THE GOLDEN RULE EXPLAINED

by Luke Weinhagen

Those of us living in high trust societies recognize the importance of The Golden Rule. We understand its value and the benefits we derive from it. It is one of the first formal lessons in social interaction we teach our children.

But when you stop there at the Golden Rule alone, we too easily take it for granted. What we seem to miss is that rather than the Golden Rule being the First Rule of a high trust society – it is the last.

THE FOUNDATIONS

And so we often take for granted the other foundational rules:

  1. Via Positiva: ……. The Golden Rule.
  2. Via Negativa: ….. The Silver Rule.
  3. Via Logica: ……….The Natural Law of Reciprocity.
  4. Via Existentia: …. Rule of Law,

………………………….. … The Jury, and

………………………….. … Markets in everything. 5. The Iron Rule: …. Might Makes Right.

These are Foundational rules – rules that form the foundations of interaction upon which we build the functions of our society – the closer you get to the Golden Rule the more trust you can support.

But High Trust, absent vigilance, allows one to make the mistake of standing on that foundation seeing nothing but the immaculate Gold and stop looking – ignoring the layers below that must be there to support each ascending layer.

But these other rules can not be ignored. They are active. Starting from the Iron Rule each rule supports the next, making each possible in turn.

The next rule in sequence can not exist without the previous rule being applied and maintained.

Today someone is out there applying the fifth rule so that you have access to the fourth.

Today someone is out there applying the fourth rule so that you have access to the third.

Today someone is out there applying the third rule so that you have access to the second.

Today someone is out there applying the second rule so that you have access to the first.

“BE THAT SOMEONE”

Be willing and able to be that someone. All the way down. If you can not be that someone, be grateful that someone is there. If you can not be grateful, at least do not try to knock that someone down – Trust is valuable and we really want to keep the Golden Rule.

These are the rules. They are not complicated, but they are demanding. They are not hard to understand, but they so often seem easy to forget.

-Luke Weinhagen