the.com/collaborator
Either the genius beside you or the traitor behind you — context decides which.
means A person who works jointly with others on a shared project, or one who cooperates with an enemy or occupying force.
from From Latin 'collaborare,' to labor together — 'com-' (with) plus 'laborare' (to work), from 'labor,' toil. It entered English in the mid-19th century as a perfectly innocent word for a co-worker. Then came the World Wars, and especially the German occupations of the 1940s, when 'collaborator' took on its dark second life — naming those who worked with the enemy. The same root, two opposite reputations: the partner and the betrayer, separated only by whose side you're on.
- dark history
- Post-WWII, the label got people executed or shamed
- shared genius
- Lennon and McCartney split every song credit by agreement
- creative friction
- Best work often comes from partners who fiercely disagree
- science scale
- One physics paper listed over 5,000 authors
vidkun quisling — norwegian fascist who governed nazi-occupied norway 1942-1945, his name became synonymous with 'collaborator'
pierre laval — french prime minister who led vichy france's collaboration with nazi germany 1940-1944
quisling government — norwegian puppet regime under german occupation that rounded up jews and resistance members