Hacker News Reader

Many may be cynical.. but, say, Chloe Valdary's Theory of Enchantment looks wonderful. https://theoryofenchantment.com/

At least, I found its principles striking:

1. Treat people like human beings, not political abstractions.

2. Criticize to uplift and empower, never to tear down or destroy.

3. Root everything you do in love and compassion.

It does look wonderful, but I wonder how it holds up in big organisations where your counterpart does not in fact have your best interest in mind. This can happen because either they're guarding their little fiefdom and/or because they are competing for limited promotion spots. I've seen many a team go under because some of their people behaved basically according to the Theory of Enchantment principles, and were manipulated into doing all the work by a few people spending all their time on taking the credit.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm down so far.

I realized I've taken on a lot of identity-separatism baggage, even as I strive to avoid it. I'm trying to counter that by intentionally reincorporating Marxist and other class-conscious frames into the way I interpret interpersonal interactions. It's slightly embarrassing to be a professional with a chewy punk center, but I remind myself that I too am a wage laborer.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com