Survival Of The Nicest
I love Yes! Magazine and its tagline: Powerful Ideas, Practical actions. Every issue comes jam packed with new ways to look at the way we humans do things.
The article titled “Survival of the Nicest” in the spring 2013 issue caught my eye right away. Runs contrary to what I’ve been raised to believe about my fellow humans.
The gist of the article states that Andrew Carnegie’s interpretation of Darwin’s theories in The Descent of Man were wrong. Darwin’s theories and observations did not support the notion that the corporate economy should concentrate the wealth in the hands of the few — that the hierarchal model emphasizing maximum profit would best benefit humanity.
Instead, new interpretations of Darwin’s research suggests that humans have succeeded through wealth-sharing and cooperation. “Those communities which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members would flourish best…”
Darwin’s quote resonated with me because I’ve been questioning our dog-eat-dog economic model for several years now, especially the horrors that befall folks in other countries who get thrown off their land by their government because some corporation “needs” it.
In my own smallish town, we worked cooperatively to open a Farmer’s Market. (I created the logo!) It’s become the area model for a well run Farmer’s Market. A lot of folks worked really hard to make it the best it could be. This is a perfect example of survival of the nicest. Everyone involved feels good.
In fact, all the great things that have happened in my town happened because folks cooperated with each other. You become a force of good and it begets more good because the people involved like the positive feeling it engenders.
And that gives me hope that people all over the world will reject the hierarchal model that results in most folks being “losers” with just a few being “winners.” We do have the power to decide our own fate.
Cooperation is actually great for the local economy because it’s easier to create the businesses we need to keep us in our own towns much of the time. At the moment, we need to drive all over the region to get what we need.
Yes, some folks will say it’s communistic to work together. I’m not sure what that even means when they say it because what has been called communistic bears no relationship to what I’m talking about here, which is cooperative and empowering. The Soviet communistic model operated within a hierarchal model. No one had any say. It was fear-based and disempowering.
So, I’m asking you my “nice” readers — do the nice survive? Do nice guys and gals finish first? Would you like to see an economic model of cooperation, where owner-workers call their own shots? Or do you prefer the hierarchal model and think cooperation will never work? Please tell us your thoughts below …
Yours in niceness,
Giulietta
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Nice post! 🙂
Where’s that logo? I’d like to see it. 🙂
Hi Jenna,
Here is a link to my logo designs. The Ashland Farmer’s Market is the last logo under identity!
Thanks.
g.
I remain hopeful and optimistic that cooperation and just being nice I’m what we do every day will somehow become the norm instead of the exception. I try hard to live by the Golden Rule and Rotary’s Four Way Test and will continue to do so in my own little piece of the world. Nothing wrong with flailing at a few windmills every now and then.
Lou,
You are one of the bright lights leading the niceness brigade! It’s so much easier to be nice than to conjure up the energy to be not nice.
I continue to love your Rotary Test!
Thank you for being nice, G.
Yes, I do find myself gravitating more toward work situations (whether we’re talking about my creative work, or things I do for the money) in which there isn’t a competitor or adversary to fight against. And, it’s also been useful for me to practice being the leader within an organization or within a project I’m working on, because my sense is that people tend to appreciate guidance as long as it isn’t tyrannical.
Hi Chris,
I’m glad your also moving towards more cooperative situations. It feels better. The more we do it as a culture, the more it will become the norm. Guidance is a great way to describe leadership. It’s really an opportunity to encourage everyone around you to be a leader.
thanks! G.
I think you hit home with this blog post.
Being nice works best, although when you don’t really have a community to help you with at least a little word-of-mouth, then one’s business will not be easy to manage.
Just this month I have to close my freelance business cause it is not going well. I have ideas to make it work, I know what I can do to make it work, I know some communities that could kick-start it again, but lack the finances.
And without the finances, one be as nice as they are and nothing short of a miracle will work…
Hi Estrella,
Sorry to hear about your freelance business. I’ve found that one of the best ways to increase word-of-mouth is to get involved in my local community. Join committees. Help make the place I live better. I’ve met all sorts of folks doing that. It’s what I call organic marketing.
Have you thought about trying to raise money on kickstarter if it is a creative venture?
Thanks for your nice comment! G.
Thank you, G!
My local community isn’t as great at such things. I’ve been on the waiting list for years to join a local handmade community. THE local handmade community that actually has any say in anything around here, and no one paid any attention to me. They’re very selective, I knew that, but had the confidence that I’d get in because I’m one of the two people in Romania who do what I started and the other person isn’t in Cluj-Napoca…
That’s life though.
I’ll have to see about kickstarter, thank you for the suggestion. *goes off looking to see if that’s international* 🙂
Catching up on blog reading and I know I’m late to the party, but I’m so glad you wrote this G. I’ve noticed this thing going on lately in the personal development realm about how niceness is over-rated. Maybe it’s a way to defend all the snark out there, but I’m with you on this and it’s just so delightful to hear that Darwin was there long ago. I guess it’s not surprising that his theories were misinterpreted. We see what we want to see by projecting our own stuff onto it, right? Now I’m definitely going to have to look into a subscription to YES! mag.
Hi Patty,
It’s never too late to leave a comment here! Glad you could join us. Great points. The personal development folks may think you can’t be nice and powerful. Speaking up for yourself is nice! Fuming under your breath isn’t nice. It’s important to be nice to yourself. Think self-hatred, self-abuse fuels a lot of the not-so-nice behavior out there.
We still seem to equate women speaking up with being a bitch.
So yesterday!
Thanks, G.
Coming out of a TV news environment (which still has an impact on me, a decade later) I’m familiar with collaboration and competition so closely tied together, it was hard to tell the difference. These days, I believe we need to bring some “savvy” to the table… but I’m so glad that we’re in a season where collaboration and generosity and collective empowerment is the way real work gets done. I’ve always preferred to play nice, and actually BE nice. I have my moments, but overall, it’s worked well for me and I seem to attract like-minded people.
Hi Angie,
I’m intrigued by what you say about collaboration and competition being so closely tied in our work settings. Fascinating topic to look at in more detail. Think it holds folks back from doing things for the greater good. I saw it all in my various work settings.
Thanks for swinging by! G.