Self-Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society by John Gardner - Essay Example

?In his book Self-Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society, first published in 1963, John Gardner discusses the needs for and aims of social renewal – a concept that is intended to characterize a given society’s ability to avoid stagnation in ideas, cultural practices, institutional aims, and the like, and conversely to appropriate a certain kind of social innovation that allows the society to thrive and progress economically, politically, and culturally. He argues that in order to achieve such an end, the society must first nurture individual creativity and innovation, since ultimately a society is made up of individuals acting together both apart and in unison. Gardner weighs the various effects of individual and community, continuity and change, and growth and decay on societal health, and the writes what is at one and the same time a social commentary and an inspirational exhortation to individual growth. The argument draws from a long history of American political and cultural thought that runs from Emerson through William James and John Dewey in its espousal of an American cultural ideal that is ultimately fueled by individualized freedom and pragmatic opportunism, and points out that only through a purposeful forward movement in the lives of individuals can a society gain the kind of long-term renewal necessary for its survival in a modern world. In this brief paper, Gardner’s argument regarding the need for individual and societal self-renewal will be summarized and critiqued in terms of its effectiveness, both as an analytical piece regarding American political society and as a contemporary account of a cure for social ills. Gardner begins his book with a statement that change is inevitable in a society and that at the mid-20th century, when he wrote the book, change had accelerated significantly in its impact on modern community life. The threat of nuclear war, the space race, technological innovations in communications, social struggles involving issues such as poverty and war and prejudice – all of these have increased the rate of change in today’s society and forced confrontation with the ills that arise from a society’s mismanagement of such problems or its inability or unwillingness to address such problem. Gardner outlines the problems of modern life in such a way that he shows that change does not necessarily have to be for the better and continuity does not have to be a given for a society, as death and decay seem as realistic as growth and progress, in terms of their potentialities. He wonders what kinds of forces need to be in place in order to properly account for such change so that social ills are resolved, and society’s health and continuity are maintained. He seems to want to find a bridge between the argument between conservatives and progressives that continually plague contemporary political discourse and he begins by reaching a middle ground, stating that “the only stability possible is stability in motion” (p. 7) What he means by this is that, because change is inevitable, one must move forward or perish, but one must do so purposefully, with an intentionality that is conservative in nature – driven by proven values rather than theoretical ideals. One must, in other words, continually challenge the future out of the values of the past and deal with new problems in ways that are based on a goal of maintaining continuity. Gardner’s argument for the best way for a society to do this is based upon a supposition that the individual is the essential unit of social concern. He claims men and women who are able to break out of the pattern of their lives and discover something new in themselves and their potential feed their societies with a vitality that serves to renew the society and innovate its community interactions. Without the contributions of such men and women, societies come to suffer from a “hardening of the arteries” as innovation is squelched and adaptive ability is unappreciated. Without men and women willing to face change in their own lives, in other words, societies come to face a general societal resistance to change. Gardner argues that “no one knows why some individuals seem capable of self-renewal while others do not. But we have some important clues to what the self-renewing person is like, and what we might do to foster renewal” (p. 10). He then turns to a description of what factors seem to be in place in individuals who are open to change and renewal and a consideration of what society ought to do to develop and encourage such men and women. Gardner argues that the characteristics generally present in individuals capable of generating their own self-renewal including the following: 1. Self-development, defined as an educational process in which people take responsibility for the development of their own potential along a whole range of skills and capacities both in school and through life-long learning. 2. Self-knowledge, defined as an experiential and development process by which people come to see ourselves for what they are and grow comfortable with their own realities in the full light of how those realities impact their lives – authentically knowing, that is, their place in the world. 3. Courage to Fail, defined as willingness to risk despite the potential cost of failure and almost even with an appreciation of the chance to learn and grow from the process of failing. 4. Love, defined as an ability to feel concern and appreciation for others and the roles that they play in one’s own life – since this tends to break down the “rigidities of the isolated self, force new perspectives, alter judgments,” and the like (p. 16). 5. Motivation, defined as a characteristic of taking seriously one’s passion and being fueled by resilience and energy and enthusiasm in pursuit of that passion. There is both a mental toughness and a sunny optimism that is implied and expressed throughout Gardner’s argument in relation to what makes individuals prone to successful, self-renewing change. It is the kind of creativity that comes through openness and survival forged by experience. And Gardner claims that in order for societies to appropriate the energy that is generated by such persons, societies must “create an atmosphere that encourages effort, striving and vigorous performance" (p. 20). The question ultimately, of course, is how to do this. Gardner points to a number of potential problems that may prevent the kind of environment in which individuals are free and encouraged to accept and promote changeful self-renewal. Among these are the following: 1. Too much reliance on specialist knowledge as opposed to generalist, as this can tend to force one into a corner that makes change and acceptance of new ideas suggested by broader perspectives unlikely. 2. Too little appreciation for revolutionary creativity, as this can be viewed cynically and dismissed in favor of the status quo. 3. Too narrow a view of the world either through self-imposed limitations of imagination or vested interests that do not allow straying from accepted dogmas. 4. Too much willingness to accept a tyrannical formula because that is what has been done before and therefore is widely accepted, even in the absence of a force that enforces the dogma. To overcome these problems Gardner suggests that societies must forge new organizational forms both in terms of lived experience and in terms of actual community bodies, being as inventive in their creation of experiences and communities as they are in the forms of technology that serve experience and community. Similarly, societies must offer and demand protection for dissent so that change is encouraged, not shunned. Finally, societies must encourage the promotion of what Gardner calls “meaning” and “purpose” and “commitment.” Such terms are described in ways that show them to be the appropriate drivers of changes, so that change is not just willy-nilly or uncontrolled chaos. Meaning and purpose give form the push for change. They are the values that both promote and inspire the questioning of the past and the acceptance of the future and direct change so that societal health and continuity are achieved. A practical example of the kind of social application that Gardner finds useful for promoting change is a focus in education on process and skill development rather than on memorized facts that may become outmoded. He espouses an educational system that promotes "methods of analysis and modes of attack on problems" as Dewey and others have before him. Gardner’s book is a deeply philosophical and almost spiritual account of the role that individual change plays in societal health and how societies need such change and may encourage it. While the book does not offer practical step-by-step methods for achieving such a society, it also does not devolve into a mere self-help inspirational text. It treads a fine line between philosophy and policy-making that suggests a way for American society not just to muddle through but to promote efforts to strive and achieve and succeed. As such, the book provides a fascinating commentary on the current political scene. By providing a well-grounded defense of individuality, but placing that discussion in the context of community, the book avoids many of the state v. individual arguments of current political discourse. It remains a useful contribution. Reference Gardner, J. Self-Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society. New York: Harper & Row, 1963, 1981. Read More