Those who promote prejudice, conflicts, and irrationality are getting more emboldened every day. They thrive on lies, reject science, celebrate bigotry, deny exploitation, endorse pollution, and blame scapegoats at every turn. We are aghast at what they do, but we need to be united ourselves to push back effectively.
We can begin by focusing on the kind of communities we seek to develop, and the key threats and obstacles that we must tackle. Below are seven points to note:
[1] The Real Political Divide
We should not be deflected by devious rhetoric or subtle misdirection, and remind ourselves and others of the real dividing lines between those of us who want to build more cooperative communities that foster mutual respect and genuine collaboration, and those who want to have greater power to exploit and oppress others in society. The former seek to foster solidarity, the latter try to con others into subservience.
[Read more at: https://henry-tam.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-real-political-divide.html ]
[2] The Cooperative Community Paradigm
We do not need to invent a new philosophy. The ideas from centuries of progressive, civic republican, and communitarian reflections have shaped the cooperative community paradigm, which distinguishes the kind of rules, customs and relations that should be promoted for the sake of all, as opposed to the attitudes and arrangements that ought to be urgently reformed.
[Read more at: https://henry-tam.blogspot.com/2018/01/paradigm-lost.html ]
[3] Cooperative Problem-Solving
A vast amount of work has gone into developing the theory and practice of cooperative problem-solving. It is an approach that is known to have facilitated consensus building and conflict resolution. By drawing on the available evidence-based guidance, we can take forward more initiatives to support the development of cooperative communities.
[Read more at: https://henry-tam.blogspot.com/2012/10/cooperative-problem-solving-key-to.html ]
[4] Degrees of Reciprocity
In society, there is a spectrum that goes from those of us who take the Golden Rule of reciprocity seriously, to others who are driven by egoistic and authoritarian tendencies. In between are people with varying dispositions. It is not ethnicity, gender, religion, or any other ‘identity’ factor, but how an individual’s outlook has been shaped that influences the person’s receptivity to cooperative working.
[Read more at: https://henry-tam.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-reciprocity-test-pros-cons.html ]
[5] Progressive Lifelong Learning
The more people develop pro-reciprocity dispositions – which may be termed their Cooperative Gestalt – the more likely they will interact with each other with reason and respect. Through progressive lifelong learning, they are more able to assess and share ideas on what is to be believed in an on-going, provisional manner that is open to anyone to contribute, question and revise.
[Read more at: https://henry-tam.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-cooperative-gestalt.html ]
[6] The Pathology of Marginalisation
Oppressors and exploiters con people into joining their cults, gangs, and extremist groups, especially by preying on those who feel marginalised by society. They turn those vulnerable to manipulation into followers who will inflict harm on themselves as well as others, and dismiss any contrary evidence as ‘fake news’. We need to understand such vulnerabilities to be able to expose the con tactics more readily.
[Read more at: https://henry-tam.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-pathology-of-marginalisation.html ]
[7] The Cult of Thoughtlessness
The politics of manipulation depends on promoting thoughtless attitudes and behaviour. People are easier to con if they are less inclined to think critically. To counter it, educators in all fields have a vital role to play in advancing civic thoughtfulness – with its empathic, cognitive, and volitional elements.
[Read more at: https://henry-tam.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-cult-of-thoughtlessness.html ]
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For detailed expositions of why and how we should defend the ethos of cooperative communities, the following books may be of interest:
Time to Save Democracy: how to govern ourselves in the age of anti-politics: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/time-to-save-democracy
What Should Citizens Believe: exploring the issues of truth, reason & society: https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Should-Citizens-Believe-Exploring/dp/1548183105
Communitarianism: a new agenda for politics and citizenship: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Communitarianism-New-Agenda-Politics-Citizenship/dp/0814782361
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