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Introduction
Civilization
does not merely
need reforming.
Our problems are
not local
problems or
technical
matters that can
be solved by
piecemeal
changes. Our
problems as
human beings are
fundamental and
go deep. They
cannot be solved
on the level on
which we are
currently
living. They can
only be
addressed
through growth to a
higher level,
through rebirth
to a new
attitude and a
new way of
being. We human
beings must
learn to govern
our Spaceship
Earth
very
soon or face the
terrible and
inevitable
consequences.
The simple act
of awakening to
a
planetary
perspective,
based on
honesty,
integrity, and
realism, will mean the
triumph of
civilization.
The quest to
become
civilized, to
move from
barbarism to a
civilized world
order, has all
along been based
on a faith that
things can be
better, that the
highest dreams
and ideals of
our global
historical
heritage have
not been
illusions. We
find within
ourselves, as
well as within
history,
rebirths,
awakenings,
illuminations,
or moments of
transformative
growth. We will see in
this book that
there are many
signs that today
we are in the
midst of a
great, planetary
awakening, an
awakening that
struggles with
systemic
repressive
forces working
to disintegrate
its immense
hope.
The success of
this awakening
to a new
planetary
maturity
will
mean the triumph
of civilization. It will not
mean a utopia
that spells the
end to human
frailty,
conflict, and
illusion. But it
will mean living
with a
reasonable
degree of peace, justice, sustainability, and prosperity
for the
majority of
persons on our
planet. Today
our planet is
without a pilot,
careening toward
disaster, and
is already a
living disaster
for the majority
of its citizens
and the other
creatures with
whom we share
our planetary
home. We can and
must place
people and
institutions at
the helm that
will construct a
decent world
order and
restore a future
for the Earth.
We must not be
seduced by the
cheap and easy
answers such as
the reply: “that
is human nature:
human beings are
inevitably
greedy and
selfish.” That
we are not
inevitably
greedy and
selfish, nor
irrevocably
violent and
aggressive, has
been clearly
shown by a
century of
anthropology. A fundamental
feature of human
life is that we
are in constant
change, constant
growth, constantly
actualizing
certain
possibilities
within us and
minimizing
others. The
capacity to
learn and grow
characterizes
one fundamental
aspect of our
universal human
nature.
This truth is a
great source of
hope for us. We
are not
hard-wired into
self-destruction
as may appear
from the many
self-destructive
behaviors and
self-defeating
institutions
that we see
about us in
today’s world.
We are capable
of rebirth, both as
individuals and
as a species.
This means
growing rapidly
to a new level
of existence. It
means
actualization of
some of the
higher
possibilities
within us. We
are capable of
being reborn out
of our childhood
of parochial and
partial
self-identifications
into the
universality of
our deeper
selves and the
unity of human
civilization.
Recent
anthropology also
illuminates the
dozens of ways
in which we
share a
universal,
genetically
inherited human
nature composed
of innumerable
abilities
ranging from
language, common
patterns of
cognition,
common responses
to social life,
common reactions
to our
environment, common facial
and bodily
responses to
situations, etc.
(Brown 1991).
Similarly, the
sciences of
linguistics and
cognitive
science for the
past half
century have
demonstrated the
universal
features of the
human language
instinct and the
universal
patterns of
thought and
communication
that it
engenders
(Pinker
1994).
We share a
universal human
nature not hard
wired into
violence
or greed
but flexibly
wired into
creativity, growth, self-awareness
and the
capacity for
universal
recognition of
one another and
our common
humanity.
Just as
individual human
beings are
physically born
with the
potential for a
rebirth embracing
the true
development or
fulfillment of
their deeper
selves, so human
civilization
can be
reborn into the
fulfillment of
its own higher
potential. The
possibility of
this rebirth
that can unite
and govern our
Spaceship Earth is the
theme of this
book. The book
seeks to
identify these
possibilities –
the ones that
can save us from
our present
suicidal
behaviors and
institutions –
and to show the
simplest and
most economical
way into a
redeemed future.
Everything is
ready, the
technology,
infrastructure,
and
communications
are sufficient.
The triumph of
civilization is now
up to us.
I recognize that
the word
“civilization has, in some
respects, an
unfortunate
imperial history
as in “the
civilizational
heirs of the
Roman Empire,”
or “the
civilizing
project of the
Christian West.”
However, in our
contemporary
world of
globalized
communications
and globalized
cultural
awareness, the
word can be
correctly used
to refer to our
planetary
civilization, its universal
science, its emerging
planetary
culture, and its
common heritage
of wisdom
derived from
every great
religion
and
traditional
culture. This
book attempts to
describe what is
common to all of
us on this
planet, which
can form the
basis for a
truly planetary
civilization.
The chapters
below do not
appeal to
strange new
doctrines or
ideologies, although they
do recognize
that our current
world disorder
constitutes a
dead-end for
humanity and for
civilization. They take
things that we
already know
something about
– our common
humanity, democracy,
nonviolence, common sense
economics, good education, common
abilities like
language, or common
institutions
like
nation-states –
and show our
potential for a
rebirth
that
embraces all
these facets of
our existence.
The triumph of
civilization involves
the
actualization of
the highest
fruits of our
common history,
summed up in the
concepts of
“democracy” and
“nonviolence”
with all that
these imply.
These chapters
outline the
simple steps
necessary for a
rebirth of
civilization
beyond
the current
suicidal
problems of our
day. These steps
are the
foundational
elements of
human
civilization
that must be
actualized if
the human
project is to
triumph in peace, sustainability, and harmony
with our
precious Earth.
Most
fundamentally,
learning to
govern our Earth
requires that we
embrace for
ourselves and
our institutions
the
discovered
by
twentieth-century
science, a holism at
the heart of
both democracy
and nonviolence.
I am not talking
about an
inevitable and
primarily
linear
progress toward a
transformed
world order, but
rather about our
potential to be
reborn on a
higher level
that I call
planetary
maturity. If we are to
overcome the
suicidal and
self-destructive
aspects of
civilization, from the
commodification
of all existence
to the national
security state
to the
development of
ever-more
hideous weapons
to our pervasive
bigotries,
ideologies, and
idolatries, we
will have to
begin living as
a species on a
new, more
mature, more
holistic level
of existence.
The New Holism
of Our Time
Holism comprises
the most
fundamental
understanding of
our world order
emerging from
the
twentieth-century
revolutions in
science. This holism can
transform our
entire way of
thinking and
living on the
Earth. It can
become the basis
for a new
ethics, a new
metaphysics, and
a new
understanding of
human social and
political life.
Yet these new
understandings
simply represent
the fulfillment
of
civilizational
fundamentals –
like democracy –
that go back to
the ancient
world. This
paradigm shift
in human
thinking has not
yet taken root
in our ethical, social, or
institutional
life. We remain
trapped in the
older paradigms
predicated on
fragmentation and
division. Our
immense suicidal
problems of the
twenty-first
century stem
from this
fragmentation.
Universally
– in quantum
theory,
cosmology, ecology, systems theory, social science, and psychology
–
part and whole have
come to be
understood as
inseparable from
one another.
The very
meaning,
structure, and
function of the
parts have
become
incomprehensible
apart from the
wholes within
wholes (fields
within fields)
within which the
parts are
embedded and in
terms of which
their nature,
evolution, and
functioning must
be understood.
Yet our thinking
remains mired in
divisions,
separations, and
fragments that
appear incommensurable
with one
another. The
result is
collective and
personal egoism,
war, conflict,
economic
exploitation, destruction of
nature, and
destruction of
one another.
Science has
revealed that at
every level
distinct
entities,
individuals, are
part of an
interrelated
matrix of
continua, fields
that relate the
individuals to
one another in a
multiplicity of
ways and
distinguish them
as distinct
individuals
embedded within
the fields.
In other words,
individuals are
not only
contradictory to
one another in
the sense that ‘a’
and ‘not
a’ appear as
logically
mutually
exclusive.
They are
simultaneously
complimentary to
one another
as instances of
a more
encompassing set
of universals or
fields (Harris
2000a;
Martin 2008: Ch.
3).
Holism means
that we must
enlarge our
thinking to
encompass the
manifold of
fields within
which we are
embedded. No
longer is ‘a’
simply
incommensurable
with ‘not
a.’ A clear
view of reality
requires that I
discern the ways
in which ‘not
a’ is
complementary to
‘a.’
The Other person
is inseparable
from the very
possibility of
my existence,
since it is the
fields within
which we are
embedded that
make possible
the existence of
the Other
and my
existence. The
Other does not
contradict me in
an
irreconcilable
manner, but
becomes
complementary to
me as another
essential part
within a more
encompassing
whole.
The other
person, indeed,
remains a center
of moral freedom
that
cannot be
reduced to any
scientific or
behavioristic
set of
compulsions or
bio-chemical
reactions. The
absolute dignity of the
Other derives
from this fact,
as we shall see
below. However,
other persons
and I
interpenetrate
and overlap in a
vast
multiplicity of
ways that unify
us as human
beings within
our common moral
and
civilizational
project. Today,
we have also
realized that
our common
civilization
project
includes the
precious Earth
on which we
dwell – its
beauty, its
ecological
integrity,
its fragile
biosphere, and its
proper, holistic
governance.
In his book
The Systems View
of the World: A
Holistic Vision
for Our Time,
systems
theorist Ervin
Lazlo
calls
this structure
of our world
“holarchy.” The holismof
individuals
flourishing
within the
fields that
sustain and make
possible their
individual
existence is
reflected in a
hierarchy of
wholes within
more
encompassing
wholes within
still greater
wholes from the
sub-atomic level
to the level of
the cosmos. He
writes:
Human beings are
integral parts,
not only of the
holism
of the
cosmos and the
ecosystem of the
Earth, but of
one human
species and
planetary
society
encompassing the
Earth. However,
in practice,
just as we have
not yet
harmonized our
civilization
to the
delicately
balanced
biosphere that
sustains all
life on our
planet, so we
have not
harmonized our
social life to
the holism of
planetary
society.
We remain
trapped in
systems of
fragmentation
that are
destroying the
biosphere and
continue to
destroy
planetary
society through
war, patterns of
exploitation, linguistic
forms of deceit,
organized
violence, and perpetual
conflict.
Fragmented
systems and
fragmented
patterns of
thought go hand
in hand. The
holistic view of
the cosmos and
human life
emerging from
twentieth-century
science has not
yet been
assimilated into
a paradigm shift
of the
ways that we
think and
organize our
political,
economic, and
cultural lives.
Laszlo says that
holarchically
organized
systems are
influenced from
below, not
determined from
above. However,
the influence is
reciprocal
in any truly
holistic system,
for in a true
whole the parts
function as
integral
elements in the
functioning and
maintenance of
the system as a
whole. The
principle of
wholeness
structures the
relationships
among the parts,
not diminishing
individuality
but rather
actualizing a
genuine
individuality in
which the
complementary
functioning of
the parts
integrates and
maintains the
integrity of the
whole.
When applied to
human life and
ethics, thinkers
who understand
the principle of
holism
advocate
linking our
individual lives
with all human
beings,
since our
humanity, our
oneness with all
other persons,
is inseparable
from our
uniqueness as
individuals.
Our
ability to link
our lives in
this way means
discovering our
own fundamental
humanity. As we
become ever-more
fully human, we
begin to realize
that nothing and
no one separates
me from the
others. Our
fragmented sense
of self
that defines
itself in
opposition to
what it is not
begins to give
way to a deeper
sense of self
that lives from
the universality
of its own
humanity. The
higher potential
of our self is
progressively
actualized. This
process of
actualization of
what is
universal within
ourselves is
affirmed by many
leading
psychologists
and thinkers.
Psychologist
Erich Fromm affirms
that this “means
a constant
striving to
develop one’s
powers of life
and reason to a
point at which a
new harmony with
the world is
attained; it
means striving
for humility, to
see one’s
identity with
all beings, and
to give up the
illusion of a
separate,
indestructible
ego” (1962: 156).
Psychologist
Robert J. Lifton
writes
“One moves
toward becoming
what the early
Karl Marx
called a
‘species-being,’ a fully human
being. Once
established, the
species
identification
itself
contributes to
centering and
grounding.
In no way
eliminated,
prior
identifications
are, rather,
brought into new
alignment within
a more inclusive
sense of self”
(1993: 231).
Holism
ultimately means
that I am part
of what
philosopher Eric
Gutkind
called
“the human
continuum,” that my
individuality is
inseparably
linked to that
continuum and
emerges as a
unique
expression of
it. It means
discovering a
new love for
life and the
world and the
progressive
diminishing of
fear and hate.
My individual
life becomes
ever-more
meaningful and
fulfilled to the
extent that it
contributes to
the whole of
humanity in
creative,
nonviolent, and
democratic ways.
Gutkind
declares:
“At bottom I
am the
‘other.’ The
more complete
the ‘thou’ that
I utter, the
more fully will
the ‘I’ be
sounded in me.
He who is opened
and dedicated to
every ‘thou’ is
deathless”
(1937: 46).
Similarly,
psychologist and
spiritual
teacher Richard
De Martino
affirms
that “to
the degree to
which I can rid
myself of this
filter and can
experience my
self as the
universal man,
that is, to the
degree to which
repressedness
diminishes, I am
in touch with
the deepest
sources within
myself, and that
means with all
of humanity”
(1960: 127).
Spiritual
teacher Jiddu
Krishnamurti
declares
that “if
you don’t know
how your own
mind works you
cannot actually
understand what
society is,
because your
mind is part of
society; it is
society.... Your
mind is
humanity, and
when you
perceive this,
you will have
immense
compassion” (1989: 83-86).
For such
spiritual
teachers,
careful
attention to the
workings of our
own
consciousness
and our common
human situation
inevitably
illuminate for
me my identity
with all
humanity.
Mahatma Gandhi
was also
a holistic
thinker who
understood that
each unique
person is an
expression of
the whole, an
expression of
“Truth.” His
fundamental
principle of
ethics and
nonviolence
was
satyagraha,
literally
“clinging to
Truth.” If we
respect the
uniqueness of
each, instead of
privileging our
own differences
that set us
apart from the
others, then the
truth of the
whole will begin
to emerge. Our
unity, our
mutual
participation
within larger
wholes, will
begin to become
clear to all
concerned. We
shall examine
below some
fundamental
links between
democracy,
nonviolence, and
holism.
Just as the
process of
spiritual
awakening
actualizes the
holistic
relationship
already deep
within,
many
philosophers see
human reason
as
affirming this
same
universality and
identity.
Nineteenth-century
philosopher John
Stuart Mill
asserts
that our link
with other
persons is the
basis of the
universal
principles of
ethics: “This
firm foundation
is that of the
social feelings
of mankind—the
desire to be in
unity with our
fellow
creatures, which
is already a
powerful
principle in
human nature,
and happily one
of those which
tend to become
stronger, even
without express
inculcation,
from the
influences of
advancing
civilization…. Any
condition,
therefore, which
is essential to
a state of
society becomes
more and more an
inseparable part
of every
person’s
conception of
the state of
things which he
is born into,
and which is the
destiny of a
human being”
(1957: 40).
In the
Eighteenth
Century,
Immanuel Kant affirmed
that
“rational
beings all stand
under the law that
each of them
should treat
himself and all
others, never
merely as a
means, but
always at the
same time as an
end in
himself....
morality
consists in the
relation of all
action to the
making of laws
whereby alone a
kingdom of ends is
possible” (1964:
100-101).
The kingdom of
ends as a
command of
morality, for
Kant, means that
each of us
adopts moral law
for ourselves
with a view to a
world in which
every person
treats every
other as a
unique and
infinitely
valuable “end in
himself,” a
world under
universal moral
laws in which
everyone treats
everyone else
with unreserved
respect and
dignity
. Individual
moral reasoning
inevitably links
us with all
others. Morality
directly
connects us with
the holism
of
humanity.
Following Kant, G.W.F. Hegel, developed this
holism by
embodying it
concretely
within the whole
of society,
showing the
interrelation of
part and whole at every
level of
society.
Out of the
dozens of
thinkers
affirming holism
since
the
twentieth-century,
I will cite just
two more.
Throughout his
long lifetime of
philosophical
output, John
Dewey
affirmed
the
inseparability
of the
individual and
the community, ultimately the
human community
as a whole, as
the matrix for
freedom
and the
development of
our individual
potential. For
Dewey, the concept of
democracy itself
simply “projects
to their logical
and practical
limit forces
inherent in
human nature”
(1963: 497).
The
democratic ideal
is simply a
projection of
our common human
potential
beyond,
for example,
“the secondary
and provisional
character of
national
sovereignty”
(1993:120).
Dewey’s life work
articulates the
holism of
humanity and its
common ideal of
an ever-greater
actualization of
our potential
for free and
open
association with
one another
within the
matrix of our
planetary
community.
Similarly,
philosopher
Errol E. Harris
affirms
that
“in human
self-awareness, the
nisus to the
whole has become
conscious of
itself, so the
self, being
apprised of its
own desires and
their aims,
strives to
organize them,
in order to
attain coherent
wholeness, in
which it can
find complete
self-satisfaction;
that is, to make
them mutually
compatible, so
as to remove the
frustration
inherent in
internal
conflict. It is
this
self-realization
that determines
the ultimate
standard of
value” (2000b:
251).
The universal
drive at the
heart of the
evolutionary
process (its
nisus),
Harris
states,
operates in us
(as it does
everywhere) to
promote
wholeness,
holism: the removal of
internal and
external
conflict so that
the individual
person (or group
or nation) and
the human
species can live
at peace within a
dynamic and
diverse yet
ordered whole.
Its standard is
reason, a reason
discerning the
holistic
character of the
world process
and
progressively
conforming our
lives and
institutions in
harmony with it.
However, its
dynamic includes
an integration
and
harmonization of
the
whole person:
thoughts,
emotions,
intuitions,
customs, habits,
and instincts.
Laszlo argues
that because
human beings are
self-aware,
goal-oriented
creatures, all
of our ends or
purposes
constitute
value-oriented
activity. Our
highest value
involves the
fulfillment of
our potential as
individual human
beings, to
become what we
are capable of
being, which is
not possible
without the
matrix of
society and
civilization
of which
we are
inseparable
parts. Holistic
values,
therefore, seek
to actualize
self-fulfillment
within the
empowering
framework of the
larger social
wholes that
encompass us and
make our
self-actualization
possible. It
follows that
fragmented
economic,
political, and
cultural
institutions
defeat or
interfere with
this process.
All the above
cited thinkers
conclude that we
must link our
individual lives
with universal
humanity. Our
individuality
and our humanity
become
inseparable.
What kind of
institutions
would reflect
this holism? The most basic
answer is
familiar yet
strange to us:
democracy,
properly
understood. That
is my purpose in
this book: to
elucidate the
deeper nature of
democracy, and
the democratic
promise, which
is also the
promise of my
own human
potential. In the face of
the immense
terrors of our
time, we need to
understand the
fragmentation
of our
thought and our
outdated
institutions. We
must act to
discover the
holism within
ourselves and
how it might be
reflected in
holistic,
nonviolent, and
sustainable
institutions.
This book
attempts to show
in detail how
planetary
democracy
embodies
that holism.
Planetary
Democracy is the
only way to
effectively
govern our
Spaceship Earth.
The current,
horrific global
economic crisis
is a
consequence of
fragmentation, of a lack of
holism and
democracy in our
institutions.
The patchwork
attempts at
solutions by the
Obama administration
and other
national actors
worldwide will
inevitably
result in
failure. The
current
disastrous world
order of poverty, misery, war, and violence
is
likewise a
consequence of
lack of holism
and democracy.
Our survival on
this planet,
along with the
future of our
children and
other precious
living
creatures,
depends on our
ability to
establish
holistic
institutions and
holistic
patterns of
thought within
the very near
future.
We shall see
that these
insights form
the foundation
for rapidly
moving to
authentic
planetary
democracy, beyond the
dogma of
“sovereign
nation-states,”
independent of
the rest of
humanity. If we
understand the
holism
affirmed
by every
twentieth-century
science, and we
simultaneously
understand the
fragmentation
of our
present modes of
thinking and our
cultural,
political and
economic
institutions, we
will comprehend
the absolute
imperative to
establish
planetary
democracy as
efficiently as
possible. It is
planetary
democracy that
provides the
holistic
framework for
each human being
to realize his
or her potential
to the maximum
extent possible
– by
guaranteeing
equal rights and
equal freedom
to
everyone with a
matrix of common
social,
political, and
economic
institutions.
Planetary
democracy
embodies the
holism that is
necessary in
three essential
ways: for our
survival on this
planet, for the
progress and
fulfillment of
the historical
human project, and for our
personal
fulfillment as
individuals.
In a manner
similar to all
natural systems,
planetary
democracy
will
function as a
“holarchy.” Local
communities
interact
democratically
and
economically,
addressing local
problems and
issues within a
federated world
order. Larger
regional social
and political
units (for,
example, cantons
of China pradesh of
India, or states
within the
United States) also function
democratically,
dealing with
regional
problems and
issues. Nations
“holarchically”
include these
smaller units
and are
themselves
included within
the Earth
Federation
that
addresses
planetary
problems and
issues, again
through
democratic
processes:
through
protection of
the rights
of
individuals and
the federated
units within the
system and
through
enforceable laws
maximizing the
equal freedom of each
to develop his
or her potential
within a
framework of the
common good of the
whole of
humanity and our
planetary
ecosystem.
This describes
in a very brief
way the coming
great
transformation:
the rebirth
of human
civilization that
will either
develop rapidly,
signaling the
happy survival
and flourishing
of the human
historical
project, or will
happen not at
all because the
human project
will
have ended in
major planetary
disaster or
possible
extinction of
our species. We
will see below a
number of ways
in which
democracy has
been
misunderstood
as well as a
number of ways
that it has been
manipulated
to prevent its
genuinely
holistic
potential from
emerging. We
also will come
to understand
that violence diminishes
in our world to
the extent that
democracy is
realized. We
will see that
democracy and
nonviolence
go hand
and hand in any
effective form
of governance.
Their
actualization on
Earth will mean
the triumph of
human
civilization.
There are at
least ten
fundamental
theses that this
book defends and
develops. I will
list them here
in the
Introduction in
the hopes that
the reader
understands that
these ideas are
developed,
argued for, and
elucidated at
some length in
the following
chapters. As
with many
fundamental
notions, I
believe they
appear more and
more
self-evident to
those who
reflect on them
at great length
and live with
them in thought,
action, and
spiritual
reflection over
time. They
comprise the
necessary
features for a
rebirth
of
civilization. All ten are
not only
compatible with
our deeper
spiritual
intuitions. They
are also
grounded in
reason, and eminently
defensible by
reason.
However,
initially they
may appear naïve
or unrealistic
to those
unfamiliar with
the arguments
and reflections
that spell out
their meaning
and
implications.
That is the risk
I am taking in
this
Introduction –
that the reader
will bear with
me as these
basic
contentions are
developed in the
course of this
book, and that
the reader will
take seriously
the
opportunities
for further
thought,
reflection, and
action provided
by the
citations,
references, and
quotations that
permeate my
arguments. I
will not
elaborate the
arguments at
this point,
since that is
the purpose of
the book.
However, the
explicit
statement of
them may serve
as an aid in
understanding
the discussions
and reflections
that follow. On
any journey, it
can be helpful
to have a
picture of the
goal in mind
even if this
picture pales
before the
living reality
experienced at
the end of the
quest.
All ten of these
theses point to
a growing
understanding of
ourselves and
our human
situation on the
Earth and within
the Cosmos. They
serve as both
conclusions to
the arguments
that follow and
as premises of
our coming
planetary
civilization. They hang
together, I
believe, and
serve as a
fundamental
articulation of
the coming great
transformation
to a holistic,
sustainable
Earth
civilization.
We shall see
that the
imperative for
rebirth
is
emerging, not
only from our
moral lives, not
only from our
continuing
spiritual
development, and
not only from
developing human
rational
potential: it is emerging
from virtually
all the great
scientific
breakthroughs of
the twentieth
and twenty-first
centuries. We
have but to
discern reality
clearly and
resolve to act
on what we know
to be true in
order to unite
our Spaceship
Earth.
1. The concept and ideal of democracy includes and indicates the growing recognition of our common humanity with all that this implies. It reflects, as stated above, the paradigm shift to holism that has been the fundamental discovery of all the twentieth-century sciences. Democracy serves, therefore, as a moral ideal, an ideal of human association and our common social life reflecting the reality of this holism. It is clearly fundamental to the development of decent political and economic systems, as we shall see, but transcends these as a moral framework and an ideal envisioning a peaceful and just world order.
2.
The promise of
democracy
includes the
actualization of
the potential of
our common
humanity, as well as
that of our
individual
lives.
This potential
of our common
humanity
continues to
develop and
emerge out of
the historical
process, and out
of our immense
evolutionary
journey since
the great primal
flaring forth of
the Cosmos. As
thoughtful,
concerned human
beings, we are
called to
enhance and
encourage this
process of
development.
Today, we are
nearing a stage
of
planetary
maturity
that
will transform
our relations
with ourselves
and our world
from
fragmentation
to
holism.
3. The concept and ideal of democracy includes the locus and range of our fundamental moral or ethical values, including the so-called golden rule and fundamental human rights such as the rights to life, liberty, and security of person. The process of interaction with others under conditions of liberty develops our moral autonomy and ‘moral personality’ that reflects our essential dignity as human beings. Reflection on democracy, therefore, simultaneously involves reflection on what it means to be a human being and the moral implications of reason, freedom, and the human community.
4.
Genuine
democracy
implies the
substantial
actualization of
a nonviolent,
just, and
prosperous world
order. Under
a democratic
constitution and
democratic moral
relationships,
people respect
majority rule,
they agree to
disagree and
respect the
rights
of
minorities, and
they look for
legitimate means
by which to
accommodate
conflicting
opinions in the
interest of the
common good. The only
alternative to
these nonviolent
“rules of
procedure” is
the rule of the
stronger and
therefore the
use or threat of
violence.
The concept and
ideal of
democracy is
therefore
intimately
linked with the
concept and
ideal of
nonviolence
as this
has been
articulated in a
large and
dynamic
contemporary
literature.
5.
Violence, war, injustice, and
involuntary
poverty
derive
from various
forms of
fragmentation
and
from plainly
invalid
assumptions
concerning the
incommensurability
of
peoples,
nations, races,
groups,
individuals,
etc.
These horrible
manifestations
of our
immaturity exist to
the extent that
we violate the
democratic
concept and
ideal, which
represents
holism in human
civilization.
They
derive as well
from
fragmented
institutions
that defeat the
above three
principles of
majority-rule,
respect for the
nonviolent
opinions and
rights of
minorities, and
efforts to
comprehend or
accommodate
conflicting
opinions through
dialogue and
debate. We will
investigate this
problem at some
length in the
chapters that
follow.
6.
The development
of our
rational
potential
that
is fundamental
to the
development of a
democratic
planetary
civilization
coincides
with the
development of
our spiritual
potential for
love, compassion, kindness, and
solidarity.
Twentieth and
twenty-first
century
psychology has
demonstrated the
immense as yet
unrealized
spiritual and
rational
potential within
each of us and
within the human
species.
The concept and
ideal of
democracy
symbolizes the
actualization of
that potential,
both in each of
us as moral
persons and
within humanity
in general.
Spirituality and
rationality
are
complementary
aspects of our
fundamental
humanity, and
actualizing
genuine
democracy will
enable
significant
growth within
each of these
dimensions.
7.
The three
(traditionally
accepted) basic
elements of
democracy –
liberty, equality, and community
– are
integrally
related and
necessary to one
another.
The elucidation
of each of these
three concepts
brings us back
to the others
and serves to
clarify the
meaning of the
coming great
transformation
to a holistic
Earth
Civilization and
planetary
democracy. Liberty must
be fundamental
and absolutely
essential.
However, neither
liberty nor
democracy can
exist without
substantial
economic and
political
equality,
and neither
liberty nor
equality can
exist without
the vibrant
matrix of a
supporting
community.
8.
The democratic
concept and
ideal live at
the heart of
other
fundamental
human
enterprises
such as the
educational
enterprise
(Chapter 3) and
the economic
enterprise
(Chapter 7), and
the enterprise
to convert the
world to
institutions and
attitudes of
nonviolence
(Chapters
7-10).
Insofar as these
enterprises are
honest and
authentic, they
strive for
actualization of
the democratic
ideal.
Since democracy
necessarily
involves a
conception of
our potential
for moral
development, and serves as
a moral
framework for
human life, it
bears on all
human
relationships
and enterprises,
from education
to
economics
to the
institutions of
war and
violence.
9.
Since democracy
involves our
common humanity, our most
fundamental
values, and our
highest ideals,
it can only be
effectively and
fully realized
as planetary
democracy.
To understand
the above
premises clearly
and deeply, I
hope to show, is
simultaneously
to understand
the necessity of
planetary
democracy and
why it is
important to
work for the
realization of
planetary
democracy as an
integral
component of the
coming holistic,
sustainable
Earth
civilization.
10.
These basic
conclusions
(developed in
the chapters
that follow)
live in contrast
to a world that
is seething in
violence
and
immense
suffering.
In the pages
below, we will
see that the
concept and
ideal of
democracy is not
naïve or utopian
in the
slightest but
rather serves as
a living demand
that we take
the next
fundamental step
in human
maturity. Both Albert
Einstein
and Carl
Jung
declared
rightly that one
cannot solve a
problem from the
same level
within which the
problem arises.
The seemingly
intractable
problems of our
time cannot be
solved in terms
of our present
assumptions or
institutions. We
need a rebirth, the ascent to
planetary
maturity,
within a very
short time – for
time is rapidly
running out – as
a host of
thinkers,
scientists, and
spiritual
leaders have
begun to
declare.
To see clearly
the horror of
our present
world disorder
with its
relentless
currents
sweeping us
toward planetary
disaster is to
also recognize
what must be
done. There are
many signs today
that human life
is in the midst
of a vast
paradigm shift
from
fragmentation
to a
unity in
diversity
that
protects us all
under a
universal
community
while
enlivening our
genuine
diversity.
World
transformation
is a very real
possibility of
our time. Vast,
rapid changes in
human
consciousness
have taken place
several times in
human history to
date. We must
continue to
cultivate within
ourselves
reflective
thought,
conscience,
creativity, and
spirituality
while
simultaneously
placing our
lives in the
service of a
transformed
world order.
Governing
Spaceship Earth
demands
nothing less.
That is the
message of this
book. Its
descriptions and
analyses of the
violence, domination,
exploitation, and horror of
our world
disorder are all
in the service
of the
praxis
of
world
transformation:
our absolute
need to unite
our Spaceship
Earth. We must
understand
clearly the deep
perversity of
our present
world system if
we are to
transform our
world into one
in “harmony with
nature’s laws of
healthy growth
and
development.” In
our day,
philosophical
reasoning takes
on a supreme
importance in
the light of the
threats to human
existence that
confront us.
Similarly, the
following
accounts of
human
spirituality, of the
overcoming of
relativism
and
skepticism, of educational
praxis, of the
relation of
democracy with
socialism, of the
philosophy of
nonviolence, and of the
liberating ideas
embedded within
the
Earth
Constitution
are all
positive aspects
of this
praxis.
Within the world
in which we find
ourselves, both
authentic
philosophy and
spirituality are
transformative
activities. They
both militate
for the
nonviolent
transformation
of our world
disorder and for
the
institutional
recognition of
the integrity of
the human person
within a social
and economic
system that
protects and
enlivens that
integrity.
Everything is
ready as we
enter the third
millennium.
Millions around
the globe now
consider
themselves
planetary
citizens. The
dawn of the
third millennium
will cast its
morning light on
a rebirth
of human
civilization – a
holistic,
planetary
civilization.
Our choice today
is absolute. We
no longer have
the luxury of
postponement. We
can allow
ourselves to be
swept to
disaster within
the currents of
history premised
on nationalism,
war, racism, bigotry,
exploitation, or
technocracy. Or
we can foster a
new
Renaissance
for the
Earth,
giving birth to
our deeper human
possibilities
and premised on
liberty, equality, and community
for our
entire planet.
This Renaissance
is right around
the corner –
easily available
if we have but
the political
will to turn the
corner
from
institutions
premised on
fragmentation
to
institutions of
a holistic Earth
civilization.
We find
ourselves at
high noon – a
time of absolute
decision when
the shadows of
ambiguity have
disappeared.
Planetary
democracy
constitutes our
great human
hope.
From this new
level of
existence our
seemingly
intractable
problems of war, hatred, fear,
poverty, and
environmental
destruction
become eminently
solvable. From
the level of
planetary
maturity
our
immense problems
are not so much
solved but
dissolved. The
coming
generation will
wonder at the
horrors of the
twentieth
century (the
world wars, the
genocides, the
weapons of mass
destruction, the extremes
of wealth and
poverty) because
they will have
surpassed the
causes of these
horrors by
actualizing our
higher human
potential
for
genuine
democracy: for
this will make
possible a deep
transformation
of our lives
across the
spectrum of our
problems.
However, the
process of
growth
and
institutional
transformation
will not happen
automatically.
We can choose
either to do
nothing and be
swept toward our
pending doom,
possible
extinction, and
coming
perdition, or we
can choose to
embrace the
fullness of
life, a fullness
that is
simultaneously
democratic,
rational, and
spiritual. We
can be swept to
perdition as we
duck beneath the
storm to
preserve our
private security
and selfish
personal
interests. Or we
can embrace
integrity of
personhood
for all
human beings and
precious natural
environment
that we
share with the
Earth’s other
living
creatures. We
can and must
choose to
realize our
higher human
possibilities
and to create a
human and
planetary
renaissance for
the twenty-first
century.
The time is now
and the choice
is faced by each
of us. Planetary
democracy as the
embodiment of
planetary
maturity constitutes
our great human
hope. The
chapters in this
book intend to
help clarify the
issues we face
and deepen our
understanding of
how to
facilitate the
Renaissance
of the
Twenty-first
Century,
a renaissance
that must
necessarily
include
effective
governance for
the Earth. They
intend to
promote a deeper
understanding of
planetary
democracy
and
human maturity
as well as to
activate
transformative
praxis – action
giving birth to
a new world
order and to a
more mature,
fulfilled human
life on our
beautiful planet
Earth.
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