All the talk these days is about change. In business
sometimes, change almost seems to become the whole point. It doesn’t seem to
matter what is working and where a firm is heading, as long as there is change
the leaders would be happy. And of course there is always resistance,
especially to change for change’s sake, so some leaders are never happy.
Technology and globalization and social and demographic
trends have indeed led to an acceleration of many previously unnoticed changes.
Each time we stream a movie or join a teleconference or even simply look
something up, we should marvel at how such things have made our lives simpler.
But it is also instructive to look for things that have
stayed the same. Here are some examples.
An obvious example is religion. Many religions have
traditions going back thousands of years. When I take mass somewhere new, I
often wonder at how many others have done the same thing in the same way that very
day, and every day going back generations. It is no wonder the cardinals are so
scared of making changes like introducing women priests, they must feel they
are guardians of history.
Even more interesting to me are the rituals around ritual
and their secular equivalents. There are many similarities between prayer and
modern breathing exercises, between chanting songs or mantras and an AA
meeting, between listening to a homily or going to a movie, or attending a
service or a sports event. Each serves a role around personal well-being,
filling a need to stay healthy and balanced.
I was fascinated to read that an atheist “Church” has
started up and is becoming popular. What do they actually do? Well, they meet
with each other. They sing songs. They listen to readings. Someone makes a
speech. There is time for reflection. Essentially they acknowledge all the
human benefits of the rituals without the beliefs that go with them. Very wise.
In a similar category are universal hobbies, like walking,
fishing or swimming. The therapeutic value of these is timeless.
Another category of things that have changed little is
family rituals. Death is handled just like it was hundreds of years ago, it
just that people are more spread out now so it seems less intimate. There is a
reason for a thing like a wake. Marriage has become more glamorous, but its
essence remains the same, even down to the way a couple woos. Birth rituals
have changed little. Nor have more everyday things like family meals and the
role of grandparents and respect for elders. All these traditions have weakened
marginally due to the world becoming smaller, but all have retained their key
characteristics.
Then there are traditions that started around the industrial
revolution but still persist in similar form today.
Education has changed remarkably little. Kids start in a
nursery with a mainly social function, then have a gentle step to elementary
and a senior system with set exams in mid teens towards a tertiary level for
elite minds. Most of the time, kids are in classrooms with a single teacher. True,
ages have changed, universality and participation too, but the framework is
similar. Isn’t that remarkable?
Then take work. Almost everyone has a boss. The boss has to
check you do the things in your contract, and assess you for raises and
development, with a variety of tools to help. There is a hierarchy and a pay
structure. You work a five day week and an eight hour day for nearly forty
years, and then you retire. At its heart, this has not changed.
When this happens, we need to ask why? Then, when change
starts, we need to be very careful about unintended consequences. There are
always lessons.
Take the last example first. The work structure is gradually
breaking down, as highlighted by a wonderful report in last week’s Economist.
Why? It is because of various huge trends. Why has the structure persisted?
Partly for the good reason that it works for growth and society and families,
and partly for the bad reason that it suits an elite. The elite is trying to
stall the change, and so are the workers, out of fear. Yet the change is
inevitable. In this situation, the consequences are really to be feared, since
whole structure depend on a fabric that has become unreliable, yet everyone is
in denial about it and no-one seems inclined to act decisively. I really fear
for the generation entering the workforce now.
With education we should be less frightened. Again, it has
stayed the same because it works, and those parts will stay the same. But the
reason for the stability seems poor: it suits the powerful teachers, and it
used to suit families before work structures changed. But these have changed,
and now it is silly that schools finish at three while parents work until six
or later. And computing can make education so much more personal and
affordable. Bring it on. Just be careful about unintended consequences.
The family and other timeless rituals are different but the
lessons are similar. Generally, the reason something lasts a thousand years is
because it works. There is something in there which is healthy for humanity.
Find it and treasure it and be very wary when people argue to change it and
very worried when change happens from outside forces. But also look for
non-core elements that only serve an elite, and argue to strip them away.
In family rituals there is little benefit to any elite so
they are probably all good. Luckily, global changes are only fraying these
rituals at the edges. We can still enjoy a family meal or be soothed by a
funeral. If there is a lesson, it is to cling to these things. Be very loathe
to fall out with your own family. Think twice before moving far away, since you
are pulling in anchors you made need. And don’t mock the old traditions but
embrace them.
For religion and its rituals it is similar. The rituals are
wonderful and they work. Who needs the belief anyway – the Priest will be glad
to see you and won’t challenge you too hard. If you must, join the Atheist
Church. Look for all the similar rituals in secular life and embrace those as
well, from meditation, to breathing, to walking, to self-help groups and book
clubs. Mock them at your peril, for in your hour of need these are the things
that could save you. They have survived for a good reason. They work.
Furthermore, be careful of surrendering them, for example by taking on excess
hours in work.
The Church itself is different. We can argue that humans
need something to believe in, and it is true that a belief can offer the gifts
of humility and serenity. But the rituals can work just as well without. And
the structures around religion reek of elite benefits. We can challenge these
as hard as we wish, so long as we watch out for the unintended consequences.
This subject is the true dividing line between left and
right wing, radical and conservative. The former need to be careful of casting
aside traditions that work and of unintended consequences, while the latter
need to be challenged about elite interests.
So, wherever you are on this spectrum, the lessons are the
same. Look for things that have endured. Ask if this is just to benefit an
elite, and if so challenge it, but be careful of unintended consequences. If
there is no elite benefit, there is a nugget somewhere inside that could be
priceless. Find it and embrace it. Finally, when external change threatens
something that has endured a long time, be fearful. The world of work is one
such example. Climate is another.
Now, I’ll have a siesta, a walk, and meditate a while,
before a good meal with the family. Why don’t you as well?
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