They also discuss the double standards in how group pride is celebrated or condemned, the effects of AI and media on social divides, and the future of identity in an increasingly balkanized world. Whether you agree or disagree, this episode will challenge your assumptions and spark thoughtful debate.

Malcolm Collins: Hello Simone. It's exciting to be here with you today. Today we are going to be discussing. Us versus them mindsets. '

Simone Collins (3): cause

Malcolm Collins: when I, you know, sometimes I'll post transcript of our episodes into, you know, AI to see what it thinks of the arguments that we're

Simone Collins (2): using.

Oh no. And it just accuses you of us versus, and, and the most

Malcolm Collins: frequent complaint I get Yeah. Is it uses the quote unquote fallacy of an UPS versus them mindset. A fallacy, and I'm like a, it's a mindset.

Simone Collins (2): How is a mindset invalidated, even if it's like an evil mindset? It's not, no, they don't even call it a mindset.

Malcolm Collins: They call it a a, a psychological bias, an us versus them psychological bias. And so we'll get into like why ai. Think that this is such a bad thing, because I hear it even more from AI than I do from typical urban monocultural people. But I do see it from the urban monoculture. We'll be like, oh, well that's the us versus them, you know, fallacy or whatever, or bias or you know, psychological, and I'm like.

This is actually really messed up. And I would argue that the core reason why us versus them has been so widely framed as a bias is because it allows members of any, any potential group and the urban monoculture has evolved this as a framework. The urban monoculture is sort of what other people call, like woke or broadly progressivism.

It allows. And, and what's what's interesting is, is they will tell you, don't use an US versus a mindset while using it themselves when talking about the deplorables or, or, or, or Trump voters or something like that. Right? Hundred percent. Yeah. Like clearly they have an US versus mindset, but then they will tell you, Hey, you know, you, you can't adopt this mindset.

And it's a strategy that specifically evolved to prevent you from seeing them as the enemy and rallying around opposing them. There is a them and they are working against your interests. Like, this is the thing and this is why I'm so against this. Hey, I hate us versus them. It makes sense for you as a human to divide humanity into groups that oppose your interests and groups that are aligned with your interests.

Because there are groups that are opposed to your interest and even more than just groups that are opposed to your interests. There are, groups that are explicitly around, you know, whether it's racial or gender or ethnocultural groups that have a banded together specifically so that people like them can outcompete people like you, right?

And they make it, the urban monoculture makes it. The most punishable for individuals within the groups that it met. It victimizes most frequently to create a group identity as an us to oppose any them. Mm-hmm. So, recently there was a post I saw that I saw it was really shocking that somebody just nakedly had a publication turned down because the paper right now was not taking publications from white men.

We're just not gonna do that. No, no,