Are individual opinions of value?

Individual opinions are not of value because opinions don’t improve society, sometimes they make things worse

Question: Are individual opinions of value?
Position‹2 of 2: No, individual opinions are not of value.
Argument‹2 of 2: Individual opinions are not of value because opinions don’t improve society, sometimes they make things worse

Differences in opinions cause society to be divided, prejudices to be formed, and people to be hostile towards one another, which doesn't improve society. Without individual opinions, there would be unity and peace in society. Thus, individual opinions are not of value.

The argument

This argument holds that opinions do not improve society and sometimes make it worse, and it traces the damage through a single mechanism. Opinions start arguments, and those arguments have divided society through prejudice. The division is not incidental to disagreement but produced by it: once a view is held and asserted, it sorts people into those who share it and those who do not. If individuals could come together as a whole and agree on everything, then there wouldn't be division at all. Prejudice is the specific harm the argument identifies, and it is defined by the sequence in which it forms. A person is prejudiced when they have formed an attitude toward a particular social group of people before having enough information on which to form a knowledgeable opinion — the judgement comes first and the evidence, if it arrives, is fitted to it. Negative prejudice is when that attitude is hostile toward members of a group, which fails to improve the peace and cohesion of society. The reach of the problem is what makes it general rather than occasional. Groups that are the targets of prejudice may be distinguished by any of several characteristics, such as religion, ethnicity, language, social class, gender, physical abilities, age, or sexual orientation, and frequently they are distinguished by specific inherited physical characteristics such as skin colour. These are not things a person chooses or can change in response to the judgement passed on them. Opinions that judge people therefore make them uncomfortable and unhappy, and judging people on inherited characteristics makes them sad. On this argument, individual opinions are not of value for that reason: without them, people would have more energy to work, to study, and to live with happiness.

Premises

[P1]Opinions spark arguments that divide society through prejudice — attitudes formed against a group before there is enough information to judge fairly. [P2] Opinions that judge people by inherited characteristics like ethnicity or skin colour make them uncomfortable and unhappy, undermining social peace and cohesion. [P3] Without such divisive, judgemental opinions people would have more energy to work, study and live happily. [C] Because opinions don't improve society and often make things worse, individual opinions are not of value.

Counter-arguments

Not having opposing opinions is impossible. A human’s free will includes having opinions of their own. Living in a society that forces people to have the same opinion is an impossible utopia. In addition, prejudice exists not only at the personal individual level but also at the collective societal level. All human societies have prejudice in some form and to some degree.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Opinions improve society. [Rejecting P2] Arguments don’t always stem from opinions. [Rejecting P4] Having the same opinion suppresses individuality.