Isn’t it more essential to fight as a party to the problem than to make innovations?
To confront the cruel reality
My conflict, “Aren’t we just conveniently using Generation Z for their dreams?” which I wrote about in my last blog post, is turning into a conviction. Because the benefits we are getting are all gifts from “ex-weak venture companies” and only the fruits of the efforts and good fortune of superheroes who have survived the unbelievably high risk and numerous criticisms from a mixture of chaff, chaff, chaff, chaff, chaff, and wheat. Isn’t it precisely as my academic supervisor said, “Education and policies that encourage entrepreneurship are equivalent to forcing young people to commit suicide attacks?”
To change an unreasonable society. After watching the crazy government policy to COVID-19 so far, even I can understand such thoughts of young people. However, through my research on innovation, I have realized the weight of my responsibility to give flimsy advice as an adult, even when the questions on career choices are simple such as “For this purpose, should I be employed or should I start your own business?” Rather than giving such encouragement, I feel it would be more ethical as an adult to present the cruel fact that the society is what it is today, and that it cannot be changed so easily, because it is what a group of talented adults like you have been trying to change.
To confront ourselves
I don’t like the attitude of pushing people’s backs, like “Those who have a passionate desire to change society should start a business.” Becoming a top executive is not even a necessary condition for social change or social innovation, so why does an argument like “If you start your own business, you can become a hero of social innovation.” starts? Not everyone can display inhuman talent like Luke Skywalker. Also, I don’t like the debate about whether or not people are suited to be entrepreneurs. We have to understand and control ourselves about our upbringing, family structure, education, friendships, social situation, and so on.
Because in that process, we will find something new. How many disadvantageous choices have we been forced to make? On the other hand, how fortunate were the positions that we have been able to fight in? Even if most of those positions are the result of things for which we were not responsible, no one in the world will listen to those excuses. Whether we are blessed or not, as long as we are alive, we have to face reality, and we have to continue to be a fighter. The inclusion that is so popular nowadays can never be achieved without despairing that such no-excuses inequality exists and accepting such existence as a precondition, rather than just stroking the surface.
To confront the people in front of us
So how can we change society? First of all, I also have an exaggerated motive of “I want to change the world”, but I wonder if there are so many people who can apply this motive to their lifelong work. Rather than “social change,” isn’t it much more important to “live freshly as ourselves” in choosing our profession? What brought us to our current situation is the accumulation of the choices we have made so far, the ones we wanted to make the most, over and above our motivation to change society. In this context, we are just stuck in the experience of success, where we were able to gain approval from others. At the end of the day, we are all just little things that live to satisfy our need for approval. “Innovation is not something you try to happen,” is an remarkable statement. I think the intrinsic value and the time value will be increased by facing the issues that the people in front of us are carrying and identifying them as the problems of our concerns rather than the problems that we cannot even know who is carrying. Perhaps innovation will be born in this process.
Here, facing the person in front of us should never coincide with the self-centered “work on what I like” or “work on confronting what I don’t like.” If we want to create a society where we can live comfortably, we have to be self-sufficient in an isolated world where no one can interfere with us. Working in society can only start by helping the people in front of us to solve their problems. And even if we continue to face those in front of us with dedication, there is no guarantee that it will lead to innovation. As for me, I am in a very fortunate situation where what I want to do, at least in the short term, coincides with my job. Of course, I hope that I am on a path that leads to a long-term desire to change the world, but if the society were so easy that it could be changed with little effort on my part, no one would bother.
To confront the cruel reality again
Let’s say that as a result of confronting the people in front of us, the issues they face are successfully resolved. But the story is not so simple. It is not uncommon to bring about unintended side effects that we cannot observe. Solving the problems of the people concerned is completely different from changing society. The relationship between the people involved and us is really just a result of satisfying each other’s need for approval.
And people see what they want to see. Even if we think we’ve created innovation and made an impact on society, in reality, we may just be complacent in our own little world. How much easier it would be if we could just pretend that we didn’t see what was beyond our reach. However, this only means that we are running away from the fact that we are in a privileged position, and we will continue to be at the opposite end of the spectrum from inclusion. It is only when we become aware of this fact that we can redefine the scope of the “relationship” with us. In this context, we will again have to fight for our problems and continue to find creative ways to solve them.
As a result, we may feel discouraged that it is impossible for us. That is to live our lives, isn’t it? I believe that if we live as dedicated people, someone will be watching our efforts.
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