Further managing the assholes (as defined by Harvard's Robert Sutton)

 Considering that Governments' foundations around the world lay on one or an amalgame of the following ethics' form:

(i) judicial ethics/ethic of justice/rule-of-law (Ex. US, most but not all of the EU, Australia, Japan, etc),

(ii) religious ethics/moral (Several Muslim countries)

(iii) Authoritarian ethics (ex. China, Russia),

 

We argue that none of these ethics' forms can deliver on the SDGs nor keep the world temperature increase under 1.5oC or even 2oC.

It is impossible for these ethics to allow those limited by these ethics to even envision the changes that are needed, work on the changes needed, much less to implement them.

It is urgent to go beyond Kant (and a few others), if we are to make it as a species.

Many feel what is needed but few are able to give it a name. I did not invent the name nor the concept either.

The ethic that can deliver these and, as a collateral, a humane world, and a chance to keep the Hss species alive is "an ethic of care".

 

An ETHIC OF CARE.

One may ask, why are we not moving in the right direction? The answer is that we fooled ourselves to believe that people capable of violence demonstrate strength. By doing so, we have given them in many places withing governments and the private sector, executive powers. These are in many cases, our "leaders/upper management". And they have become good at what they do, namely oppressed the people/employees they are suppose to lead. It will take as much true strength to take away their power as they are willing to use violence to keep it. 

Now, we are a bit in a tough situation because the basis of all societies on earth is an ethic of justice (rule-of-law). Yes, granted, some are more just than others but nevertheless even in societies where you do not risk your life to criticize your boss, your government, or an institution, the justice system that is in charge of applying the law can not deliver on a task that seem to increase by the day. The abusers who are in charge, know very well how to abuse the judicial system. As an example, the many court cases against Trump require millions in resources and will deliver very few. There are many other examples that include the frustration of the police forces because it is so complicated and resources intensive to bring a criminal to jail. Yes the jailing system is another topic that needs to be addressed but for now I will leave it at that. 

The judicial system is overloaded worldwide and desto can't deliver on its promise of justice. The solution to be more rapid with judicial procedures was attempted many times but the assholes, again, know how to use this rapidity to incarcerate critics and opponents. One way or another, an ethic of justice is stuck in a place where it can not deliver on its role because it either takes too much time and resources to handle correctly (which is used by the abusers like Trump) or it handles rapidly and increase the risk of faultive condemnation (which in turns is used by the abusers).

All this to demonstrate that an ethic of justice can only be one element of a humane society.

If the goal of individuals is limited to follow the law, then we have what we live now: abuse of the environment (pollution, climate crisis), obscene wealth and poverty, abuse, violence, faltering systems (education, social, etc.)

What we need to develop is an ethic of care.

It is urgent for our societies to work on what a society based on an ethic of care would be. This means work, discussions, participatory development. And as for democracy, it will vary from culture to culture. 

Once this discussion will be started, it will be possible to rewrite a social economy, and justice system that will work for all.

 

 

 

QUANTICS

Relative quantum politic (Quantics)

It is not possible to define the Quantics components as they vary with time and space. They are diverse in nature. 

It is only possible to define its goal which is an ethic of care. (See note 1)

Its tools are:

1- True communication, therefore the need to develop the abilities to engage with diversity and change

2- Its willingness to welcome diversity, and its strength to defend its values.

3- Global social wellness and fairness. Global means earth.

4- Merit-based societies where empathy, kindness, creativity, courage, hard-work, knowledge are key values and where power, money, glory do not have value.

5- Economic system that value investment and avoid obscene (i) poverty (using care) and (ii) wealth (using taxes).

It exclude the following tools:

1- Violence 

2- Abuse. 

Quantics considers violence as a weakness and abuse as the dark side of the ego.

_______________

Note 1:

Governments' foundations around the world lay on one or an amalgame of the following ethics' form:

(i) judicial ethics/ethic of justice/rule-of-law (Ex. US, most but not all of the EU, Australia, Japan, etc),

(ii) religious ethics/moral (Several Muslim countries)

(iii) Authoritarian ethics (ex. China, Russia)

To keep this text short, none of these ethics' forms can deliver on the SDGs nor keep the world temperature increase under 1.5oC or even 2oC.

It is impossible for these ethics to allow those limited by these ethics to even envision the changes that are needed, work on the changes needed, much less to implement them.

It is urgent to go beyond Kant (and a few others), if we are to make it as a species.

Many feel what is needed but few are able to give it a name. I did not invent the name nor the concept either.

The ethic that can deliver on these changes and, as a collateral, evolve a humane world, to give us a chance to keep the Hss species alive is "an ethic of care".

An ETHIC OF CARE.

Yes. Now would be the time to go and educate yourself. Yes, you. Yes, me too.

__________________

Reference:

https://iep.utm.edu/care-ethics/

 

 

 

Species Survival and our personal intrinsic drive

 

 

Species Survival and our personal intrinsic drive

 

As of today, May 13, 2023, 99.99 % of earth climate scientists state that our actions of the last 50 years are far from avoiding a climate crisis and the subsequent major world sufferings.

Industry is industry: it works for profit and so far, despite all promises, the technological implementations are, well, as said above, very far away from what is needed to avoid a climate crisis.

Governments are still governed mostly by power and are consequently obsessed by votes. Additionally, although very tempting for governments, war, extremism, dystopia/entitlement, and populism are not only a problem, they exacerbate the problem. If their citizens wanted nothing more than a fair, sustainable, eye-level on a level playing field society, their mandate might be easier.

Unfortunately, most earthlings are NOT intrinsically ready to act sustainably.

The poor do not want to be poor; they want more.

The rich want to keep and increase their wealth.

Many of those in between, act on greediness, and close their eyes to global realities such as wealth inequality, pollution, oppression, and yes climate crisis. Examples abound: (i) few are willing to reduce significantly their meat consumption, (ii) panic rules when consumables are missing on the grocery shelf, (iii) reducing speed limit on highways to 120 kph is perceived as a political suicide, (iv) the industry finds it so very difficult to reduce packaging, etc., etc., etc.

As long as the vast majority of earthlings is not intrinsically ready to want what is needed to reach and maintain a fair sustainable world, no industry nor government is going to take us where we should go, namely to sustainability.

Yet, reality’s urgency asks for a paradigm shift.

Then, what can we do?

1)    A new world order can only happen progressively if those who are “more” ethical stand up. Together. How? Read Robert Sutton.

2)    Society needs to valorize thoughts and behaviour that lead to the SDGs. Values can be expressed in many ways such as wealth, public acknowledgement, etc. But societies need to start working on those values and then walk the talk.

3)    Each culture (country) will develop its own mosaic of values, but I doubt that being rich, violent, or abusive are to be primed values. I think empathy, care, courage, perseverance, resilience, knowledge, passion, social behaviours, fairness, have better chances to take us where we need to go. The proportion of each value can and should be culture specific, therefore the societal work.

Accepting that we all must learn, every day, if we are to implement this paradigm shift, the first question is for whom should this learning be? Answer is obvious: all. We have for too long made the error to think that only a portion of the population need certain abilities: leadership for leaders was the first error, knowledge for professionals, teaching abilities for teachers, spirituality for religious leaders, etc.  This is one of the reasons that we are where we are.

The next question is what should be trained? I think that it should be abilities that we mostly missed and for which the consequences of not having them is dramatic for our planet and us, earthlings. Abilities such as self-management, diversity/creativity-engagement, change management , conflict resolution, holistic & systemic thinking, servant leadership, swarm leadership, Eigenvielfalt/Self-diversity, ethics, come to mind. It goes without saying that the personal and societal value of these abilities are to be demonstrated.

The next question is when is this supposed to happen? We are all sooo busy. As a start, I would consider 50% of the time we spend for what we call “entertainment/vacation”. Why? Because (i) the consequences of not acquiring these abilities is already horrific and it is just the start, (ii) these abilities are needed now, (iii) the illusion of entertainment being the holy grail was indeed an illusion and the fact that we live it globally is a direct contribution to the global climate crisis… acknowledging that all changes need to be considered as a process: evolution, not revolution.

Finally, ethical governments need to become more ethical by explaining themselves to their citizens and trusting that their citizens will understand. Losing the elections is part of the equation. Perseverance is also part of the equation. Decentralisation, each with its powers and resources need to be accountable and true transparency is needed. Myanmar is a point in case where gentle strength is the only path forward. Should this be a societal endeavour (there are many signs that it is), the time it will take to stop the oppression depends on the international community. Because we share one earth and because everything is connected, the time when a country could decide what it wants when it wants is about to end. The same is true for global corporations.

At the risk of stating the obvious, Violence is not a strength. It is a weakness. It is highly time that we start practicing gentle “strength”. The issue is that most of us don’t have a clue of what it is, what it might be, what it entails and most importantly how to live it daily. Ethical strength is possible only if we all have the abilities described above. Ethical strength will grow as we become better at it. This will allow us to progressively implement new humane values in our economies and give us a shot at the can called “Species Survival”.

Revendicating the true meaning of an historical symbol for an ethical cause:

Species Survival

 

 

 

Further on Swarmship (my earlier 2012 post)

 

To address the so badly needed swarmship implementation and support a functional and respectful flat hierarchy in life, society and management, here are some intricates.

First intricate: 

Theorem: 

It is the edge that leads. It is well worth your time to think about this one. 

Corollary: 

It ensues that the inside follows.

Second intricate: 

Theorem: 

Everyone gets to the edge at one point in time. I mean everyone is asked to be a leader at several points in time in her/his life. 

Corollary: 

That alone, is a fundamental corner stone motivation to get prepared, to learn, yes as much as you can, yes about everything. This preparation is part of the "meaning of life", if not its most important part. This last fact helps regain the value of studies/learning and applies of course to (i) the traditional students (in school or not, young or not) and (ii) the entitled who think they have arrived (ex. some adults, some parents, some wealthies, etc.)

Note about the edge: Some are more often at the edge , sometimes for the good of the flock, but mostly for the worst. We should learn from this: Recently, in response to the obscene abuse of wealth owners, we, the people, main-streamed and empowered sociopathy (Erdogan, Trump, Duterte, Orbán, Bolsonaro, etc.). This is the contrary of swarmship, called despotism, dictatorship, etc..

EIGENVIELFALT (SELF-DIVERSITY)

 

Eigenvielfalt

Most new words come from usage, from the needs of specialists, from the people on the street, etc. They come because of a new need, a new process, a new object, a new situation, etc. We know that words are powerful as they partly shape what we can think and how we think about it. Often, without a word we can’t fathom the existence of something.

I believe that we are in a situation where a concept and its word do not exist yet but the need for it is prominent and urgent. I hope that I will be able in the following lines to make the case that we are now confronted with such an issue/opportunity.

Our evolution from human 1.0 (sapiens sapiens) to Human 2.0 (agriculture) to Human 3.0 (metals) to Human 4.0 (industrial) took place at a relatively slow but accelerating rate. Our recent access to Human 5.0 (Information technology age) is moving at an ever increasing rate but we are missing the tool to manage or thrive with the change and diversity that comes with it: the “Weltburger” spirit is missing from our actual Globalization process. The consequences are the many negative ‘isms that comes from the fear generated when you miss the tool to manage or thrive with new daily encounters/change.

Therefore,

We argue that in the same way we needed mathematics and languages to manage the former human stages (1-4), we need new abilities to manage or thrive within the information technology age in a humane way.

We argue that by giving a word to this new needed ability, language will allow for awareness, acknowledgment, engagement at large by society.

We argue that in this case, it is the language that needs to be a leading force toward the change that is needed to handle our ever increasing changing and diverse world, laying the foundation of the paradigm shift that need to take place.

We argue that access to a word will allow for thoughts to crystalize and take further the abilities needed to ensure a humane Human 6.0 era. 

We argue that without these abilities we are sliding toward populism, sexism, racism, generationalism, entitleism, and a spate of other dehumanising ‘isms that plague our times.

We argue that the word proposed below should be international and that it should be of German origin, like Zeitgeist, kindergarten, Zeitgeber, Eigenvalue, etc. The concept in English has a few name but misses the global scope as it focuses on the cultural aspect only.

We have spoken for the last 20 years with a few scholars and much has been suggested. The word proposed is the culmination of innumerable discussions and people. Since it is a new concept, the word will sound new and maybe uncomfortable to some of you. We argue that the pressing need for a crystallization of our awareness for these new needed abilities justifies a certain level of scholarly “uncomfortability”, humbly speaking.

The word is “Eigenvielfalt”, and if we dare, with its verb, eigenvielfalten and its adjective, Eigenvielfältig. Yes, I hear you, yet, may I suggest you say it a few times before using the axe :-).

The long array of words in English is, among others, “cross-culture abilities”, “intercultural abilities”, “third culture abilities” but although pointing in the right direction these words do not show the core concept which is to work on one own personal diversity to be able to manage or thrive with "diversity and change" as a whole. In other words, diversity is not limited to cultures: it has several roots including gender, religion, race, nationality, wealth, age, education, profession, language, and yes culture. The root “Eigen” is already known in English and its uses marries well the concept of making diversity/complexity understandable.

You may be tempted to suggest other words like “eigene Vielfalt” to use existing words and proceed cautiously. But to use a combination of existing words does not offer the same power that a single word has. We argue that we do not really have the time to proceed cautiously caught between the fear of many people on the left of the Gauss and the euphoria of the many on the right (Note: the use of left and right in this case does not refer to the political spectrum. In an unstable world, people tend to be afraid (left) or ecstatic (right), both contributing to the problem).

What happened to our understanding of strength?

 What happened to our understanding of strength?

 

Strength without violence is the only strength. The other one is weakness.

Derivatives of this weakness are corruption, and dogmas which both feed on oppression and secrecy. And both are tools to control, fueled by fear.

Therefore, to manage them we need (i) tools to avoid (or get out of) our fears and (ii) transparency. As a bonus, both (i) and (ii) feed each other. And we need to be able to thrive on a  path of patient communication.

Eigenvielfalt training is a way to learn to engage and thrive with diversity & change, which in turns allows for diversity to flourish and become transparent.

________________________

A note: Dogmas are centered on an ego that hides behind a "we" that exploits/abuse the "non-we". In this sense, a spirituality/science/culture that welcomes the "other" is not a dogma. One that does not accept the other (diversity) is a dogma. Dogmas are found everywhere in small (at home, peers, work, sports) and in big (religions, nationalism, corporatism) and are a source of great sufferings (both human and environmental).

EIGENVIELFALT

IF

 

IF...

 

 

If your goal is not even to live but to reproduce, then you are a virus. If your goal is not to live nor to reproduce but to convert then you are a prion. Ant the long list of existences beyond our realm goes on.

That being said, It is sad and destructive to limit oneself to these goals. If you are focused on revenge consider what giving back harm is, the same. Creative cooperation and care leads you to a better self, while giving yourself all the means to achieve it the best way possible. One of those means is Eigenvielfalt training.