Advantage 97 – Appreciation of human dignity

Excerpt from the book »Gradido – Natural Economy of Life«

»Human dignity is inviolable.

To respect and protect it is the duty of all state authority.«

– Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany

article 1, section 1

The »di« in gradido stands for »dignity«. To appreciate, respect, esteem and foster the uniqueness of every individual – herein lies the deeper sense of the creation of the first amount of money. It is used to finance the unconditional participation which makes an active basic income possible for everyone.

Gradido means »thanks« and with the basic income of 1,000 gradidos the community calls out to every person »A thousand thanks for being with us!«. In this way every person, no matter who they are and what they can do, is always being welcomed by the community – in a dual sense. On the one hand, they can contribute their inclinations and abilities to the community, whereby the community supports them by all means possible in developing and living their full potential. On the other hand, they receive their active basic income, which permits them a life in human dignity, every month in return.

By helping each other to develop our full potential, we sensitise one another to become curious about other people’s inclinations and abilities in a positive sense. We want to know what is hidden in our fellow humans and help them polish their inner diamond and let it shine.  

Everybody brings something with them into the world that they can contribute to the community. It is often claimed that people with disabilities cannot contribute anything but nothing is farther from the truth. Possibly we »normal« people merely lack the imagination to uncover the hidden treasures in our fellow humans but we can all learn this ability. We should already start at pre-school age and make this discipline one of the main subjects in our schools.

When everybody receives the opportunity and support to make their inner diamonds shine, how bright will it be on our earth? How much compassion, sympathy and love will we feel for each other? Might it be that our greater compassion and love automatically extend to the whole of nature surrounding us?