BE MAGNANIMOUS

academics calling for compassion

Rubin is not an ideal exemplar of the collaborative authors featured in this site, because of the audience capture that seems to have pushed him toward a tribalist and divisive stance. Still he makes important contributions. With that caveat, in this interview he hosts these others who aren't afraid of being called soft. Jordan Peterson in the first few minutes describes a need to develop a non-rivalrous dynamic, and the possibility of it. Later Eric Weinstein notes, “we have to become more charitable” (43:50). In an increasingly competitive culture, we need those who advocate for generosity, for interpretations that do not assume the worst.

win-win or live-and-let live

Being magnanimous requires that if you can't find common ground, at least allow others to work on their solution (provided it's not violent) and work on generating or furthering alternative solutions rather than attacking existing structures. Buckminster Fuller promoted the idea of simply building new systems that make the old system obsolete or less attractive.

activists versus reactivists

“I want to see a world where…we have a society where people are not looking to the leaders to solve things and save the day…going out and taking responsibility to build the world we want, together, using power together differently” (Brian Robertson, author of Holocracy, on the Leadermorphosis podcast, Ep. 31, 56:26). Many are going out and taking responsibility to build the world they want, but the part about “using power together differently,” we could get better at that.

This approach suggests that as activists, we will be more effective if we can stop being haters, even when atrocities persist. We do better to take the Martin Luther King Jr. approach instead of the Malcolm X approach. From the history of the women’s rights movement, it appears the angry confrontive suffragettes forced the government to pay attention, but the government saved face by making their deals with the moderate contingency. Maybe it’s important to have both. Either way, we can practice the collaboration and power-sharing skills to re-create a more peaceful world when the opportunity comes, as the current institutions falter.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse