The Practical Way
“The great project of the twenty-first century—understanding how the whole of humanity comes to be greater than the sum of its parts—is just beginning. Like an awakening child, the human superorganism is becoming self-aware, and this will surely help us achieve our goals.”
N. Christakis & J. Fowler,
Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks [45]
In the previous chapters we described the connections that link the entire world into a single network. We realized that this network is a natural creation of evolution, which moves from simplex to complex, from separation to integration. This connectedness also determines that mutual guarantee is the formula by which all life sustains itself, and that if humanity wishes to be sustainable, we need to apply that modus operandi to ourselves.
The only issue that remains is how we should do this. Indeed, how does an individual, or a society, shift from a mindset of caring for oneself into caring for all? Put differently, “How do we shift from the ‘me’ mode to the ‘we’ mode?” Moreover, that transformation must not be random, but become a lasting shift from the self-centered trend that Twenge and Campbell described in the previously quoted, The Narcissism Epidemic.
The way we can achieve this is by changing our social values. If we look deep into the reasons for our behavior, we will discover that quite often we act certain ways to gain social approval from those around us. Being appreciated by those in our social environment gives us confidence and high spirits, while the lack of it pains us, making us insecure and ashamed of who we are. For this reason, consciously or not, we tend to conform to society’s codes of behavior and values.
Maria Konnikova, the eloquent writer and psychologist, wrote about our need to conform to society’s codes in her blog on Scientific American: “We tend to behave quite differently when we expect to be observed than when we don’t and we are acutely responsive to prevailing social mores and social norms. ...When we decide to do something, should it matter to us whether or not someone else is watching? While theoretically, it’s easy to argue that it shouldn’t, that the same behavioral norms apply no matter what, in practice, it usually does. This goes for minor behaviors (Will you pick your nose in public? What about if you’re pretty sure no one is watching you?) as well as much more important ones (Will you hurt someone, be it physically or otherwise, if others are observing your interaction? What about if you’re fairly certain the misdeed will never go beyond the two of you?).” [46]
Therefore, as soon as we change our society’s values so that mutual guarantee and caring for each other are at the top tier, we will change our values accordingly. When society values people according to their contribution to society, people will also wish to contribute to society, so they, too, can be appreciated. If respect and social statuses that are currently given for excellence in financial engineering—whose consequences we are still grappling with—were given to individuals who improved the overall well-being of society, whether financially or in other forms of value, then everyone would begin to contribute to society in that constructive manner.
[45] Nicholas A. Christakis, James H. Fowler, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives — How Your Friends' Friends' Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do (USA, Little, Brown and Company, January 12, 2011), 305
[46] Maria Konnikova, “Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: The Power of Public Opinion,” Scientific American, “Blogs” (September 13, 2011), http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2011/09/13/lessons-from-sherlock-holmes-the-power-of-public-opinion/