I want the language of needs to be universally known throughout the world, and for it to support us human beings working together to deal with the challenges we face. To support this happening I want to be as clear as possible about NVC being a language of needs and skills, rather than a particular worldview and value system. NVC is seen by many who know about it as a subculture, or even a cult by some. To whatever degree NVC is associated with certain beliefs it will be rejected by those who don’t share them. My dream is for NVC to contribute to people who hold different worldviews and value systems to better understand each other and collaborate. This seems ever more important and urgent to me as I see growing global crises in economics, effects of climate change, and the environment, and increasing political stalemate and polarization rather than cooperation.
Based on my understanding of Integral Theory (see the works of Ken Wilber and colleagues), I see people with different value systems and worldviews prioritize different needs and have different moralities for meeting needs. In the realm of politics for example, I see three main groups – “conservative”, “mainstream”, and “liberal.” To generalize and oversimplify, I see the conservative worldview prioritize needs for order and stability, with a morality emphasizing external authority and rules/laws. I see the mainstream worldview prioritize self-expression and achievement, with a morality emphasizing material attainment. And lastly, I see the liberal worldview prioritize inclusion and empathy, with a morality emphasizing dialogue and non-hierarchy/equality of perspectives, power, access to resources, etc.
We all see the world through particular beliefs and values, and many of us can probably identify with more than one worldview depending on the situation. I see all three of the worldviews above as valuable and essential, as well as each having different limitations. I envision NVC mediation as a bridge allowing communication and collaboration between all groups and people with cultural and ideological differences. The way I think we will be able to contribute to this happening is if we can share NVC-based work separate from our personal worldview and values. I see how difficult this has been for me, but thinking about it this way gives me a great sense of meaning, purpose, and excitement!
