Dissension occurs when two different positions confront each other.
Dissension occurs when two or more people do not share the same point of view , opinion or objective . The term refers to that opposition that arises when there is no coincidence in opinion.
Different postures
In general, dissent is considered something positive or healthy . The lack of uniformity in thought demonstrates the existence of independent and autonomous positions and the right to think differently.
However, in some areas, dissent is harmful and even harmful . In the highest positions of a government , to mention one case, there should be no dissension since the policies established to manage public affairs could be contradictory to each other.
On the other hand, it must be considered that the authorities sometimes censor dissent to avoid rebellions or to avoid losing power . This is common in authoritarian or non-democratic regimes.
Examples in politics
Take the case of the president of a nation who decides to prevent the development of opposition demonstrations . The president appeals to the security forces to prevent people from gathering and marching in the streets, thus making it impossible to express dissent.
Within a political party, meanwhile, dissension is caused by the divergent positions of its members on certain issues. Suppose that some leaders are in favor of the legalization of abortion, while others reject it. As can be seen, there is dissension within the party in question because there is no agreement among its members regarding the legal possibility of terminating pregnancy .
Etymology and synonyms
Like many other terms in our language, dissension has its origin in Latin, more precisely in the noun dissensio , which can be defined as "the action and effect of a disagreement between two or more individuals whose feelings regarding a given issue They are different." By carefully observing this Latin word, we can notice the presence of the following three lexical components: the prefix dis- (which denotes "divergence"), the noun sensus (which means "sense") and the suffix -ción (which indicates " action and effect»).
That said, we can take a look at some of its synonyms, which can be used to give more richness to our speech if we need to use the same concept on more than one occasion. Among the most common we can highlight the following: divergence , dissent, disagreement, disagreement, discord , dissent and disagreement . Let us remember that not all of them can replace the noun dissent in any context, but the replacement must be made with attention to the nuances of each particular case.
A dissension can also be a quarrel.
If we look for the term in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, we will see that its second meaning defines it as a "contest." For this meaning, therefore, we can propose a second list of synonyms, which is the following: altercation, quarrel and dispute . In this case we can understand that the opposition goes beyond a difference of ideas and becomes a discussion with a certain degree of violence, which varies in each situation. We could talk about different degrees of dissent , this being the highest, since it can have negative consequences for its participants, even if only in their interpersonal relationship.
Finally, we cannot fail to mention the possible antonyms of the word dissension , whose meanings can also provide us with tools to achieve greater understanding. The two most used are concord and agreement . The first is defined as “union, conformity,” and is also included in the adverbial phrase concordia , which means “by common agreement.” The second, for its part, indicates "an agreement" reached by two or more individuals.