From “Me” to “We”
Beyond Self-Improvement: The Practice of Love in Community
In traditional systems, Eastern African and the Indigenous Americas, Individual aspirations were often superseded by those of the community and overall well being.
If one of us is not well, all of us are not well. – Previous Post – Here)
Instead of Dog eat dog, which seems to be the Mantra of the day, in times bygone it was more of Collaboration, Co-ordination. Community and Continuity.
This does not mean we become more socialist or do not strive for best returns on investment and maximise productivity and minimize inefficiency.
It just means taking a shared collective responsibility.
“I am often struck by the dangerous narcissism fostered by spiritual rhetoric that pays so much attention to individual self-improvement and so little to the practice of love within the context of community.” – ― Bell Hooks, All About Love: New Visions
In other words balance the entrepreneurial and enterprise spirit with one of greater positive societal change that encapsulates dignity and self respect of all.
If we were to expand on this phrase :
“Give A Man A Fish And You Feed Him For A Day; Teach A Man To Fish And You Feed Him For A Lifetime,”
Providing scaled enablement and facilitation, via training and easier access to affordable tools and resources, would lead to a metamorphic transformation of society and communities at large globally.
The economics of and politics of globalisation, the twin disruptive spaces of modernity and liberalism have an inescapable moral dimension. Their aim must be to enhance, not compromise human dignity.
