Good bye realism

I was kind of thinking about this for quite some time. There are some reasons who indicated to me that I really have to write this. The last one was when I heard today in the morning Peace Train from Cat Stevens in the office. I actually did not pay that much attention to the lyrics but I actually just thought about the word Peace. And I thought about my values, as I did a lot these couple of days. And that’s why I decided to write this blog entry:

I am, and this might be quite some shock to the people who know me, an idealist. I believe in the fact that our world can improve in future. I think it is not acceptable that there are people starving all over the world, while we throw away our food. I think it is a scandal that people get shot while standing up for their right, as it happens in Burma for the moment. I think that every person on earth has the right for justice, equal treatment, freedom of speech and freedom to believe and think what he or she wants. I think that women do an equally good job in most of the professions and should therefore be paid according to their economic strength. I am aware that I live a privileged life, that some of it is just pure luck, some of it good choices of mine, but still there is a part for which I was not responsible. This analysis results basically in the fact that I have to face responsibilities that I was not ready to face before. There is certain amount of duty in this privileged life. I mean, as we cannot do much for the fact that we live the way we do, at least we should try to make the life better for the others. This does not mean that I will become a fanatic fighter for the poor, for those who do not have a justice system that works or any other who have a life less free than we do. Because having this mindset would make me do too much. I cannot help everybody. What I promise here and now is that I will act up to my values in a smart way, based on economic criterias and regarding the opportunities I have in my life.

This does not mean that I for example will stop buying T-Shirts made in China because they were produced by workers who have no rights, are underpaid and not happy. I will continue buying them for two reasons: First, by buying T-Shirts made in China, I at least provide a working opportunity to these people. Maybe it is underpaid, maybe they don’t have any rights, but at least it is an opportunity for them to get some food on the table. I really think that there is a natural evolution of working standards. I mean, 200 years back, we didn’t have much better standards here in Europe either. And second, by buying the cheapest shirt on the market, I have more money left for other things to buy which creates jobs and which helps drawing people out of poverty.

What it means is that I will not accept any analysis done by me who finishes with the result: We just have to work with the people that we have, because there are no others. I believe that we can change the people we have by being a good example. I want to stop being cynical, being a realist in political terms, to believe that we live in a bad world. I think that if everybody would maximise their wellbeing, we would maximise the well being of the society, of the world. But as we have different capabilities of maximising our well being (some have the chance to do it, some don’t) we are actually not capable of doing that in a way that is justified towards those with limited capabilities. This is just one example of many where I will apply different standards to my thinking from now on.

I have been a realist and a cynic for a long time, so I am not yet used to this way of thinking. And that’s why I write this very long blog entry: Because I want to be judged after moral values such as justice, honesty and so on…

Cheers
Stefan