Could we refocus the world on maximizing human dignity?

I am very unclear on many of the big questions in life, but I know one thing for sure: the best film ever made was “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”. (If you disagree, I totally respect your right to be wrong 😊) The reason I love that film is because I believe it has a beautiful, poignant, complex treatment of the topic of human dignity. I have come to believe the most important thing in the world is to maximize everyone’s dignity. It feels like the economics that runs the world doesn’t quite do that. Although apologists for economics could argue that it has helped a lot of people address the bottom layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, one might argue that it hasn’t always done that by helping them maintain or maximize their dignity. Certainly not for everyone. I have seen a few people go through a redundancy process recently, and their employer and their employer’s HR department certainly didn’t seem too focused on making them feel dignified as they exited them. Unfortunately, I have seen that same pattern throughout my 40 year career. I was discussing with a colleague a while ago that if we think of companies as individuals, then a company is almost by definition a psychopath, only able to pretend to empathize with others, whilst focusing on profit. I also feel that we could view some of the global tragedies at the moment as caused by/ lacking in concern for human dignity too. I suspect some people would like to say that each of us should be responsible for our own dignity and should not allow the actions of others to diminish it. I like that idea in principle, but I think it is very hard in practice, when we are put in situations that make us feel of less worth than others. The brilliant Michael Sandel touches on this in his book “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets”. He talks about way that market-based economics can harm society. A surprising example he uses is the ability to pay for fast passes to skip the line at theme parks. Even though I value human dignity above all other things, I have a tough time defining it. But I think we all have an innate sense of what it is. Feeling that we have worth/ value, are valued, have purpose, and maybe also have some freedom/ agency/ ability to make decisions. Something like that. It’s not quite the same as importance, status or prestige, since those words give a feeling that they are the privilege of the few, rather than something everyone can and should have. Let’s all work together to protect and nurture the dignity of those around us, and ourselves. At work, at home, and in society. #unask #unthink #unlearn #economics #value #dignity