[nukkad] A Call for New Values

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If the gods listened to the prayers of men, all humankind would 
quickly perish since they constantly pray for many evils to befall 
one another. -Epicurus, philosopher (c. 341-270 BCE)
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A Call for New Values
Mikhail Gorbachev
   
 
One of the paradoxes of the twentieth century is the
gap between humankind's amazing technological
achievements and the often deplorable state of the
human spirit and human morality. We saw the collapse
of the attempt that was made in Soviet Russia and
other countries to construct a "new system of values"
and to impose on people norms of behavior that were
said to reflect their true interest. In reality, this
attempt "to make humankind happy" resulted in
something totally unacceptable to the civilized world:
namely, humanity's alienation from property and power,
making the individual a "cog in the wheel" of a
thoroughly ideologized machinery of the state.
On the other hand, it is increasingly evident that the
values of the Western world are becoming more and more
anachronistic. Their Golden Age is in the past; they
cannot assure a dependable future for the human race.
We should take a sober and unprejudiced view of the
strengths and weaknesses of collectivism, which is
fraught with dictatorship. But what about the
individualism of Western culture? At the very least,
something will have to be done about its purely
consumerist orientation that emphasizes "having"
rather than "being", acquiring and possessing rather
than revealing the real potential of humanity.
Today, humankind is facing a choice. It is time for
every individual, nation and state to rethink its
place and role in world affairs. We need an
intellectual breakthrough into a new dimension. And
that means that the state of the human spirit assumes
paramount importance. The roles of culture, religion,
science, and education must grow enormously. The
responsibility of the centers of humanity's
intellectual, scientific, and religious development is
immense and must be given preeminence.
The future of human society will not be defined in
terms of capitalism versus socialism. It was that
dichotomy that caused the division of the world
community into two blocs and brought about so many
catastrophic consequences. We need to find a paradigm
that will integrate all the achievements of the human
mind and human action, irrespective of which ideology
or political movement can be credited with them. This
paradigm can only be based on the common values that
humankind has developed over many centuries. The
search for a new paradigm should be a search for
synthesis, for what is common to and unites people,
countries, and nations, rather than what divides them.
The search for such a synthesis can succeed if the
following conditions are met.
- First of all, we must return to the well-known human
values that were embodied in the ideals of world
religions and also in the socialist ideas that
inherited much from those values.
- Further, we need to search for a new paradigm of
development, based on those values and capable of
leading us all toward a genuinely humanistic or, more
precisely, humanistic-ecological culture of living.
- Finally, we need to develop methods of social action
and policy that will direct society to a path
consistent with the interests of both humanity and the
rest of nature.
When I speak of a new synthesis, of the need for
increasing unity and interdependence, I am not calling
for a kind of universal leveling, sameness or
uniformity. I do not accept a civilization that would
be like a huge historic steamroller, flattening out
everything. Who would need such a new civilization,
and why even call it new? By no means do I want all
countries and nations to become alike. I think that
the civilization to which we all belong is one of
great multiplicity. And that is a source of its
strength, the basis for the exchange of cultural
values, for comparing methods of organization and ways
of living.
The philosophy of the twenty-first century must be
grounded in a philosophy of diversity. If life as such
is the highest value, then even more precious is the
singular identity of every nation and every race as a
unique creation of nature and human history.
At the same time, we must begin to define certain
moral maxims or ethical commandments that constitute
values common to all humankind. It is my view that the
individual's attitude toward nature must become one of
the principal criteria for ensuring the maintenance of
morality. Today it is not enough to say "Thou shalt
not kill." Ecological education implies, above all,
respect and love for every living being. It is here
that ecological culture interfaces with religion.
The beauty and uniqueness of life lies in the unity of
diversity. Self-identification - of every individual
and of the many different nations, ethnic groups and
nationalities - is the crucial condition for
preserving life on Earth. Struggles and conflicts burn
out the diversity of life, leaving a social wasteland
in their wake.
Honoring diversity and honoring the Earth creates the
basis for genuine unity,
M. Gorbachev 
 



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