[GotToStopGreed]

What is it that has transcended any form of business/religion/political/economic - heck any formatted plan of perceived success that is also the most underutilized / publicized trait of human kind? The LOVE of family. It matters not your belief in any of the before mentioned formatted / taught / learned avenues of civilization. Only one has existed with strength that transcends all and is common to all. Family CORE values- they can and are implemented in any hugely successful venture and are done so without notice for the most part. This trait will become the most profitable business format of the new century. And why not? It works. Show me that I am wrong.

[killJOY]

that's so easy--family.

The problem is, family isn't a "trait," it's a fact of life.

By family, I'm including my partner of 20 years.

Family is "those I'd die for."

[Doly]

I won't deny that families are generally a Good Thing. But, given that all humans in every culture try to have some kind of family, and those who don't are generally unhappy, I don't think the family can be described as a secret of success, any more than any other fundamental need such as food and shelter.

I believe politics, in the wider sense of the word, that includes things like office politics, grassroots community movements and just about any system that can be used to empower some people, are the often the secret of success in any society.

My favorite politial system is one without huge inequalities in power, which mean only a few people have huge success while most are powerless. In other words, I'm an anarchist.

[GotToStopGreed]

Yes Doly your right if you take the meaning of Family as simple face value as food and shelter. But dive in a bit. What is it you would do for family- Sacrifice- work - support- work through hard times- find ways to succeed with hard work - enjoy one another- all these and countless many more traits that business has copied or duplicated -- these core Business values are from family- and regardless of all other traits- what one's ( as these and the Love of your family) transends all the others- simple Family Values- YOUR ability to do what needs to be doen regardless of costs to ensure survival of the Family. And these core values exist in every culture at almost the exact same levels of LOVE ( corn-ball connection but simple truth) and are absolutly above the others in importance when push comes to shove. And as Great companies and cultures have learned- they are the base to success.

[katkinkate]

Depends on which families you're talking about. I don't think you mean the families were one or more of the adults are abusing/misusing the children, or the families where the wife is a virtual slave to an arranged match, or the type of family where they put the girl babies outside on the hillside to die because they don't want to pay a dowry when she gets married, or the families where dad only comes around to boff with mum then leaves her alone to try to provide for the resulting kids, or the families where mum and dad fight regularly often viscious enough that one or both of them get badly injured, or the families where both dad and mum only had the kids cause it was expected and any children they have are put in 'care' while both parents work on their career....

I think the most successful human trait (as a population) is adaptability and the one factor that allowed us to become the dominant mammal is our tendancy to prefer living in groups - you probably could call them families if you expand the term to include the families of choice - the close friends and allies people tend to form around them as they grow up, more than the strict 'blood family' structure.

[GotToStopGreed]

Katkinkate your are right - its is not the disfunctional I seek to see give credit to ,but the Families that work at sacrifice - and that can be any formatted family - abdopted - or just plain valued as yours. The positive traits - the negative blown over traits are not really Family when taken to the extreme as some who see not the "value in life" have taken them. Thanks for the Great response.

[Ludi]

Cooperation/mutual support within the core group (call it "family" if you like).

[PhilBiker]

None of those.

Adaptability is the most successful trait, and it's why the world won't come crumbling down when oil peaks, whenever that migh be.

[crow]

I would vote family, but in thinking of terms of society and macro variables, family is too individualistic. I voted religion.

Empires shall rise and fall, but the Church has always remained.

[GotToStopGreed]

Yes, but no matter what religion - religion runs on the view of family and its basic value to be of worth. Family needs no religion.