Details

Written by: Kamran Mofid

Published: 04 August 2019

Hits: 1022

N.B. I recently read a very interesting and intriguing article about the Team Human.* I, then, read more about them, and discovered many timeless, beautiful gems, some of which I have noted below. They all reaffirmed what I have been thinking about, believing in and incorporating into what the GCGI has become. 

In this troubled world and challenging times, it is reassuring to know that there are teams, like the Team Human, who are manifesting the beauty and wisdom of cooperation, taking actions in the interest of the common good, giving hope for a better world.  For that I am most grateful.

A small sample of gems from Team Human

“Working together is what makes us human.”

The economy needn’t be a war; it can be for the common good. To get there, we must retrieve our innate goodwill and rediscover what it means to be human. "We cannot be fully human alone. Anything that brings us together fosters our humanity.”

Economics and the  global economy should serve rather than dominate people – and that includes factoring in and optimising for all aspects of human wellbeing too.

And then, happy, healthy, peaceful people, will, in turn, nurture, nourish and value the entire web of life.

We must remember that we only survive and thrive when we work as teams — when we work as an "us."; when we take actions in the interest of the common good.

Photo:amazon.com

“A provocative, exciting, and important rallying cry to reassert our human spirit of community and teamwork.”

More than anything else, Team Human’s central theme is that, working together is what makes us human. As is noted early in the book, "We cannot be fully human alone. Anything that brings us together fosters our humanity ... We use our social connections to orient ourselves, to derive meaning and purpose. This is not a mere quaint notion but a biological imperative."

‘Team Human is a manifesto―a fiery distillation of preeminent digital theorist Douglas Rushkoff’s most urgent thoughts on civilization and human nature. In one hundred lean and incisive statements, he argues that we are essentially social creatures, and that we achieve our greatest aspirations when we work together―not as individuals. Yet today's society is threatened by a vast antihuman infrastructure that undermines our ability to connect. Money, once a means of exchange, is now a means of exploitation; education, conceived as a way to elevate the working class, has become another assembly line; and the internet has only further divided us into increasingly atomized and radicalized groups.

Team Human delivers a call to arms. If we are to resist and survive these destructive forces, we must recognize that being human is a team sport. In Rushkoff’s own words: “Being social may be the whole point.” Harnessing wide-ranging research on human evolution, biology, and psychology, Rushkoff shows that when we work together we realize greater happiness, productivity, and peace. If we can find others who understand this fundamental truth and reassert our humanity―together―we can make the world a better place to be human.’

*Optimizing for Human Well-Being

Book Review: 'Team Human' Stresses That The Future Lies In Connection And Cooperation

See more and buy the book

Further reading:

The enemies of Connection and Cooperation are Selfinterest, Selfishness, Extreme forms of Competition and disregard for the Common Good: 

The Destruction of our World and the lies of Milton Friedman 

The World brought down to its knees: The Fallacy of Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman and their disciples 

And now the GCGI's suggested Path to a Better World:

An Invitation to Dialogue: Creating a Culture of Collaboration and Cooperation for the Common Good 

Remaking Economics in an age of economic soul-searching