If we assume the best in people, we can radically redesign our democracy and welfare states.
Rutger BregmanRead
My hope is that the corona crisis will help bring us into a new age of cooperation and solidarity and a realization that we're in this together.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire for the coronavirus crisis to promote unity and collaboration among people.
Rutger Bregman reflects on the transformative potential of the coronavirus crisis, suggesting that it could serve as a catalyst for a greater sense of cooperation and solidarity among individuals and communities. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing our shared humanity and collective challenges, advocating for a shift towards a more united approach in addressing societal issues.
In practice
During a community meeting, I shared a quote about cooperation and solidarity during crises to inspire collective action.
If we assume the best in people, we can radically redesign our democracy and welfare states.
Since long workdays lead to more errors, shorter workdays could reduce accidents. Overtime is deadly. Tired surgeons have been found to be more prone to slip'ups, and soldiers who get too little shuteye are more prone to miss targets.
This is what a crisis does: It makes you question the status quo. That doesn't mean that after a crisis we move into some kind of utopia. But it is an opportunity for political change.
While it won't solve all the world's ills - and ideas such as a rent cap and more social housing are necessary in places where housing is scarce - a basic income would work like venture capital for the people.
Believing in the good of humanity is a revolutionary act - it means that we don't need all those managers and CEO's, kings and generals. That we can trust people to govern themselves and make their own decisions.
We so often tend to think our democracies are ruled by procedures and laws, but they are also governed by implicit rules and assumptions and one of them is the ability to feel shame - that you can be shamed.
Do you want your life to truly take off? Then change your idea about it. About you. Think, speak and act as the God You Are.
So thoroughly and sincerely are we compelled to live, reverencing our life, and denying the possibility of change. This is the only way, we say; but there are as many ways as there can be drawn radii from one centre. All change is a miracle to contemplate; but it is a miracle which is taking place every instant.
The time we are living in is the greatest opportunity to be queer, and it is almost the most dangerous time because everything is up for grabs.
People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.
We are the people that we have been waiting for and no one else is coming.
You cannot ignore 50% of your nation and think that your country is going to grow.
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