Groups Hold Their Own

In Infotopia Sunstein states that a group is more likely to hold onto a failing idea than an individual is. An individual often has a freer ability to change an opinion or position. Say someone doesn't think people should have health care until they see someone suffering without it, so they change their opinion. Members of a group however, are generally united by an idea, and therefore, are more likely to stand firm in their ideas. Even individuals within the group may be especially unlikely to change their opinions because they are afraid to go against the other group members. This seems to be a common idea in the world of politics. Politicians belong to parties and can be seen as traitors by other party members if they don't vote a certain way or challenge an opinion of the party. And any ideas that have been put into place already are defended by the party where the originated whether or not they are actually working. One possible explanation for this is that it is more difficult to scrap a plan that a group is so heavily invested into. Even an individual has a tough time of letting go of an idea they have pursued already, but with a group, a lot more people need to break from the original plan, and this totally delays or even kills the process. A lot of political policy likely only remains within certain policies because it is too hard to convince a majority to let go of what they have worked on for so long.