# II: The Group Process: The Collective Idea explained — The New State

> Chapter companion for The New State by Mary Parker Follett.

## What happens

This chapter explores the group process through the metaphor of a committee meeting, arguing that genuine collective thinking produces a group idea that is more than the sum of individual contributions. It emphasizes the interpenetration of ideas, the necessity of full individual participation without compromise or domination, and the transformation of the self into a 'we' that identifies with the whole. The chapter rejects majority rule as a substitute for true group consensus and critiques passive or domineering behaviors.

## Themes in this chapter

### Group Process as the Foundation of True Democracy

The chapter centers on the committee meeting as a model for creating a genuine group idea through interpenetration of individual contributions, rejecting compromise and majority rule.

### Critique of Individualism and Particularism

Criticizes the craving for personal recognition and the notion of individual triumph, advocating for group satisfaction and the transformation of 'I' into 'we'.

### Rejection of Crowd Psychology and Mass Rule

Explicitly rejects majority rule as a substitute for true group consensus, emphasizing that passive or coerced agreement does not produce a genuine group idea.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

Describes the group process using first-person perspective and personal experience in committee meetings.

### We the People

Represents the collective 'we' that emerges from the group process, embodying the united will.

### Mr. A

Used as an example of a committee member whose idea interpenetrates with others to form the group idea.

### Mr. E. H. Harriman

Cited as a negative example of forced cooperation, demanding compliance rather than genuine group thinking.

### Mr. X

Mentioned as someone who talks so well that it stifles further discussion, illustrating a behavior to avoid in group process.

## Key lines

> I go to a committee meeting in order that all together we may create a group idea, an idea which will be better than any one of our ideas alone, moreover which will be better than all of our ideas added together.

The purpose of a committee meeting is to generate a collective idea that surpasses any individual idea or their sum.

_Introduces the core concept of the group process as creative synthesis._

> Thus even the passing of a unanimous vote by a group of five does not prove the existence of a group idea if two or three (or even one) out of indifference or laziness or prejudice, or shut-upness, or a misconception of their function, have not added their individual thought to the creation of the group thought.

A unanimous vote does not indicate a true group idea if any member has not actively contributed their own thinking.

_Emphasizes that genuine group consensus requires active participation from all._

> Compromise is still on the same plane as fighting. War will continue—between capital and labor, between nation and nation—until we relinquish the ideas of compromise and concession.

Compromise is merely a refined form of conflict; true cooperation requires moving beyond it.

_Critiques compromise as insufficient for genuine group unity._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/ii-the-group-process-the-collective-idea
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_new_state_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters