The Solutionist Manifesto
Solving Sri Lanka’s Problems with Five Precepts
Corruption is a common topic in Sri Lankan conversation. And many wonder why I’m usually silent when it comes up. Those who’ve known me a short while assume that I might be a direct or indirect supporter of the maroon team or whoever the corrupter is. Those who’ve known me longer know that I’ve been similarly silent when discussing the green(ish) team’s corruption. Hence, they assume that I might be apathetic or might have given up.
“Don’t you care about these problems?”, you might have asked.
I have a simple answer to this question. “No — I don’t care about these problems”. And, for that matter, problems in general. I care about solutions.
This article is about how I think about solutions. If you also care about solving problems in general, and Sri Lanka’s in particular, you might be interested.
1) Identifying with Solutions
Most people who say “I care about problem X” have done nothing to solve the problem. In other words, they identify with the problem and not the solution.
A “Solutionist” (i.e. someone who abides by this manifesto’s precepts) identifies with the solution. “I care about solution Y”, they might say.
2) Individual Responsibility
If you ask a “Problemist” (i.e. someone who says “I care about problem X”, but does nothing to solve it), “who is going to solve problem X?” the answer is always someone else. Often the government, or the municipality, or Dialog, or Ratnapala’s cousin’s mother-in-law. Anything and anyone, up to and including the kitchen sink, but not “me”.
A Solutionist considers it their individual responsibility to solve the problem. They might get help from others or play a supporting role to a more involved solutionist. But, for them, it is still “my problem”. And “nothing is someone else’s problem”.
3) Skin in the Game
There are industries devoted to the well-being of Problemists. Many Problemists are professional Problemists who get paid for saying stuff like “X is a serious problem”.
More information about problems is always helpful, but solutions are not a priority for many of these problem-industrialists. Hence, the problemists are part of the problem. Not the solution.
Solutionists, on the other hand, have skin-in-the-game in the quest for a solution. They align their well-being and sense of success with the solution. They never profit from problems.
4) Direct Democracy
In theory, in a perfect representative democracy, it is sufficient to alert your representative of whatever problem you have. They will do what it takes to solve it. In practice, there are no perfect representative democracies. The “representative” part of democracy is only one tactic in a solution.
Hence, if you think it is sufficient to petition the powers that be about a problem or threaten not to vote for them, or just talk a lot about how they should solve the problem, you’re not a Solutionist; because you’ve already broken the “Individual Responsibility” precept.
While a Solutionist takes representative democracy seriously, they also take other measures to solve the problem. One of the most potent tactics is in a “flawed” democracy like Sri Lanka is to do whatever is needed independent of official representatives. Planting a single tree in your backyard is better than complaining to your neighbour about all the trees at Sinharaja.
5) Baby Steps
All big plans fail. Big plans that appear to have succeeded are post-rationalizations. Someone with the benefit of hindsight, aggregates a string of baby plans into a supposed big plan, after the fact.
Problemists usually talk about big plans (“a complete overhaul of this” or “master-plan for the mass deployment of that”) because they have no skin-in-the-game and don’t care about a solution.
Solutionists, with skin-in-the-game, cannot afford failure. And hence, cannot afford big plans. The best Solutionists are experts at baby-steps, trying out creative ideas, and iterating like mad.
Concluding Confessions and Calls
There are many times when I’m not silent when discussing corruption; usually when I’m around fellow Solutionists. At these times, I’m generally in my element — because nothing excites me more than an exciting solution to a tricky problem.
Also, I must confess a weakness. I have a terrible habit of prematurely jumping to conclusions about people. I might have “classified” you as a “Problemist” when you’re a card-carrying “Solutionist”; perhaps even one more willing and able than yours truly.
If that is the case, please let me know. Tell me how you identify with solutions, how you’ve taken responsibility for seeing them through, how you have your skin in the solution, etc. And how I might be able to help. It might be the beginning of something big (in baby steps of course)…
Solutionists of Sri Lanka unite!
