Allein machen sie dich ein. [Alone, they will put you in.]
Ton Steine Scherben
Opportunities for individuals to take action are often very limited, but it is always possible for people to combine forces in order to tackle bigger issues. It is then no longer a motivation of individual interest, but instead, collective and common good can emerge. In twos, threes, hundreds or thousands it is not only more fun, but also demonstrates mutual support and motivation in order to overcome obstacles.
Transport and transportation policy is not driven by just one person - rather, many people use vehicles. Automobile companies naturally have an economic interest in increasing the proportion of the population who uses vehicles. In efforts to challenge the automotive consensus, a similarly large proportion of the population needs to leave their
Jam Jar for the Individual
by teaming up and acting together. One example is the Berlin referendum on bicycles. A campaign was carried out by a team of about 100 volunteers who in turn relied on hundreds of supporters. This was the only way to collect more than 105,425 signatures within three and a half weeks. After this sensational success, the team made sure that the people's initiative became a mobility law, which now needs to be constantly and critically monitored in its implementation.
A buzzword of digitization hype is the "Gig-Economy". It refers to services that people perform on demand, when they have time, and are paid for per contract - mediated via the Internet. Work that can be done whenever or wherever is convenient and sounds good at first. However, the power distribution is currently concentrated on the mediation platforms, which often have monopolies for their sector and can unilaterally change pay and working conditions whenever they please. Formerly, strong labour and trade unions were better able to protect workers' rights. The Gig-Economy puts every wage earner in a
Jam Jar for the Individual
. The solitary nature of their working routine renders them vulnerable. Alone, they will put you in.
Before the diesel scandal began, Karsten von Bruch, an engineer in exhaust gas treatment at Bosch, wrote to his divisional executive on the company's intranet: "We both know that outside of the test cycles, components such as the AdBlue dosage were throttled because it would have required too much of it. But this is where most of the nitrogen oxides are produced. And that's why this is a very deliberate label fraud, to put it diplomatically". The diesel scandal then took its course and the CEO of Bosch replied: "We must now work together for diesel and its benefits." A little later, Karsten von Bruch was put in his personal
Jam Jar for the Individual
and got fired.
Solidary agriculture (SolAg) is currently experiencing an upswing. Individual consumers are joining forces to cover the costs of running a farm. As a result, producers no longer compete for the lowest price on a global scale for standardised products; rather, prices are negotiated with consumers in the Solidary Agriculture movement. Consumers and producers thus leave their respective
Jam Jar for the Individual
in order to create a different form of agriculture in solidarity, which is oriented towards the needs of all participants and usually takes into account the natural resource cycles.
Prometheus was considered a good Samaritan of humanity, as he tried to force the worthless parts of a sacrificial animal upon his tyrannical opponent Zeus in order to give the edible flesh to the people. However, the plot was revealed, and in retaliation, Zeus denied the people the possession of fire. Later on, however, Prometheus succeeded in stealing back fire for the people but ended up getting chained to a mountain as punishment. Prometheus was thus the first to be put into the
Jam Jar for the Individual
. His only companion was an eagle who ate his liver.