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2.6 Some tentative conclusions
This entire section was about triangulation, in one way or the other, using questionnaires, or interviews, but in every case with dialogical intentions, that is to let the voice of the other speaker come through with the same respected authority as the one who asks or reacts. No prejudice, let alone orthodox refutation. That does not mean that the protagonist, the author of the thesis, is not committed to his own belief and worldview, but it is with the full realization that there are also other views that can co-exist with the ones held by himself and his community. In fact, the principle of social constructionism, namely that meaning is what we create together, in communities of practice that morally engage people who belong to it, to so create the good and the real, is at the heart of this section. It is amazing to see how collective engagement with good intention and, as far as possible, good knowledge, is basis for the various conceptions of good faith in the various religions. They may have different view on what happens with the soul, whether it returns or not, and in what form, but good intention and being engaged rather than be purely abstract and detached seems crucial for all of them. In retrospect, we recognize in this also the principle of good ethics, and even of good management in its various forms of corporate responsibility, whether it be quality control, risk management, or careful investment, namely being engaged and informed. The question then only is, engaged with whom and for what. Nowadays we say that globalization forces us to care about the earth and life, because we are interrelated and can 'see' or 'feel' the consequences of things we do, not only for us, but also for our neighbors on the other side of the ocean, or vice versa, what they do, and has consequences for us. In fact, a century old belief in the value of all what lives can bring us to the same conclusion, even before we use Internet or travel the world. The postmodern condition, however, brings it right in our backyard. It is well known that systems of quality control work best for people who are personally and collectively engaged in the system, like pilots who fly their plane and definitely feel the consequences of hitting a mountain a split second earlier than customers in the back of the plane. So, their quality control, or concern for customers if you wish is Self-serving, the unity between the rest of the community and the actor is virtually perfect. Therefore, they are very much motivated to do things right, and fear no name, nor shame, nor blame when sharing what they think they should do, and put it in rules or protocols. These rules and protocols are not externally imposed, but self-invented, and therefore carrier of their own motivation. There is no difference between rule-based and principle-based, they are psychologically the same. The discussion about imperfection in life and business, following the principle of good intention and good knowledge, that is expounded here, seems to follow that same line. It is not by externally imposed rules of corporate responsibility that ethics about responsible agency and business pop up, but by connectedness with other people and life in general. Not surprisingly, then, children's rights appear on center stage, because if one thing is generative by definition, it is the continuity of life in the form of next generations: children. This will now be the focus of the third part, namely demonstrate by prototype the possibility to engage in that direction, and inspire to further development in that direction, or generative research as expounded in the general introduction to this book.
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