Is it in human nature to participate?

Parecon is a growing and developing idea, and its participatory quality opens it up to scrutiny and criticism. Much of the criticism leveled against Parecon, even from the left, relies on the notion that people are fundamentally greedy and it is in their nature to grab all they can. Sure people are capable of terrible things, but they are also capable of great and beautiful things. Most of the atrocities perpetrated around the world are brought on by circumstances that force people to act out of their natural character, which is generally good?. We are encouraged in lots of ways to believe the opposite. The reason for this is that it is easy er for corporations, and protectionist business practices, to operate if we are frightened by peoples “human nature” which is “to steal all that they can get their hands on”

If this were true, why then, are we not out in the streets stealing all that we can get our hands on? Because we do not normally go about doing these sort of things. Some people do, but most of us don’t.

Circumstances

If you wish people to kill; then train them well, feed them well, pay them well, use laws, god, and mammon in persuading them to hate the enemy of your creation and that part of human nature will show up.

If you wish to do the opposite, encourage and facilitate cooperation and tolerance, respect for others’ cultures and traditions, fair trade and common need. You will create the conditions that appeal to the good part of human nature. Which is reasonable to believe – is the strongest part.

So we need to change the circumstances to favour more people and encourage the good part of human nature – which is what the parecon system sets out to do.

In other words. Create a set of good conditions and people will act accordingly. That’s human nature.