Unanimous Agreement Is Not Necessarily The Right Agreement

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 22 August 2025 A few days ago, I stumbled upon a line in the editorial of a Calcutta-based broadsheet, The Telegraph. It was: "Unanimous agreement is not necessarily the right agreement; nor can right agreement necessarily be arrived at by majority vote." This is M. Scott Peck's famous statement. In his profound quote, M. Scott Peck emphasizes the fallibility of unanimous agreement and majority vote as indicators of rightness. Peck challenges the commonly held assumption that unanimity or a majority vote automatically equates to correctness. He suggests that the truth and correctness of a decision or opinion are not determined by the number of people who agree with it. Peck implies that true agreement lies beyond the realm of numbers and statistics – it requires thoughtful reflection, critical thinking, and open-mindedness. Right agreement cannot be achieved merely through democratic processes but often demands a deeper understanding, empathy, and the courage to challenge groupthink and conformity. Peck's insightful words serve as a reminder that genuine agreement is contingent upon a shared search for truth and the willingness to consider alternative perspectives, rather than relying solely on the consensus of others. The whole phenomenon is also called The Fallacy of Majority that often functions in tandem with The Fallacy of Duration. If eighty percent of the world's population believe that there's some imaginary god up there in the sky, it cannot be the Gospel or Oracular Truth. Majority is no proof of certainty. Duration and population are never the indicators of truth. A very large majority may like a certain political leader (as this is the reality of existing times), but whether he is really so good remains to be answered. One more example from the everyday context will buttress the point. This year, the iconic film 'Sholay' has completed fifty years. People are going gaga over it, but a handful of knowledgeable cine-goers and critics panned it even fifty years ago because it wasn't an original film. 'Sholay' drew inspiration from several Hollywood movies, primarily Westerns, and was not a direct remake of any single film. It blends elements from Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954), Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), and other Spaghetti Westerns. The film also incorporates ideas from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Wild Bunch (1969). Additionally, the train robbery scene is inspired by the British film North West Frontier (1959). Salim-Javed just adapted them to the Indian context. It was a classic case of Idhar Ki Eent, Udhar Ka Roda, Bhanumati Ka Kunba Joda. Yet, it became a cult movie because the majority of cine-goers liked it. Rafi remained sad till the end because what he and the connoisseurs of music considered to be his finest numbers, never became so popular among the masses. Never forget that the masses are the asses who remain forever different from the classes. They can never be the arbiters of quality and genuineness. Period. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/unanimous-agreement-right/d/136563 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism