The Age of Paradox and the Richness of Diversity
Marina Silva, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change in Brazil in Dialogue with Walter Link.
Marina Silva, a Brazilian politician who truly strives to make sustainability a reality.
![© Renske van Grinsven](/global/images/cms/Pressemeldungen/2023_10/marina_still_2_photo-renske_van_grinsven.png)
Walter Link: You speak about the importance of difference. And, I think one of the big challenges that we have today, not only in Brazil, but in the whole world, is to appreciate the richness of our difference and to benefit from the richness of our difference. But, this richness of difference needs to be held together by the realization of our unit, of our human and natural unity. And, you are creating a movement or you are participating and helping to lead a movement that is very diverse. And, it’s not only diverse in terms of sectors and ideas, but in terms of the internal cultures of how these people function, how they think, how they act. How do you unite these different cultures while benefiting also from their diversity?
Marina Silva: The problem is that in old paradigms we banish paradoxes. But now, we have reached the age of paradoxes. So far, we have united via our similarities. Now we need to unite over our differences. How do we do that? I think that through values, ethical and moral principles, we can create new alliances. We don’t need to agree on everything. But, there are some things we need to agree on at all times in order to be together. We need to agree that long-term resources can’t be sacrificed for short-term profit. We need to agree that poverty is an attack on human dignity, is unacceptable. We can agree that we can’t accumulate wealth while harming life. I’m only mentioning some examples. We need to view democracy as a value. Even if it’s uncomfortable, it’s the best way to solve our problems. At least, that’s how we think in the Western world. So, let’s unite on values.
"We have to learn that there are differences that enrich us in this exchange of multiple joys and at the same time, we are equal as human beings."
Walter Link: You speak about the importance of values to unite this vast diversity, the richness of diversity, brought together through uniting values. But, often values are just words on a piece of paper, a vision statement or they are easily said in conversation. But, when we talk about really changing the world, we need to talk about values that are really lived, that can also withstand a crisis. So how do you find those uniting values which are those? And, also, how do you find them so authentically and strongly that they can actually bring about real change?
Marina Silva: That’s our greatest challenge. Values do exist. Greatest challenge is not to find values but how people collaborate on the basis of shared values, people capable of actually living these values. It doesn’t work to claim values that don’t correspond to how we live. Leaders will increasingly be asked to lead by example. Leadership will have to increasingly become multi-centered. One person can’t be a leader of everything anymore. This kind of leadership doesn’t respond to this reality. We live today in what I call latent democracy, some sort of prospective democracy. Previously, the ones pointing to the potential of democracy were the politicians, corporations and academics. Then, there were the unions, the NGOs. But, today with the Internet, for good or bad, billions of people experiment with new applications for democracy. CAS talks about the idea of the democracy.
![© Renske van Grinsven](/global/images/cms/Pressemeldungen/2023_10/marina_still_c1_photo-renske_van_grinsven.png)
"I’m not even sure I do politics. I think politics does me. We don’t own our causes. They own us."
Walter Link
NOW Partners’ founding CEO. Former co-owner of Euro-Asian industrial group. Co-founder & leader of first sustainable business networks across Europe and the Americas. Advisor and coach to senior leaders in business and other sectors. Passionately committed to co-creating a regenerative economy within a regenerative civilization.
Gesellschaft | Pioniere & Visionen, 15.09.2023
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