This I swear in the presence of the stars

This I swear by the Stars.

In the approach to Cultural Foresight, we analyze cultural contexts in layers to make use of the insights within a reconstruction framework. The deepest layer is that of myths and metaphors. Let's combine this with the phrase: »Too busy to improve«.

This mythological dimension can be particularly impressively demonstrated using the example of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. The link between stars, justice, and divine order manifests in one of the most poignant scenes of the work. In this dramatic sequence, archetypal motifs merge with personal conflict and institutional rigidity to create a timeless narrative about morality, change, and the limits of human beliefs. What happens when daily operations can't be aligned with a successful future, we learn from Inspector Javert.

→ Follow this link and experience stars from Les Miserables to better understand what this contribution could mean.

In the Face of the Stars

Javert stands on the rooftop of Notre Dame. In Paris in 1832, there is hardly a darker place to reflect on the pursuit of Jean Valjean. He suspects him not far off, out in the darkness. A fugitive criminal who has fallen from grace. He turns to God as his witness, vowing never to give up. Those who stray from the path of righteousness face their just punishment.

Then he turns his gaze to the heavens and discovers the stars in countless numbers beyond imagination. In them, he wishes to recognize the order and fire that also drive him. An act of fraternity is expressed in the ballad Stars in the musical of Victor Hugo's masterpiece Les Miserables. Just as stars hold their course, he swears loyalty to himself, unaware of how close he stands to the abyss of inner conflict at this very moment. He still firmly believes in the maxim that those who doubt and those who fall must pay the price.

Again he turns to God. This time with the plea to find the fugitive Jean Valjean. »Lord, let me find him«, he implores into the night. So that the world is freed from evil. Javert swears. He swears in the face of the stars. He will lock Jean Valjean away.

Those who do not know the novel Les Miserables should know that Jean Valjean is an escaped convict who served 19 years on one of the prison hulks at Toulon for stealing a loaf of bread. Until he was released on parole and went underground after meeting Bishop Myriel, to avoid further injustice. His life would continue to be defined by flight. Yet he succeeds in fulfilling Bishop Myriel's charge and becoming a good man. That, however, is not so easy under the constitutional monarchy ruled by the Bourbons. He becomes mayor of a small town, where he also establishes a manufacturing company. As the largest employer, he meets Javert again, who has meanwhile made a career. He has left the post on the galleys behind. As a police inspector, he is subordinate to his former convict, leading to some turbulence in the further course of the story.

Myth and Obsession

The book Les Miserables was published in 1862. For me, it is a timeless work, thoroughly characterized by humanism. It is a testament to moral progress, not only because we look at the circumstances of France from a future that still seemed distant at the time. During the period known as the Bourbon Restoration from 1816 to 1830, Javert is not just the figure chasing the story's hero but also the institution that fails to escape its own myths. Jean Valjean's actions bring him ever closer to doubt. He experiences, in numerous encounters, how Jean Valjean, under immense pressure and in numerous episodes of flight, manages always to follow the charge once given to him by the bishop.

The humanism of Jean Valjean surpasses the rules of the God-fearing Javert, constantly driving his self-doubt to new heights.

These doubts Javert resolves on June 7, 1832, by throwing himself from a height into the Seine. Like Jean Valjean before him, Javert escapes his fate in the form of a flight that abruptly ends his existence.

While Jean Valjean executes this turn after meeting the bishop as an act of liberation, Javert, through his suicide, long a prisoner of his own inner conflict, becomes a victim of his stubbornness.

Too Busy to Improve

Victor Hugo left us with Les Miserables, a work that vividly shows us what happens when we don't question our myths. Javert does not fail due to Jean Valjean, but due to his own inability to perceive the world beyond his firmly fixed convictions. His tragedy lies in the fact that he clings to an order until the end that leaves no room for change and development.

Too busy to improve: Being too busy to question our core beliefs is like Javert's obstinacy – a dangerous luxury in a world that requires constant change.

We must confront our own myths. On a personal level and at the level of our organizations and institutions, entrusted to us or shaped by us. Only when we are ready to question our fundamental assumptions and allow new perspectives can we grow and develop. Unlike Javert, we must learn that change does not mean chaos but the chance for improvement. The true order of the universe may lie precisely in its ability to adapt – a lesson Javert no longer learns but is more important today than ever for us to ensure our institutions do not question themselves.

The idea for this vignette originated after the #38 Work Conversation with Hannes Kolbe from AOK Nordost. He mentioned the phrase »Too busy to improve« in reference to the well-known saying »Too big to fail«, heard since the years following the 2008 financial crisis.