Dignity and the Organization by Monika Kostera & Michael Pirson

Author:Monika Kostera & Michael Pirson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK, London

Introduction

“Things have a price and can be for sale, but people have a dignity that is priceless and worth far more than things”. These words by Pope Francis (Pinterest n.d.) accurately describe the essence of the chapter. Immanuel Kant—considered to be the father of contemporary thought on human dignity—also describes dignity as a value that is beyond any price (Kant 1964). Dignity is not given; we do not have to offer something or do something to have it. We are born with this precious value. This is an inherent aspect of our humanity. We may sometimes have difficulties with defining dignity; yet, we know when it has been disturbed. It is because “dignity is like air and just as important. When there’s enough of it, you don’t notice it. You don’t think about it. When there’s a lack of air, you suffocate. All you want is air” (Aubanova and Dull 2012, p. 10).

When dignity is assaulted there is a need for action to retrieve it. There are organisations that exist to both fight dignity violation and restore dignity. These are the organisations that address social needs and problems. Each social need and problem with which these organisations deal with has an aspect of dignity abuse to it. For example, organisations fighting violence against women or hunger at the same time grapple with the lack of dignity that people who need their help feel. These people were stripped of their humanity, either by other people or by the conditions in which they need to live. Therefore, the representatives of such third-sector organisations often have problems with such people who appear as if they are passive and accepting of the reality they are in. These peoples’ problems further entail alienation and an attendant lack of motivation to go forward and try to change the status quo. For that reason, there is often a need for new solutions, and for courage and great motivation to realise new initiatives. These are the characteristics of social enterprises that are flexible, open to emerging opportunities, and constantly searching for new and more effective approaches to social problems. In this chapter, I present actions undertaken towards dignity restoration by a particular social enterprise—the Southeast Credit Union.1

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