Ashes of Truth: Asch’s Conformity Experiment, Postmodernism, and the Modern Crisis of Meaning

In 1951, Solomon Asch conducted an experiment that would become a classic in social psychology—a chilling demonstration of how easily human beings bend to social pressure. In his now-famous conformity study, Asch showed that individuals could be persuaded to deny the evidence of their own eyes if doing so meant aligning with the consensus of a group. The experiment was simple: participants were asked to compare the length of lines on a chart. The correct answer was obvious—until everyone else in the room (secretly working with the experimenter) began unanimously giving the wrong answer. The question: would the lone subject conform?

A startling number did.

At the time, the experiment was a statement about the dangers of conformity in the shadow of fascism and McCarthyism. It warned us how social pressure could dissolve critical thought, dissolve personal judgment, and even dissolve reality. But today, Asch’s experiment casts its shadow in a new and perhaps more insidious way—over the postmodern West, where meaning itself is now subject to consensus and emotional preference rather than objective reality.

The problem is no longer just that people are afraid to disagree with the group. The problem now is that the group can change what words mean—and shame or erase anyone who insists on objective reference. This is where Asch’s psychological findings meet the linguistic and philosophical underpinnings of the liberal postmodern project. It is where Asch meets Wittgenstein.

Asch, Solomon E.

Asch’s Legacy: The Power of Social Perception

To understand the contemporary relevance of Asch’s study, one must grasp what he revealed: not just that people will lie to go along with others, but that they may begin to believe the lie. Reality, as perceived by the individual, becomes porous under collective pressure. The line isn’t just “called” longer—it is longer if everyone says so. We like to believe we are rational, truth-seeking creatures. But Asch reminded us that we are also tribal animals, more concerned with belonging than with being right.

Now fast forward to the 21st century. Truth is no longer just socially pressured—it is socially constructed. Enter postmodernism.

Postmodernism: Deconstructing Truth

Postmodern thought, as developed by figures like Derrida, Foucault, and Lyotard, argues that all narratives—including science, law, and history—are socially and politically constructed. There is no absolute truth, only competing perspectives. Language is not a window to the world, but a game of signs referring to other signs in an infinite regress.

But the roots of this idea go back even further to Ludwig Wittgenstein, especially his later work Philosophical Investigations. Wittgenstein argued that the meaning of words is not fixed, but derived from their use in specific “language games.” That is, language doesn’t point to an external reality so much as it functions within the rules of its cultural or social context. “Meaning is use,” he famously declared.

Postmodern liberals and progressive activists have adopted this view wholesale, often without realizing it. When they insist that gender is a “social construct,” that truth is “lived experience,” or that words like “violence” can apply to speech itself, they are playing Wittgenstein’s language games. But they are also creating a new Asch experiment, where the fear of social nonconformity compels silence—and eventually belief.

From Lines on a Page to Lines in Society

Imagine a modern-day Asch experiment, but instead of lines on a page, participants are shown a tweet or a corporate memo that says: “Men can get pregnant.” The claim is biologically absurd. But the social pressure to agree is intense—job loss, ostracism, or even accusations of “hate speech” can follow dissent. And so, many people nod along. Some even believe.

This is the new conformity: not driven by authoritarian force, but by social signaling and digital consensus. It is not enough to tolerate; you must affirm. Not enough to remain neutral; you must repeat the language. And as Wittgenstein predicted, the repetition of language alters perception. Eventually, “pregnant man” becomes just another sign in the game, its absurdity erased through constant use.

What began as a philosophy of skepticism has become an ideology of control. What began as a way to liberate language from rigid structures now imprisons meaning in shifting sands.

Liberalism’s Identity Crisis

Classic liberalism—rooted in Enlightenment rationalism—valued free speech, open debate, and the search for objective truth. But modern liberalism, infected by postmodernism, increasingly denies the possibility of truth altogether. It champions subjective identity over empirical fact, social harmony over intellectual honesty.

The irony is painful: in attempting to prevent oppression, postmodern liberalism has built a conformity machine that Asch would instantly recognize. The mechanisms are different, but the effect is the same: deny what you see, if what you see is forbidden by the group.

And worse—while Asch’s participants knew they were lying, many modern conformists genuinely believe the new truths. This is not hypocrisy. It is epistemological collapse.

A Return to Meaning: The Need for Anchors

If we are to recover from this crisis of meaning, we must return to the belief that words point to reality—that they are not infinitely malleable tokens in a game. We must also recover the moral courage to dissent from the group, even when it is easier to conform. That means returning to the foundations of liberalism before it was overtaken by relativism.

We must say, with Orwellian clarity, that two plus two equals four, even if the whole party says otherwise.

Solomon Asch warned us of this. Wittgenstein opened the door to it. And the postmodern world has built its kingdom on the foundation of linguistic quicksand. But truth is not a social construct—it is a beacon. And we must start using language to reveal it again.

Conclusion: The Courage to See

In Asch’s experiment, a few participants refused to conform. They saw the lines for what they were and spoke the truth. Today, doing the same takes greater courage, because the lie is no longer confined to a laboratory. It is embedded in institutions, in media, and even in law.

But truth has not vanished. It has simply been buried beneath the word games. To recover it, we must teach the young not just to read and write, but to mean. To see what is true, and say so.

Even when everyone else says the line is longer.