Verified by 
Key points
- We can help humans and nonhumans not by quick fixes but rather by long-term humane solutions.
- Doing the most good and the least harm to people, animals, and the environment can ground our approach.
Zoe Weil, co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), is considered a pioneer in the comprehensive humane education movement. She remains my go-to person for learning about how to make the world a better place for all beings, human and nonhuman, and her new book called Solutionary Way: Transform Your Life, Your Community, and the World for the Better is now my go-to source for explaining how to solve problems in ways that do the most good and least harm for everyone and why solutionary is not synonymous with problem-solver. Here's what she had to say about her landmark work.
Marc Bekoff: What is a solutionary, why did you write The Solutionary Way, and what is MOGO?
Zoe Weil: I wrote The Solutionary Way because the world desperately needs solutionaries: people who identify unsustainable, inhumane, and unjust systems and transform them so they do the most good and least harm for people, animals, and ecosystems. Ensuring that we solve problems in ways that do the most good and least harm for everyone, what I call MOGO (short for MOst GOod), is the ethical foundation underlying solutionary thinking and action and why solutionary is not synonymous with problem-solver. Engineers can solve the problem of blowing up a mountaintop for coal removal, but they are not solutionaries.
Solutionaries are also not the same as humanitarians. Humanitarians work to alleviate suffering, whether of people or nonhuman animals. Humanitarianism is essential, but we also need solutionaries to end the societal systems that cause suffering. This may seem obvious, but being a solutionary is often overlooked or bypassed even though it is crucial to solving problems. This may be because it requires long-term commitment and doesn’t usually provide a quick fix. It can, however, lead to permanent fixes, which should be our ultimate goal.
To give you a sense of what this effort entails, solutionaries:
- conduct careful research to understand the root and systemic causes of the problems they want to solve,
- identify the best leverage points for change,
- develop solutions that have the fewest (or no) unintended negative consequences,
- implement their most solutionary ideas, and
- assess and iterate based on outcomes.
It’s discouraging when caring, dedicated people who want to build a more compassionate, healthy, and just world employ tactics that undermine their goals because they haven’t taken the time to really think and act like a solutionary. My book is meant to provide people with the vision, motivation, and practical tools so they can be as effective as possible in solving the problems they care about.
MB: How does your book relate to your background and general areas of interest?
ZW: It’s the culmination of my decades of work as a humane educator teaching about the interconnected issues of animal protection, human rights, and environmental sustainability. I’ve asked thousands of people if they think that the MOGO principle is a good principle by which to live, and no one has ever said no. The Solutionary Way provides a road map for taking this principle and putting it into practice so that we strive not only to lead our personal lives in a MOGO way but also to develop societal systems that have this principle as a foundation.
MB: Who do you hope to reach with this important book?
ZW: I wrote this book for everyone who yearns for a more humane, sustainable, and just world and wants to discover their role in building it. I wrote it for people who are concerned about a range of problems but don’t know how they can truly solve them and make a meaningful difference. I wrote it for activists who want to be more effective. And I wrote it for people of all ages—Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers. If you are someone who cares, I wrote it for you. If you care about animals, this book will help you create a more humane future for them and end practices that are cruel. If you care about people, this book will help you build a more just society. If you care about the environment, this book will help you create more sustainable systems and policies. And if you face problems that are affecting you personally, this book will give you the tools to solve them, too.
MB: What are some of the major topics you consider?
ZW:
- How improv comedy taught me the basics of a solutionary mindset that leads to next-level change
- How to identify your own solutionary path
- The components of solutionary thinking
- The four phases of the solutionary process
- Where and how solutionary solutions are arising in food systems, production, biomedical research, education, and more
MB: How does your book differ from others concerned with some of the same general topics?
ZW: While there are a lot of books about how to address specific problems that relate to animals or the environment or social justice, there aren’t many that offer a way to build a world that is truly peaceful, sustainable, and humane for everyone. The book is also practical. It provides a framework to solve the problems you care about. And it’s grounded in the reality that when we solve problems collaboratively and across divides, we build relationships, diminish destructive polarization, cultivate evidence-based optimism, and find greater purpose in our lives. So, in addition to being a book about solving challenges, it’s also a book about finding meaning and community.
MB: Many people care about nonhumans and our fascinating planet. Why do they need to cultivate a solutionary approach to address the challenges animals and nature face?
ZW: You’re absolutely right, many people care deeply, so deeply that they may also face depression and despair as they witness suffering and destruction. They may feel not just sorrow but also fury about what we are doing to other species, each other, and our beautiful planet, and they may struggle to direct these painful emotions toward positive change. The solutionary way is the best strategy I’ve discovered to address these intersecting challenges. It’s an effective, positive approach that leads to more compassionate and sustainable communities and world. Being a solutionary is good for you and everyone your life impacts, which is why I hope people read The Solutionary Way and become solutionaries.
References
In conversation with Zoe Weil, author of books including The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries, Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life, The Power and Promise of Humane Education, and Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times.
