We Need Human Connection to Heal Democracy and Build Shared Prosperity

Recently I wrote about shared prosperity and why I believe that focusing on achieving it is a better way to organize our economy. The message resonated with many people, who wanted to learn more. Over the coming months I plan to explore the concept of shared prosperity and how it can guide our economic system as an invitation to investigate, discuss, debate, and imagine a better way to organize our economy. My hope is that these pieces might help you find a way to describe something you have been thinking, give you an idea to develop further in your work, or—best of all—give you a little hope to keep fighting the good fight.

We are in a critical moment in our history. The world economic order underpinned by neoliberalism is sputtering and collapsing before our eyes. It is collapsing under the weight of extreme inequality, the gross concentration of power and wealth hoarded by a few, the unsustainable exploitation of our planet and our labor, and the devastating human suffering required to maintain the status quo. What comes next is up to us. Although shaping the future may seem beyond our control, we have the power to demand a better economic design.

In this context, I have been reflecting on the importance of connection, relationships, and partnership, and their significance for our overall well-being and success. Our current economic system and culture are hyper-individualized and polarized. This is not a coincidence. It is by design.

We live in a time when people yearn for real connection and a sense of belonging. We know that we are living through a loneliness epidemic that was amplified by a worldwide pandemic, when our unit of connection was reduced to the people confined to our homes. Our sense of connection has been further tested by compounding crises, such as armed conflicts and climate change. Technology, which is supposed to connect us and make life easier, often increases loneliness, division, and isolation. Charlatans exploit our divisions to further their agendas of greed and hate. These conditions have created a world that feels less connected, more skeptical, and more cynical—a world where it is easier to “other” our neighbors than to meet them where they are.

The people barring us from the future we deserve will leverage all their power and resources to keep us from realizing that what binds us is far greater than what divides us.

My earliest memories living in the United States are of feeling othered. When I arrived in Los Angeles, my family home was the only place I felt secure and able to be myself. Those early days as an immigrant living in Los Angeles were difficult until I met Thomas. He was my neighbor, a Black kid my age who was always playing in the street. Despite not speaking the same language, Thomas and I became good friends. Soon, I too was playing in the street most of the day. Eventually our families started spending time together, sharing food, laughs, history, and responsibility for each other. Whether Thomas knew it or not, he enabled me to feel safe and comfortable in a foreign setting and I happily accepted his invitation to build friendship and community. The connection that my family developed with Thomas’ family was crucial to my success in the United States because I felt that other people in my community had my back.

I again experienced the power of connection when my family returned to Mexico City when I was 8. I felt like a foreigner in my own birthplace. I had a hard time relating to the culture: I spoke differently, I dressed differently, I again felt like I didn’t belong. Fortunately, I was quickly introduced to many cousins that lived in the neighborhood, who welcomed me into a thriving, connected community. We played in the street under the watchful eye of abuelas, merchants, and street vendors who knew us and our families. These relationships were fountains of information about neighborhood, city, and worldwide events. I remember experiencing major events—like Pope John Paul II’s visit, a solar eclipse in 1991, and the signing of the North America Free Trade Agreement—with this community. The neighborhood helped me to understand these events and simultaneously ease my fears and anxieties.

What do these experiences have to do with shared economic prosperity? I believe they illustrate themes fundamental to achieving it: connection, reciprocity, solidarity, mutuality, curiosity, empathy, openness, service, and love. We are taught that our economy is shaped by rules, practices, and systems that determine how goods and services are produced, sold, and bought. I believe our economy is shaped by how we relate to each other, what we value, and what we protect. If we want to have an economic system that looks out for everyone—a system of belonging and inclusion—we must improve how we relate to each other.

Improving our relationships, building community, cultivating belonging and mutual dependence; it is all key to achieving shared economic prosperity. It may seem daunting to overcome our current division and polarization, but it is not impossible. It starts with something seemingly simple but hard to practice genuinely: listening and embracing the opportunity to learn from people different from you.

I know I struggle letting my guard down, consistently wondering if new people I engage with align with my values and worldviews. I am most willing to listen, understand, and learn from different perspectives from the people I care about. But how different would our world be if we were capable of extending this type of human connection to the people beyond our inner circles?

I am not naive enough to think that everyone is interested in building a mutually beneficial relationship with me. I am not blind to the hate and indifference that some hold for their fellow humans. But I have to believe that most of us want similar life outcomes even if we talk about them or work toward them in different ways. I believe we all want a good life, the opportunity to provide for our family, meaningful purpose, the ability to leave this world better than we received it.

We won’t achieve those goals if we remain divided; it simply won’t happen. The people barring us from the future we deserve will leverage all their power and resources to keep us from realizing that what binds us is far greater than what divides us. They will do so because they know that if we were to find a way to overcome our differences, it will mean an end to their ability to hoard the abundance of this world. But we have the power to heal our democracy, to bridge our divides, and to build shared prosperity. It starts with improving our human connections.