Beyond Bounds Blog

Collective societies, such as in Asia, hold a majority bias, meaning that the majority is always right and it is up to the minority to fit in. This seems completely unfair in western eyes, but our thinking is based on equality not utility. Westerners put extra weight on minority opinion to counter a majority domination.

I never realized the implications this has on society until recently. The national collectivism and majority consciousness funnels down to affect micro-level social interactions, to the point where it influences even small groups.

On the large scale we see Chinese majority bias when it comes to race. There are 50+ different races of Chinese, and yet only Han Chinese can become the leaders of society. I’ve asked many people if they think that a minority could take a position of power high up in the government, and I’ve gotten a unanimous “no,” usually with a smirk to say that it is an absurd idea.

At the micro-level even the most basic group scenarios make it impossible to branch out and do your own thing - not that anyone would want to do that anyway.  Here’s a recent example:

There is a student organization called AIESEC. This is an international organization with a strong presence in China. The organization’s goals are to help students go abroad through internships. The AIESEC in Beijing has hundreds of members - it’s pretty intense.

I have been to two separate events with them in the last two months. Their events always have an amazing turnout and are very focused; however, the majority bias creates a very peculiar situation: The events are supposed to not only be for the Chinese students, but also for the foreign students as a mixer and to promote multicultural learning. They have a special part of the event called “global village” in which everyone is supposed to show off their own culture and people are supposed to interact.

The focus of the events I’ve been to was very obvious - Chinese students and Chinese interest. The foreigners were told to stand in the back with their flags and smiling faces until the global village starts, in which Chinese students walk around in amusement at the foreigners and their presentations. They have fun in their own way, but still feel as if they are being international.

Even if there were only 1 foreigner in the group, an American event would keep the international theme and create a comfortable and equal environment for both sides, even if it means 1 = 100. They would probably put this one person in charge of a large part of the event, or at least give him a huge chunk of time to speak.

I don’t believe that Chinese look down on foreigners, nor do they not care about them, but rather due to their mindset they see the situation in a completely different light. Chinese do things more utilitarian. If it is obviously one sided from a numbers perspective, they will cater completely to the Chinese side, even if it means that the foreigners decide to never participate again. For instance, Chinese students obviously are used to and enjoy a completely different kind of group party environment than westerners are - such as corny slogans and dances - so the organizers decide to center the entire event around this (not to mention speaking in Chinese).

This doesn’t just have to do with foreigners either, but any situation that there is a majority vs a minority. When out with friends (which usually means workmates here), if the majority wants to do something it will be done. And by something, I don’t mean “let’s eat pizza” vs “let’s eat Mexican food”, although in America this usually ends up with one group getting Mexican and taking it to go, or the other way around. I mean that if the majority wants to drink alcohol, it is very difficult for someone to step up and say “i don’t want to drink,” and very rare for anyone to even try.

To a collective mind, the majority is society. If you break from the majority too often or too harshly, you are seen as not wanting to be a part of society. They won’t whip you for not wanting to participate, but you have to face the consequences and lose the benefits. These benefits in a collective culture mean security through friendships, and that is the golden ticket here.

Understanding this is one thing, but actually accepting it and going along with it is quite another for me or any westerner. And actually this is where we have an inherent disadvantage when trying to become a part of this society.

It is not because we are seen as outsiders that they treat us so, but rather because we see ourselves as outsiders and act as such.