Initiative

(from L. initiare, to begin). Manifestation of the social activity of human beings when they take it upon themselves to make a decision that involves their personal participation in some sphere of social life. In its moral aspect, i. is characterized by the predisposition of a person who voluntarily assumes a greater degree of responsibility than required in the habitual functioning of their environment. I. highlights the predominance of the inclination toward innovative conduct in the individual’s psychosocial structure, the presence of a certain predisposition to leadership. This genre of behavior shows the degree to which a society has created the premises necessary for the human being’s liberty, and whether it will sustain the social dynamism needed for continued development, or instead will stagnate, thus showing that said society is approaching the limits of collapse. Humanism strives to cultivate this valuable social quality in the greatest possible number of people, and to create the indispensable psychological, social and political postulates necessary for its development.