Mutualism
mu·tu·al·ism : myoo-choo-uh-liz-uhm
Oxford definition:
(noun) the doctrine that mutual dependence is necessary to social well-being
(biology) symbiosis that is beneficial to both organisms involved
Location: Design Corridor
Our experiences shape who we are. This includes meeting other people. As we grow, we develop a system of paradigms with which we evaluate our world. We come to each day, each situation, with these paradigms; they help us understand our surroundings. They can keep us safe. Sometimes they serve us well, other times they do not. And sometimes, in a moment, we can revise them and expand our understanding.
In our world, our ecosystem, everything is interconnected. There are endless examples of these connections, symbiotic relationships, and behaviors that are mutually beneficial. In the natural world, there is both mutualism and cheating. Mutualism are those moments of mutual benefit like when the bee gets covered by pollen while extracting nectar and then spreads the pollen. Cheating is when a bee eats a hole in the base of the flower to get the nectar and avoids getting covered in pollen. If mutualism is the dominant action, the cheating is not enough to break the ecosystem. The cheating bees are the minority and thus bees are still heavily relied on to pollinate. However, that shatters when humans capitalize on cheating and that becomes the dominant action on the planet. We often forget that we are as much a part of that system as bees, mycelium and lichen. There is an extensive interconnected network of information flowing in the natural world. We too are interconnected, and a part of this network.
The idea of nationalism in a global economy is comical. International trade among more than 7 billion people is how we feed the world. We are not a planet of small independent self-sufficient islands. We do not fend for ourselves, and nobody pulls themselves up by their bootstraps. They bartered or traded to get those bootstraps. So what happens when our paradigms no longer suit us? When cheating, oppression and discrimination are dominating our planet. Can we shift our paradigm back to mutualism?