Anne-Marie Slaughter envisions an America where caring is as important as competing
From New America Foundation CEO and President Anne-Marie Slaughter, former director of Policy Planning at the State Department.
Published in the Outlook section of today's Washington Post and also in a longer version in the Weekly Wonk.
[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/anne-marie-slaughter-envisions-an-america-where-caring-is-as-important-as-competing/2013/09/05/0cc4e726-14f5-11e3-a100-66fa8fd9a50c_story.html[/url]
We are a nation that thrives on competition, from sports teams to small businesses. We define success by who wins, typically through talent, luck and working harder than anyone else. If everyone pursues their self-interest, all of society benefits.
But winning is not everything, much less the only thing. Competition must go hand in hand with care. As Bill Gates has put it, “There are two great forces of human nature: self-interest and caring for others.”
Care starts from the premise that humans cannot survive alone. Our progress flows from our identity as social animals, connected through love, kinship and clanship. Success should be defined not as individual victory but as group advancement, whether the group is a family, a community or a company. Satisfaction comes less from beating others than from bolstering them, enabling them to reach their full potential. The betterment of the group helps the individual as well. All members have the security of knowing that they are part of a community and that when they are young or old, ill or weak, they will be cared for.