Thomas Friedman wrote several weeks ago about our interconnected yet uncertain future.
“In a world where our demand for Chinese-made sneakers produces pollution that melts South America’s glaciers, in a world where Greek tax-evasion can weaken the euro, threaten the stability of Spanish banks, and tank the Dow, our values and ethical systems eventually have to be harmonized as much as our markets. To put it differently, as it becomes harder to shield yourself from the other guy’s irresponsibility, both he and you had better become more responsible.”
Friedman cites Dov Seidman, the C.E.O. of LRN and author of the new book the “Era of Behavior.” Friedman notes,
“More and more of us are behaving by, what Seidman calls, ‘situational values’: I do whatever the situation allows. Think Goldman Sachs or BP. The opposite of situational values, argues Seidman, are ‘sustainable values’: values that inspire in us behaviors that literally sustain our relationships with one another, with our communities, with our institutions, and with our forests, oceans and climate. Of course, to counter this epidemic of situational thinking, we need more and better regulations, but we also need more people behaving better. Regulations only tell you what you can or can’t do in certain situations. Sustainable values inspire you to do what you should do in every situation.”
Friedman’s got it in a nutshell, and I couldn’t agree more. We need now more than ever before to make sure that every action we each take and every deliberation we engage in is done with its potential impact on the next seventh generations first and foremost in our minds.
As I stated in my piece for Vault.com’s 2010 CSR wrap up which seems to be reappearing in a number of places on the web, globalization is fueling a more universal consciousness regarding the intertwined futures of all people on the planet.
The concept of shared fate – that what happens to some of us has an impact on what happens to the rest of us – is more than just a philosophical perspective. As we increasingly understand the cause and effect of our actions – particularly those that are separated by both distance and time (making it harder to observe and easier to deny) – we must become more deliberately conscious about our actions.
The concept of ‘not in my backyard’ is obsolete in a global world; when we become aware that, even on a massive global scale, everyone’s backyard is someone else’s front yard.
The Earth, as vast as it is, is not infinite. With the exception of the errant asteroid and occassional spacecraft our very existence depends on a “closed” system. What happens here, stays here; whether or not the consequences are understood or intended.
While most often applied to questions surrounding the enviroment; this also applies to ethical behavior (think of the global financial collapse), social justice, etc.
Thank you for all you do, Jeff, to move forward this thinking.