Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Conformity"

The meaning of "Conformity" in various phrases and sentences

Q: O que significa The intellectual conformity of American life is the most dangerous enemy of democracy. ?
A: Conformity is when people do what others do, just because that seems normal. "Intellectual conformity" is similar but on the intellectual level, i.e. people think what other people think because that seems normal.

Examples:
- Almost everyone votes for either the Democratic Party or the Republican party. They do this because others do this too (and because the electoral system makes it hard for small parties to be relevant). But this is not good for democracy.
- Many people think that "social democracy", welfare, etc are bad things. Some people do that because they have reasons, but most people who think this just do that because most other people think this too. So they refuse these concepts, even though it would be good for the average people to use more elements of these. This is very well summarized by intellectual giant and historian Tony Judt in http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/12/17/what-is-living-and-what-is-dead-in-social-democrac/ :

> Americans would like things to be better. According to public opinion surveys in recent years, everyone would like their child to have improved life chances at birth. They would prefer it if their wife or daughter had the same odds of surviving maternity as women in other advanced countries. They would appreciate full medical coverage at lower cost, longer life expectancy, better public services, and less crime. When told that these things are available in Austria, Scandinavia, or the Netherlands, but that they come with higher taxes and an “interventionary” state, many of those same Americans respond: “But that is socialism! We do not want the state interfering in our affairs. And above all, we do not wish to pay more taxes.”

Meanings and usages of similar words and phrases

Latest words

conformity

HiNative is a platform for users to exchange their knowledge about different languages and cultures.

Newest Questions
Newest Questions (HOT)
Trending questions