Читать книгу Mutual Aid - Pablo Servigne - Страница 9

Do you know this story? It’s a myth from the 1980s, but it’s said to come from a much more distant era. Once upon a time, there was life – a ruthless arena where millions of gladiators fought and killed each other. No favours, no quarter, no pity. Aggression had become an essential asset; it was a matter of survival. In this world, intelligence – sorry, cunning – was used for getting ahead of others, or, better, for thrashing them. You had to watch your back. ‘May the best person win!’ was the constant cry. The large ate the small, the fast ate the slow, the strong ate the weak. This was how it had been since the dawn of time; so said the sages. If you weren’t one of the winners, tough luck. Besides, you were probably a little bit to blame … ‘Damn it! Get up and fight! You need to win! To succeed! Don’t you get it?’

This myth dies hard. They say it’s still being told today, all over the world. Told to employees, to encourage them to climb the corporate ladder, or to corporations who need to win a share of the market. It’s said that at the highest level of state you find this obsession with competitiveness, with the battle to win power. Elsewhere, you find the struggle between football teams, candidates for the most prestigious colleges, job seekers …

Of course, these are not real wars; they’re simulated, cathartic, sometimes theatrical. They seem to be a way of channelling human impulses so as to keep us from going under. But do they prevent real confrontations, offences, crimes, armed conflicts, class wars, wars between peoples or wars against living creatures?