Here’s a great talk from Robert Wright on TED about the Golden Rule as it applies to making the world a better place.

The third ‘I’ of our Civil Branding 3 I’s (inclusive) deals with this topic and it’s the one we wrestle with the most when trying to measure how brands are ‘being inclusive’ and even in trying to define inclusivity in different contexts. This video opened my eyes a little and it’s worth sharing why.

A little background and summary of the talk:

• The golden rule says we should do unto others as we do unto them.
• This notion is universal so many believe it is evolutionary.
• The rule applies most inside a family and inside a tribe.
• We make exceptions to the rule for those outside the tribe.
• Tribes are getting bigger, but we still refuse to apply the rule to all.

So, it’s a good news-bad news scenario. We’re all programmed to treat each other with compassion, but we also allow ourselves to make exceptions to this rule (only we humans can be this complex).

Now for the interesting bit. Wright goes on to explain the correlation with zero-sum and non-zero-sum games.  He says that we tend to think of relationships inside our family and tribe as non-zero-sum games, where everyone has the potential to benefit.

On the other hand, we are more likely to treat relationships outside our tribe as zero-sum games where there is always one winner and one loser to the transaction. He characterises the conflict between Israel in Palestine in this way. Both parties feel that they will need to give something up and live in a worse situation than they do now in any peace deal. They cannot see all the possible ways that they can improve life for each other to create a non-zero-sum game through peace.

Wright concludes by saying we need to create more chances for compassion and empathy between groups/tribes. When we reduce distance between tribes and cultures we begin to question our exceptions to the golden rule and get ever closer to a more consistent application of this genetic propensity.

Economic interdependence is a common deployed tool for this purpose, but I believe there is an opportunity for brands to create this kind of benefit. Brands that promote notions of excellence do not need to promote ideas of exclusivity, for example IKEA and VW. Likewise, brands that align their brand values with British nationalism can speak about the inclusive nature of this wonderful country, for example Hovis and Sainsbury’s.

The more we include, the more non-zero-sum games we create and thereby create fertile ground for mutual progress. With that in mind, I leave you with a video that helps create a platform for peace…