Gadfly (social)
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"Gadfly" is a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by proving an irritant.
The term "gadfly" was coined by Plato to describe Socrates' relationship of uncomfortable goad to the Athenian politician scene, which he compared to a slow and dimwitted horse. The term has been used to describe many politicians and social commentators.
During his defence when on trial for his life, Plato wrote that Socrates pointed out that dissent, like the tiny (relative to the size of a horse) gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high. "If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me" because his role was that of a gadfly, "to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth."
Modern examples
- Electronic Engineering Times, an EDA magazine, had a column, Industry Gadfly, that hosted articles of controversy.
- Michael Moore typifies a contemporary gadfly, irritating conservatives with controversial questions and accusations.
- Ralph Nader irritates both the political left and right, and made his name as an irritant of big business interests.
- David Orchard, a left-wing political maverick who challenged Canada's right-wing forces to abrogate the North American Free Trade Agreement by twice attempting to become leader of the conservatives.
- Marilyn Manson, a music artist and band that is often controversial.
- Internet trolls, while often thought of as an irritant, sometimes claim to be serving the purpose of dispelling groupthink.
- Christopher Hitchens, a British author who is critical of those on the political left and right in both Britain and America.