The economy of the common good, promoted by the economist Christian Felber, is being increasingly considered, given the crisis we are experiencing.
I am a promoter of the transformation of the economy, to make this world a sustainable, beautiful place, in balance, where the common good is above the achievement of business profit as the main objective ( capitalism ); or that the egalitarian distribution of goods ( socialism, communism ) leads to a flat society, without incentives for creativity and growth as a result of talent and good professional or business work.
The economy of the common good is based on the same values that make our relationships flourish: trust, cooperation, appreciation, democracy, solidarity. According to recent scientific research, getting good relationships is the greatest source of motivation and happiness for human beings.
Why was Japan mostly able to avoid the impact of contagion if the first case already occurred in January, being so close to China?
How is it that in Japan the infection of this virus has not had an exponential growth, but a slow linear advance, until now?
We know that this coronavirus is very contagious. In these demographic data then Japan presents us with a cocktail that would allow a great spread of the disease. Basically there are a lot of people, in a small space and 25% of that population over 65 years old.
Japanese society is educated in such a way that it responds organically and unitedly to any event that compromises it. Japan went through wars, typhoons. Japan experiences 1500 earthquakes per year, 1000 tremors per day. Generation after generation has had to cope with catastrophes, natural or man-made.
We can think of this with something that Argentines like a lot: soccer teams. Which soccer team is going to perform better at a critical moment? The team that trains every day has infrastructure, in which everyone knows what to do? Or the team that never trained, that has no infrastructure, and that has to go out and improvise?
The directives of social distancing, hygiene and individual behavior, whether in society or in one's own home, the Japanese population has established for hundreds of years. You bow, giving distance is a gesture of respect, and most workers in public places wear gloves. It is not necessary to recommend removing your shoes when entering the house, because it is customary. It is not necessary to indicate that it is not necessary to sneeze or cough on another person, because this is a common protocol among the Japanese. In fact, studies from years ago show that more than 50% of Japanese used a mask, not to protect themselves, but to protect the other.
This is the fundamental message of a collectivist culture: the good of all is more important than the good of one part, as is the case with the collaborative economy.
To close this I would like to comment on an experience that two Western teachers did in a school in Japan. They will surely know the game of chairs. Music is put on, chairs in a circle, one less than the number of participants and they are taken out one by one in each round. This experience was made in Japan and the boys, instead of pushing each other to occupy a chair, were all giving place to a partner, out of the shame of feeling how one wins when another suffers.
The Japanese word Amae refers to the human desire to be cared for or loved and to be prudent in relationships. The SEWA plays a fundamental role in a collectivist society where individualism is frowned upon and the power of the group is encouraged in general. Amae helps to create harmonious interconnections both within the family and in the company or in groups of friends. It fosters the confidence that the other will take care of me, in line with the feeling that I am going to fulfill myself when we feel that we take care of another "
To advance in the change in the economy that our society needs, we need to recover human values and solidarity, sustainable and ecological growth. A collectivist society helps itself. The economy of the common good values democracy, ethics and sustainable development.
Perhaps the serious health situation that we are experiencing, which has caused a global economic stoppage, forces us to rethink our way of living, producing, consuming, conserving, recycling.
Perhaps we can open ourselves to the fact that, like certain systems of nature, cooperation and mutual support are more efficient to generate a sustainable, circular and efficient economy. We are all part of this world. Will we be able to make the necessary social, economic and political changes?
