Meliorism
An introduction to this blog
“We all do better when we all do better.”
My Story
My Discord username was just my name until recently when I decided that my involvement in CityDAO was enough to justify the dedication of a few brain cells to creating an alias. I found a site of “words that start with mel” and clicked each one I didn’t know the meaning of, such as mellifluousness (having a pleasant and fluid sound), melisma (a passage of multiple notes sung to one syllable of text as in Gregorian chant), and melaleuca (any of various trees or shrubs of the genus Melaleuca, native chiefly to Australia, having aromatic leaves containing essential oils and usually papery white bark). Soon I was struck by extreme resonance with meliorism (the belief that humans can improve the world)! I changed my username to melior and my avatar to a rainbow globe. While the definition of meliorism is cliche, its manifestation is complex. This blog is my perspective on how things are, how they came to be, and how they can be better.
My Belief
We are capable of bad and good.
We adapt to our environments.
We can create better environments.
We can improve the world.
My Argument
A better world means optimizing for the whole. If I insult you to elevate myself, the world is not better. If a company applies addiction psychology to increase profits, the world is not better. If a country destroys another for more power, the world is not better. It may seem like self-interest conflicts with collective interest, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Cooperation, peace, and love are all rewarding. We can change the games we play.
I think aggregate life satisfaction is the best measure for us. According to the World Happiness Report, these six factors in order are most correlated with life satisfaction: GDP per person, social support, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. Trust and psychological safety also contribute to happiness among groups, according to research. While data does not tell the whole story, these eight variables can guide us in making things better.
My Hope
We unite for a better world. We reflect on our personal objectives and the objectives of our tribes. We question why things are the way they are. We act courageously.
Sources
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/words-that-start-with-mel