Our illness is incivility - an imposing amalgam of morally destructive patterns of self-absorption, callousness, manipulative deceit and materialism
The philosopher Aristotle thought of a fundamental political unit, or 'polis,' as a state having both authoritative control and a civil society of organised communities with varying degrees of congregating interests. His political theory does not reflect the idea that the 'polis' should possess the essential stamp of approval alongside a framework trespassing existing human rights. His articulation is a classic example of political naturalism - one that treats human beings as political animals who flourish only within the context of a robust, well organised 'polis.' The 'polis,' as Aristotle also explained, emerges into being for the sake of living, yet it remains in existence for the purpose of living well.
This, in today's context, celebrates the seminal idea that we are all organisational creatures, born not only into a society and culture, but also into a specific, also complex organisation. You'd call it family, education, marriage, industry, business, or what you may. In addition, we all seem to know only too well that we live in a society, a society of contrasts- a society that has almost forgotten the glory of what it means to be human. This is precisely where there's something seriously wrong with us and others - not so much with our culture where values may not change.
So, what's the remedy? According to M Scott Peck, the renowned psychiatrist and author, "We are in need of healing," because our illness is incivility - an imposing amalgam of morally destructive patterns of self-absorption, callousness, manipulative deceit and materialism so deeply entrenched in our routine behaviour that we don't even recognise it.
"The end of the twentieth century," as Judith Blackwell, Murray Smith and John Sorenson put it in their perceptive book, 'Culture of Prejudice,' "was characterised by two dominant phenomena - the triumphalism of corporate globalisation and the resurgence of ethnic nationalism." They elaborate, "Despite the apparent contradiction, much of the idealisation of traditional cultures often came as a response to the disruptions brought by the spread of the free market. Previously existing hierarchies became destabilised and many people experienced changes to traditional patterns of behaviour while facing economic futures that seemed uncertain, or bleak. In these circumstances, nationalism provided some with a sense of community and identity while promising to pave the way for a better future."
Nationalism - in their analyses - is necessarily an imaginative commitment not only requiring that people construct a sense of community, kinship and shared identity with large numbers of other people, whom they will never meet, but also involving fantasies of belonging and history. Nationalism advocates shared identity - albeit every nation is multicultural, nationalists emphasise the boundaries that separate the national family from others, while exaggerating common identity and minimising differences that exist within such boundaries.
Nationalism is 'keyed' to arouse sentiments of public responsibility and that commitment to community may often encourage noble acts, too. However, such commitments to the nation, as Blackwell, Smith and Sorenson underline, are often uncritical ('My country; right, or wrong'), what with the sense of community being too narrow - rather than recognising common interests of humanity as a whole, one often gives loyalty only to one's national group. The importance and intensity of such attachments, they explain, are rather surprising when one considers that modern nation-states are relatively recent developments with mere ephemera when seen in the broad context of human evolution. What's more, while operating with a rhetoric of family and inclusion, nationalism is always exclusionary - it also readily yields to the same extreme urges found in racism and religious dogma.
This isn't all. Digital technologies too are donning a vigorous role in contemporary forms of nationalism to instigate nationalist sentiments with much attention devoted to the importance of ethno-symbolism. This proves that not only the nation, but also race and ethnicity are returning to the centre of the political spectrum in our contemporary world.
The inference? There's something awfully wrong with our personal and organisational life. This is primarily because we have only half-heartedly made that all-important, conscious decision to foster civility into our lives and our organisations. Isn't it, therefore, high time we did something unique and practicalto bring about effective change in us and our organisations? In other words, we need to move from our lurking, debilitating organisational illness to good health.
This connotes that walking the tightrope of ethics and submission, selves and systems, marriage, divorce and separateness, ambiguity, pain and disease, with the need to achieve will not ease. There'salso no panacea, or quick-fix, unless and until we try our best to drive the 'devil' within us and embark on a voyage of (re)discovering ourselves and (re)visiting our own 'Utopia.' This isn't all. The evolution of such a 'Paradise Found' applies equally well to us all - including organisations that are in the world, but not in the world.
We need to get allied to one supreme fact of life - the essence of 'greatness' of spirit and one's burden in a competitive world that is too germane. This is because, as Peck articulates, "All of us are actors in a marvellous, complex, cosmic drama." The best thing we'd all do is connect this emblematic allegory with the saga of Sigmund Freud as a case example. It holds good for each of us, and others, in their own situation in life. To highlight Peck's aphorism: "I do not know you. If you have a sense of destiny, it cannot certify that sense, sight unseen, to be perfectly sane. And, even if I meet you, it is unlikely I could forecast - no matter how sane you are - that you will, in fact, do the great things you feel you ought to be doing." Or, maybe, you will.
Nidamboor is a wellness physician, independent researcher and author