Spring cleaning

It is March and spring is on its way. After a few dull and gray months, it is finally getting lighter. The days are getting longer. And the temperature is slowly rising again.

Group morality

As sunny as the weather is starting to get, the situation in the world is depressing. One fascist decree after another is being issued in the US. Trade tariffs are being thrown around as a negotiation tactic. Sovereign countries are being degraded to pawns in the power game of misguided world leaders who have elevated ego to an art form. And wars are flaring up around us. ‘How is this possible?’ is a question I hear a lot in my surroundings. And one that I also ask myself very often.

Not in the least because I have been working a lot on ethics lately. Ethics? Isn’t that a hobby for people who can afford it? The opposite is true. Ethics is described as critically reflecting on the right action. And we humans do that all the time. Because we are social animals.

Morality, a coherent set of views on right living, guides our behavior. It leads to implicit ground rules such as ‘thou shalt not steal’, ‘thou shalt not kill’ and ‘thou shalt respect others’. These are constantly renegotiated – because in some cases we are more lenient towards people who steal, to name just one example. As humans, we want to know what is right and what is wrong. Our stories are full of it. Ever since classical antiquity (and probably long before that), myths and legends have spoken of heroes and gods, curses and gifts, demons and seducers who incite unvirtuous behaviour. Put on any series on your favourite streaming platform and there is a good chance that by watching it you have unconsciously raised your morals again.

Aristotle already said that our society will continue to confront its individuals with moral dilemmas. People who choose virtue, and strive to always do the right thing, train themselves to deal with moral challenges. Do I choose myself or the group? Do I tell the teacher that my friend cheated? Do I take credit for that group effort or do I honestly say I barely contributed? When the complexity of life is embraced, individuals become better at dealing with moral dilemmas in the long run.

Leadership

When people turn away from moral challenges, the opposite happens. A search for simple truths is initiated. ‘X’ is right, ‘Y’ is wrong. These are often absolute, and do not do justice to the complex world of shades of grey. Evidence that ‘X’ is not entirely right is covered up. Because if you admit that, the structure you have created crumbles and you allow complexity. People who choose this path always end up running into themselves again. Not because they encounter more moral dilemmas in absolute terms, but because they have stopped training themselves how to deal with them.

Yet these people seem to be finding their way to power increasingly. Regardless of political preference, it is questionable whether this type of leadership produces anything other than a society in which impiety is central. I am already starting to see that around me, especially among young men. Simple truths like ‘you must always be dominant’, ‘you must be financially successful, otherwise you are not a man’ and ‘a man is rational and does not feel’ are rampant in today’s society.

You can have as much power as you want, the question is whether that will really make you happy and create a virtuous world. Without self-reflection and ethics, I do not think it is possible to build a good relationship with yourself or society. Simply because you have to try harder and harder to keep reality out. It’s a lose-lose situation.

Demonstration

All the more reason to let a breath of fresh air blow through my life and my business. When Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos and other ‘techbros’ fell to their knees en masse for Trump, I had a choice to make. I can continue to use their services, and thereby directly support the course of Meta and X (I didn’t use Amazon anyway). Or I choose a radically different course, in which I really make contact with people again, without directly serving the interests of others. So I stopped using Facebook, Instagram, X and WhatsApp. I only use SMS, Signal and LinkedIn. And that works perfectly. Technology is just a medium. It’s all about how you use it.

We have much more control than we usually think. Also how we look at the world. We can focus on all the misery, but that doesn’t make anyone better. What is also possible: see today’s society as one big demonstration of how not to do it. And turn life into a big ethical challenge. How am I going to deal with this now? The training possibilities are currently widely available.

Ultimately, I also strive for freedom and independence. But always in connection. In connection with myself, with others and with the world. More than ever, I am keen to make choices that are good for me and for my environment. Especially now, when society seems to be sinking into a kind of ‘me, me, me attitude’, I cherish my humanity. And that cleans up nicely.