Overview
We are responsible to each other and have shared responsibility for the whole.
How far does your circle of responsibility extend? To your household? Your neighbors? Your country? What is your responsibility to people on the other side of the world? What happens when we extend our shared circle of responsibility to include all of humanity, the earth, and life itself?
If we are to bring about broad social change, our circles must be so much bigger than they are right now. They must include people who have migrated to our communities, people who pray in different ways than we do, and people who hold different values and political perspectives. In a global economy, we have to pay attention not just to the people with whom we interact most directly and most often, but also to those who grow our food or eat what we grow, make the machines we depend on, or feel the effects of our decisions. We are human, so our circles will also include people who have violated community norms and caused harm, and those who they’ve harmed. Shared responsibility means we navigate this reality with practices that don’t throw anyone away.
Mutual aid, or working together to care for each other’s needs, is an expression of shared responsibility. There are times when we respond to the needs of others, and there are times when we are the ones in need. Communities are healthy when they welcome the contributions and value of all their members, not just a few.
When a cooperative business practices shared responsibility, it recognizes its impacts on the entire community and on the supply chain to which it belongs.Yes, it looks out for its members, but it also looks out for the land that it sits on, the community that shares this land, and the workers who extract or produce the materials that its business requires.
Sharing responsibility means that as we organize to build a better world, we don’t look away from the impact of the choices we make along the way. It also means that we pay attention to the choices others are faced with and support each other in making better options available for everyone. Grace Lee Boggs said, “You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it.”