It's All About Trust

I encourage you to evaluate the ideas that Bell discusses in this half of Chapter 10. Especially, because we are college students and we are surrounded by the same group of people and environment for four years. How is it possible to share this common ground, yet still provide enough resources for each individual person? Bell presents the question .... "How do we get that togetherness together?" This question of course, just like any other, has obstacles it must overcome. One of these being, The Tragedy of the Commons. Garret Hardin explains that this theory is the idea that commonly owned resources are doomed to fail. This is because humans are greedy and only pursue what is in their best interest. Take the example of cattle grazing on common land (while herders are trying to make the most profit). It is expected that the once the grounds become thin, herdsmen are going to add more cattle in attempt to bring their profit back up. This will create a domino affect: everyone's sheep will eventually die off, you will end up with less sheep then you started with, the ground will erode and is  now unable to support the environments surroundings and therefore, economic damage will occur.

Nevertheless, Bell argues a good point - this is not so much a problem of collective ownership but more a problem on the individual level. So would it not make more sense to call this, Tragedy of Individualism? Stepping back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, people are going to consume what they want based on their own self interests, what is most important for them to survive - that being basic needs such as food or if it is safety needs (doing what they can to put a house over their heads).

So lets get back to the main question here, how do we get people to come together to make our economy work? We all have certain values and or beliefs that make us interested in specific things.  Bell says, interests promotes sentiments. Just like the example of the Lion and Androcles, where they spared one another's lives because they knew what it was like to be hurt and alone. They made this decision based on their pure self-interest. And because they learned to rely on each other they shared a sense of commitment to common norms of social behavior. Bell would define this phenomenon as, complementary.

While I was reading this I kept referring back to Phi Mu and the living circumstances we are encaged in. How is there enough hot water to go around for 47 girls everyday? How are we suppose to get our laundry done with only 3 washers and dryers - which 50% of the time one is always broken? Not only are the resources scarce, but what about our personalities?! How do they mix? There are always issues of space in complementary action. We cannot keep track of each other 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We cannot keep track of who needs to clean up what or whose food is whose. So we require one thing ... trust.

My sisters and I are bonded by similar values and beliefs.  They may not all be carried out the in the same manner or even the beliefs we have at home might not be similar to my neighbor on the second floor. However, we all have affection towards one another and a sense of common commitments to common norms. These could be donating our time to serve others, being there for our sisters when they need to be cheered up ... we know what it is like to be in one another's shoes depending on the situation. And in that sense, we are individuals that come together as one. We complement each other in ways that are hard to explain. We rely on trust. Trust not only allows us to be best friends, sisters, and most importantly family, but it is also what makes our chapter so successful.