The Generous Society: a vision for the future liberals want
This is most excellent from Tom King:
Generosity is a beautiful quality. It is one we all wish to experience from others, especially those with power over us. It is also one we all wish others to experience from us. Perhaps more precisely still, it is one we all wish we had the power to use for those we care about.
Finally and fundamentally, we all wish we could be more generous to ourselves: questioning our decisions less, fearing missed opportunity less often, and feeling grateful for the successes of others, rather than envying them. In a liberal society, more people would have these powers, and we would all be vastly richer for it.
It is high time that we built this generous society: one that gives every individual the power to shape their own journey and to create the best possible life they can imagine.
We need not carry on wandering around in the dark, kept from this future. We have the knowledge and the means to achieve it. We need only convince those around us that this vision exists and is achievable.
We hope you will join us in making this vision a reality.
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I found this a very interesting read even though I have M.E. which means I have poor concentration. It’s very accessible.
ALDES recently published a paper examining the pandemic and the way it could be dealt with through psychology. In it they argued that as well as the flight or fight response individuals have a similar need to nurture. Which could also be interpreted as generosity I think. The need to nurture is just as basic for the survival of the individual and of humankind as the flight or fight response. I think as a party we should be seeking to arouse this part of the human response as other parties are arousing the fear and anger about strangers which results from flight or fight.