Cultivating Compassionate Humanity
By Wade Lee Hudson
Society weaves together our institutions, communities, families, cultures, and ourselves as individuals into a single self-perpetuating social system — the System. This system permeates every aspect of our lives. Our society teaches individuals, groups, organizations, and nations to seek status, wealth, and power to dominate and exploit those below them and submit to those above them for selfish gain.
Compassion-minded individuals and organizations promote justice and relieve suffering in countless ways — at home and work, in spiritual communities and civic organizations, and with their nations. If these fragmented efforts united, they could change the world.
A powerful grassroots movement based on shared principles could nurture just and compassionate communities dedicated to all humanity, the environment, and life itself.
However, divisive tendencies undermine unity. Caring activist communities could support unlearning divisive social conditioning, strengthen deep-seated cooperative instincts, solidify collective solidarity, and contribute to society’s holistic and systemic transformation.
These holistic reforms would involve the whole person (body and soul, conscious and unconscious) and the whole society (its culture, institutions and systems, and its individual members). And they would address how each social element is integrated into a single, self-perpetuating system.
Conventional wisdom asserts that multiple social systems operate independently and have unique structures, rules, procedures, and practices. However, Talcott Parsons and other sociologists have seen society as made up of interconnected parts, where each element has a specific function that contributes to its overall functioning. Specialized institutions perform particular functions that help maintain social stability. Individuals are socialized to internalize societal norms and values, which guide their behavior, constrain their freedom, and reinforce social order.
More recently, feminist scholars have developed “intersectionality,” which sees social categories as rooted in overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.
In “The Ancient Patterns of Migration,” Deborah Barsky wrote, “Members of each social unit are indoctrinated through an elaborate preestablished apprenticeship, institutionally reinforced throughout every facet of life: religious, educational, family, and workplace.”
In Justice by Means of Democracy, Danielle Allen says, “Equality of agency rests on citizens’ ability to adopt habits of non-domination in their ordinary interactions with one another….” Her “difference without domination” concept envisions a virtuous circle with a positive, synergistic dynamic between political equality, social equality, and economic fairness. “Of course,” she writes, “these domains are fully integrated with one another.”
My associates and I have been attempting to articulate a clear, precise definition of our social system. (We’ve modified this statement over time, will likely edit it again, and welcome suggested improvements.) The latest draft reads:
Our institutions, communities, families, cultures, and ourselves as individuals are woven together into a single self-perpetuating social system — the System. This system permeates every aspect of our lives. Our society teaches individuals, groups, organizations, and nations to seek status, wealth, and power to dominate and exploit those below them and submit to those above them for selfish gain.
If compassion-minded activists agree that “the system” is our major problem, we can unite behind a commitment to transform it — with short-term reforms that move toward the long-term goal.
As envisioned here, individuals and organizations affirm a commitment to holistic and systemic reform while focusing on their primary commitments and occasionally coming together to support others on top-priority pressing issues that affect everyone. We accomplish more together than separately.
This approach integrates three elements: mutual support for self-empowerment and unlearning oppressive conditioning, community service to address unmet needs, and political action to change public policy. Positive growth in each area synergistically reinforces growth in the others.
This compassion-centered movement respects diverse worldviews and acknowledges the equal worth of all individuals. We promote collaboration and cooperation, empower people in decision-making, and nurture relational equality and co-equal partnerships. We seek to meet everyone’s basic needs, oppose unjust discrimination, create sustainable structures for lasting progress, and liberate people to live creative, meaningful lives.
As affirmed by the Charter for Compassion, we urge individuals and communities to cultivate empathy, appreciate diversity, and work together to relieve and prevent suffering by addressing structural issues. Compassionate action involves challenging oppressive structures and policies, advocating for equality, justice, and compassion, and nurturing personal development through acts of kindness and helping those in need. Working together, we create a more just and compassionate world rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
A network of small teams whose members affirm and act on this mission advances this movement. Informal teams form through existing relationships; formal ones hold regular meetings and set aside time for mutual support for self-improvement. These teams are learning communities that facilitate peer learning, collaborative teamwork, and political action that pushes institutions to serve the public interest.
Rather than relying on traditional top-down leaders who mobilize followers to do what the leader wants, collaborative leadership works toward common goals democratically while respecting everyone's needs and views. Effective leadership fosters cooperation, seeks consensus when possible, and empowers workers to hold their managers accountable. Mutual respect and nonviolent communication build solid relationships and achieve lasting change.
Pragmatic idealism combines vision and realism to achieve meaningful change through incremental steps. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change” offers guidance for nonviolent campaigns that cultivate the Beloved Community with other-centered compassion. Pragmatic idealism guides individuals and organizations in pursuing a positive impact.
This aspirational vision is not a blueprint. It merely points one way forward. The compassionate humanity community is a minority voice, but we’re planting seeds and creating models. A cultural revolution may be blooming. Someday soon, these changes may all come together and flourish. We can only do what we can. The work is ours but not the fruits thereof.