Home

About

Contents

Guidelines

Glossary

Contacts

Discussion

Recent Discussion

Create New Topic

Membership

Join Now

Login

On what does society depend?

Author:		Stephen Waters
Posted:		9/11/06; 7:31:27 AM
Topic:		On what does society depend?
Msg #:		515 (top msg in thread)
Prev/Next:		513/518
Reads:		4827

Easily overlooked in the sea of September 11 reminiscences is that the attack challenged the fabric of society. Do you believe in society?

Fabric is a useful metaphor for society. Vertical and horizontal threads inside fabrics are called "warp" and "weft." They hold other threads -- like the pile in a carpet -- together. Cultures are the rest of the threads -- the many different fibers, textures, and colors that make up the pile of a carpet. Underlying the complexity that different cultures exhibit, what are the minimum requirements for a culture to support society, rather than undermine it?

The warp and weft of society are simple:

• The warp of the fabric of society is the humility to be open to the possibility of a better way of doing things. Nobody is perfect. Everyone has experienced human fallibility. Even though your culture may be different, can you recall in your own past painful experience when you thought you were right and were mistaken?
• The weft of the fabric of society is the sense that others live their lives as acutely as you live yours and, in society, reciprocity can help make life safer than operating by the law of the jungle alone. Having experienced being wrong when you thought you were correct, without the help of others, how can you be sure what you currently think is correct?

What sets humans apart from the rest of the animals is their ability to project different futures and to plan to reach the better one. Do you prefer to live in a jungle or society? Now that science has put such power in the hands of anyone who chooses to learn to use it, you cannot escape making the choice. The future of society depends on you understanding that "warp" of humility and "weft" of reciprocity are cornerstones for civilization. Then society depends on you to race to convince others that the umbrella of society is the wise choice. Finally, society depends on you to defend against those who prefer to live solely by the law of the jungle.

From such simple understanding as this spring courage, resolve, and perseverance. Society is the best permanent memorial for those stricken by our earlier failure to achieve it.