Functional Stupidity Is a Real Cancer in Organizations and Society

Carlo M. Cipolla, in his iconic essay on human stupidity, classified people into four major groups:

• The intelligent → Benefit both others and themselves.
• The naive → Help others but harm themselves.
• The evil → Benefit themselves at the expense of others.
• The stupid → Harm both others and themselves without any logic.

While this classification is brutally accurate, I believe there is a phenomenon even more dangerous than stupidity in its purest form: functional stupidity.

Unlike common stupidity, which is spontaneous and uncontrollable, functional stupidity is structural, incentivized, and in many cases, institutionalized. It occurs when individuals or groups — who are not necessarily foolish by nature — act stupidly because the system they are in requires them to do so.

In other words, it happens when a person with the ability to reason chooses not to because questioning, challenging, or seeking innovative solutions is either inconvenient or not allowed.

The Impact on Society: An Anesthetized Population

Political and media systems have perfected the art of functional stupidity. Simplistic ideas are repeated, blind obedience is rewarded, and critical thinking is punished. The result? A society where conformity is encouraged, and those who challenge the status quo are discredited.

There are countless examples:

• Politicians who make absurd decisions because that’s what the “party line” dictates.
• Citizens who vote against their own interests because propaganda convinced them it was the right thing to do.
• Media outlets that don’t inform but instead shape opinions with pre-packaged narratives.

The problem is that functional stupidity becomes contagious. The more it is normalized, the harder it is to escape from it.

The Impact on Businesses: The “That’s How We’ve Always Done It” Syndrome

Businesses are not exempt from this issue. In fact, many organizations take it to the extreme:

• Bureaucracy and blind obedience are rewarded, while creativity and efficiency are not.
• Unnecessary procedures exist solely to justify useless positions.
• Irrational decisions are made because “that’s what the manual says” or because “we shouldn’t rock the boat.”

The difference between a smart company and a stupid one is that the former questions, evolves, and learns.

The Big Difference: Intelligence vs. Stupidity

The fundamental difference between an intelligent person and a stupid one is not IQ or level of education. It is their ability to make decisions that create value.

• An intelligent person thinks about consequences and seeks to improve the system.
• A stupid person mindlessly repeats patterns, even if they harm everyone, including themselves.

The solution lies in rewarding functional intelligence, meaning intelligence that challenges the status quo to generate improvements. However, this requires breaking down structures that were designed precisely to prevent this from happening.

The question is: how much longer will we tolerate this epidemic of functional stupidity before doing something about it?

Francisco Cobos

🐢 “Poc a Poc” (Little by Little)