The fact that so many people choose to live in ways that narrow the community of fate to a very limited set of others and to define the rest as threatening to their way of life and values is deeply worrying because this contemporary form of tribalism, and the ideologies that support it, enable them to deny complex and more crosscutting mutual interdependencies-local, national, and international-and to elude their own role in creating long-term threats to their own wellbeing and that of others.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the dangers of modern tribalism, where people isolate themselves within narrow communities and view others as threats.
Margaret Levi's quote addresses the contemporary issue of tribalism, where individuals and groups tend to insulate themselves within a limited circle of like-minded individuals, thereby viewing those outside this circle as adversaries. This mindset not only fosters division but also obscures the interconnectedness that exists between different groups, leading to a disregard for the complexities of social, national, and global interdependencies. The consequences of such narrow thinking can be detrimental, as it hinders cooperative efforts necessary for addressing shared challenges, ultimately threatening the well-being of everyone involved.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about social cohesion and inclusivity during a community meeting.
Philosophy takes as her aim the state of happiness...she shows us what are real and what are only apparent evils. She strips men's minds of empty thinking, bestows a greatness that is solid and administers a check to greatness where it is puffed up and all an empty show; she sees that we are left no doubt about the difference between what is great and what is bloated.
I am a socialist; of course I am a socialist. To hold a vision that society can be fundamentally different, to believe that all people can be equal - that is not a new idea.
In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us.
We are not called to proclaim philosophy and metaphysics, but the simple gospel. Man's fall, his need of a new birth, forgiveness through atonement, and salvation as the result of faith, these are our battle-ax and weapons of war.
If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?
Money has transformed every watchdog, every independent authority. Medical doctors are increasingly gulled by the lobbying of pharmaceutical salesmen.
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