{"id":22223,"date":"2012-10-15T12:00:55","date_gmt":"2012-10-15T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=22223"},"modified":"2012-10-14T16:48:02","modified_gmt":"2012-10-14T15:48:02","slug":"the-prospects-of-intercultural-humanism-in-the-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2012\/10\/the-prospects-of-intercultural-humanism-in-the-21st-century\/","title":{"rendered":"The Prospects of Intercultural Humanism in the 21st Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

The seven social sins of humanity:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. wealth without work
\n2. pleasure without conscience
\n3. knowledge without character
\n4. commerce without morality
\n5. science without humanity
\n6. worship without sacrifice
\n7. politics without principles
\nMahatma Gandhi1 <\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Gandhi,\u00a0 <\/em>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Whilst your friend is residing in our house, I should like to take this\u00a0 opportunity to send you these lines. You have shown the world that it is\u00a0 possible to solve seemingly insurmountable problems without the use of violence\u00a0 even between those who renounce violence themselves. We hope that\u00a0 your example will have an effect far beyond the borders of your country and\u00a0 contribute to decisions being made at an international level, the implementation\u00a0 of which must be guaranteed by all concerned.\u00a0 With my utmost admiration, <\/em>
\nyours\u00a0 Albert Einstein2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I have an idea, a dream, that in a thousand years, there will be a human race \u00a0which can even recognize something of its own history. Of all the people in\u00a0 our century, who will be most positively remembered? One would have to say\u00a0 that it was Mahatma Gandhi who showed how to achieve political targets\u00a0 without violence.<\/em>
\nCarl Friedrich von Weizs\u00e4cker3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The values that the Jewish physicist Albert Einstein and the\u00a0 Christian physicist, philosopher, and peace researcher Carl Friedrich\u00a0 von Weizs\u00e4cker attribute to the Hindu politician Mahatma Gandhi,\u00a0 point towards an intercultural humanism which we regard as part of\u00a0 a worldwide array of religions and perspectives of the world which\u00a0 could and should survive as an orientation for the 21st century.\u00a0 Humanism is the striving for genuine humanity, for pure human thought, feeling, and deeds, for humanitarianism, not solely as a call\u00a0 for rationalism but for empathy and that not embedded in the restrictions \u00a0of anthropological ideology but as an integral part of\u00a0 nature. \u2018Intercultural\u2019 humanism refers to the mentality that humanity can be found in all cultures. One can discern a minimal consensus of a worldview emanating from the various cultures,\u00a0 which can serve as a binding basis for life on our planet and which\u00a0 can be accepted as such.4 Gandhi is seen by many as one of the symbolic\u00a0 figures of an intercultural humanism. His philosophy on life5\u00a0 stems from a variety of sources. In addition to Indian traditions including Buddhism and Jainism, a life perspective based on a complete renunciation of violence towards man and beast, the ideas of\u00a0 the Parsis, Christians and Muslims also influenced his way of\u00a0 thinking. Gandhi admitted that he had learned much from the West, from Jesus in the Bible, whom he wanted to follow without accepting the ecclesiastical claim of his being the sole son of God.<\/p>\n

He had learned much from Leo Tolstoy, whom he revered, from the Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato, by whom he was impressed, and from many others. His religious and political genius became apparent through his ability to combine Western ideas with\u00a0 Indian tradition. Gandhi entered politics with a background of strong religious conviction based on ethnic and moral foundations.\u00a0 He became famous for his policy of non-violence, ahimsa<\/em>, which\u00a0 eased his way to political power.The principle of \u201dviolence\u201d which\u00a0 had dominated for centuries had many different facets for Gandhi,\u00a0 the worst of which was poverty. His views of the primacy of ethic, moral, humanist and political institutionalism and the showing of solidarity can help us deal with the demands of the present-day form\u00a0 of globalization without necessarily having to share his religious\u00a0 convictions.<\/p>\n

His warning of the seven social sins of humanity could show a\u00a0 way for religion, science, politics, business and culture of minimizing\u00a0 the dangers and disadvantages of globalization which make the poor\u00a0 poorer and the rich richer. His often quoted thought \u201dEarth provides\u00a0 enough for everyone\u2019s needs, but not for everyone\u2019s greed\u201d is\u00a0 frequently mentioned as a small moral tool in an effort to counteract\u00a0 the increasingly gaping discrepancies between the greed of the wealthy\u00a0 and the struggle for life as experienced by the poor. Gandhi\u00a0 insisted upon the idea that everyone should respect the tradition and\u00a0 culture into which he or she is born whilst at the same time\u00a0 recognizing other traditions. He portrays the principle of inter-cultural\u00a0 life in a very succinct way: \u201dI do not want my house to be\u00a0 walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the\u00a0 cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible.\u00a0 But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.\u201d6<\/p>\n

Intercultural humanism is also advocated by Intercultural Philosophy\u00a0 which has gained importance since the end of the Cold War\u00a0 and in which philosophers from Europe, the United States, Latin\u00a0 America, India, China, and Africa, as well as many Arabic countries\u00a0 are now actively involved.7 From an ideological point of view,\u00a0 Intercultural Philosophy regards the relationship of man to nature or\u00a0 the cosmos in various cultures such as Greek, Chinese, Indian or\u00a0 American Indian, as a way of enabling humanity to learn collectively\u00a0 in the 21st century. The scientific and technical command over\u00a0 nature, which leads to a delusional anthropocentric conflict of\u00a0 interest, pays scant regard to the interests of the diversity of living\u00a0 things and has lead modern man to forget that the world of omnipotent\u00a0 nature can survive without mankind but that mankind\u00a0 cannot survive without nature.<\/p>\n

Humanity is being repaid for this anthropocentric carelessness with world climate changes, the disappearance of species, and other\u00a0 threats to the complex biological balance. With the greatest respect\u00a0 for the successes of science and technology, but with just as much\u00a0 respect for the wisdom of various cultures, Intercultural Philosophy\u00a0 rejects as an anthropocentric aberration to the command over\u00a0 nature, in the form of the exploitation and plundering at the\u00a0 expense of future generations, as well as at the expense of our nonhuman\u00a0 contemporaries. The wisdom of the philosophies of the\u00a0 world\u2019s various cultures could, if viewed \u201dholistically,\u201d lead to a\u00a0 solution for many problems in that they urge us to overcome the\u00a0 prevalent egocentricity, ethnocentricity as well as anthropocentricity\u00a0 and remind us of our position in the natural order of the world.\u00a0 Intercultural Philosophy proposes neither an awkward \u201dBack to\u00a0 Nature,\u201d nor a single-handed \u201dBack to Culture,\u201d but rather a \u201dBack\u00a0 to Nature via Culture\u201d approach, combined with the recognition of\u00a0 the irrevocable fate of the world community of living things.<\/p>\n

This could lead to the future cohabitation of an enormous\u00a0 household of cosmic nature upon our common planet earth.8 In\u00a0 Albert Einstein\u2019s \u201dCosmic Religion,\u201d in which the genius physicist\u00a0 talks about nature, full of humility and unpretentiousness, full of wonder and awe, even full of love, one can see that Intercultural\u00a0 Philosophy addresses many worldly parallels.9 It has in Carl\u00a0 Friedrich von Weizs\u00e4cker, an ally who greatly values the vast array\u00a0 of cultures and religions analogous to the variety of living organisms\u00a0 whilst, at the same time, rejecting a syncretism which dilutes the\u00a0 strength of the individual cultures, as well as a monocultural\u00a0 dictatorship.10<\/p>\n

From the ethical and moral facets of Intercultural Philosophy\u00a0 comes the understanding of the imperative for the primacy of\u00a0 ethics, morality, humanism, and solidarity above politics. Part of the\u00a0 responsibility of a \u201dphilosophy of cultural comparison\u201d is to analyze\u00a0 the ethics of the various cultures, including their patterns of reasoning,\u00a0 the forms of ethos, and the moral beliefs practiced in cultural\u00a0 dialogue regarding similarities and differences.The common cultural\u00a0 aspects should be heightened in our consciousness with the ultimate\u00a0 aim of strengthening the moral claims for a successful coexistence of\u00a0 different cultures. Hans K\u00fcng\u2019s idea of a global ethic11 aims to tease\u00a0 out the common values of different cultures.Those who fear for the\u00a0 future of our world welcome his ideas,12 which offer an \u201doverlapping\u00a0 ethos\u201d based on the expression of the multicultural minimal\u00a0 consensus.This ethos runs parallel to Intercultural Philosophy from\u00a0 the outset, offering constructive criticism without neglecting the\u00a0 enlightening differences apparent between the various ethics.<\/p>\n

The \u201dEarth Charter\u201d13 views Intercultural Philosophy as a fertile\u00a0 addition to a global ethic which stresses the element of\u00a0 sustainability. Intercultural Philosophy supports the idea that many\u00a0 of the world\u2019s problems can only be solved at an international and\u00a0 intercultural level, by a \u201dGlobal Governance System\u201d under the auspices\u00a0 of the United Nations, provided that an intercultural and international\u00a0 consensus is reached regarding human rights and human\u00a0 responsibilities, in which not only the rights of freedom but specifically\u00a0 the right to exist and social rights of the earth\u2019s inhabitants play\u00a0 a major role. As for the global economic aspect, Intercultural Philosophy\u00a0 calls for a Global Governance System, based on global ethics,\u00a0 which has the power to attempt solutions to those problems present\u00a0 in the world, the actions of which, as Einstein had hoped in his open\u00a0 letter to Gandhi, would be supported by the whole world. According\u00a0 to the civil and sociological aspects, and in particular according\u00a0 to pedagogical aspects, Intercultural Philosophy demands the\u00a0 teaching of a planetary consciousness which leads to the\u00a0 development of moral power, thus urging world politics and the\u00a0 world economy to solve our world\u2019s problems in the spirit of\u00a0 Intercultural Humanism.<\/p>\n

What role could Europe play in a future brought about by\u00a0 intercultural humanism, in which the moral strength of non-violence\u00a0 triumphs over the web of power and contra-power so efficient\u00a0 in the past, characterized by direct, structural and cultural violence.\u00a0 The Norwegian peace researcher Johan Galtung has traced these\u00a0 forms of violence by researching various cultures.14 What role could\u00a0 Europe play in assuring that global cultural violence is no longer\u00a0 justified or legitimized, no longer supported by philosophies of life,\u00a0 ideologies, religions, and other spiritual systems which see violence\u00a0 either as being demanded by a god, historically justifiable, politically\u00a0 unavoidable or economically necessary. To what extent could\u00a0 Europe contribute to the peoples of this world by establishing a new,\u00a0 previously unknown level of human existence, at peace with nature,\u00a0 whereby, through an increased level of global fairness, the structural\u00a0 violence of global apartheid15 can be overcome, leading to a peace\u00a0 with peaceful means, and peace between those adhering to the\u00a0 multitude of religions and other beliefs.<\/p>\n

The hope on which the Intercultural Philosophy in Europe is\u00a0 pinned is based upon the fact that the extensive \u201dEuro-Centrism,\u201d\u00a0 with its global policies, political economic and cultural aspects by\u00a0 which the world has been influenced, often with non-peaceful\u00a0 means, will, in the 21st century, belong to the past. In his much\u00a0 discussed book \u201dThe Clash of Civilizations,\u201d the American political\u00a0 scientist Samuel Phillips Huntington offers a historical look at the\u00a0 imperialism which is rooted in geographical Europe, at one time had\u00a0 a hold over America, and which culminated in the Western dominance\u00a0 of Asia, India, Latin America and vast areas of Africa. Huntington arrived at the conclusion that: \u201dfor 400 years intercultural\u00a0 <\/em>relations consisted of other societies conforming to Western\u00a0 culture.\u201d16 He sees the key to the successful rise of the West as\u00a0 follows: \u201dThe West did not conquer the world by the superiority of\u00a0 its ideas, values or religions (to which only very few converted from\u00a0 other cultures) but much more through its superiority in the area of\u00a0 organized violence.\u201d Regarding the common universal memory,\u00a0 Huntington warns: \u201dWesterners often forget these facts; non-\u00a0 Westerners never forget them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two World Wars of the 20th century demonstrated the cruel\u00a0 extent of the dominance of organized violence.At the end of World\u00a0 War II, the development of the atomic bomb became a historical\u00a0 marker, designated by the philosopher Arthur Koestler as the most\u00a0 important date in the history of humanity, as from this point on,\u00a0 humanity had to live with the prospect of its own destruction as a\u00a0 species.17 What at first was merely the theoretical and symbolic\u00a0 possibility of the self-destruction of humanity signified by the\u00a0 atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, developed into a real\u00a0 possibility through the accumulation of weapons of mass destruction\u00a0 during the arms race of 1945 to 1989 and remains today even after\u00a0 the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n

In Huntington\u2019s view, this arms race can be seen as nothing more\u00a0 than a desire for supremacy in the possible use of organized violence.\u00a0 The West, with the super power United States of America at\u00a0 the center, has been the clear military and economic victor. One\u00a0 should keep Gandhi\u2019s and Galtung\u2019s ideas in mind that not only\u00a0 military power but also economic power are often dependent upon\u00a0 structural violence, which is legitimized through cultural violence\u00a0 and supported by fundamental economic theories.The relationship\u00a0 between economic and military structural violence is highlighted by\u00a0 American globalization expert Thomas L. Friedman, leading columnist\u00a0 of the New York Times, in his formulation: \u201dThe invisible hand\u00a0 of the market cannot operate without the invisible fist.\u201d He\u00a0 continues most lucidly: \u201dMcDonald\u2019s cannot survive without\u00a0 McDonnell Douglas, who build the F-15 for the United States Air Force. The invisible fist, which ensures that the technology from\u00a0 Silicon Valley flourishes, consists of the Army, the Air Force, the\u00a0 Navy and the Marines of the United States.And these armed forces\u00a0 are paid by the dollars of United States tax payers.\u201d18<\/p>\n

\u201dThe invisible hand of the market\u201d has, up to now, been unable\u00a0 to help raise a large proportion of the world\u2019s population out of\u00a0 inhuman suffering, and the \u201dinvisible fist\u201d has opened many deep\u00a0 wounds. In the period after World War II, the States behaved as if\u00a0 Europe were acting according to the ideas of the great philosopher\u00a0 Immanuel Kant, who wrote in his historical-philosophical observations\u00a0 in 1784: \u201dOne can regard the history of the human race as\u00a0 a whole as the execution of a hidden plan of nature to create an\u00a0 internal and, to this purpose, also an external, perfect state as the\u00a0 only condition in which all citizens can fully realize their\u00a0 potential.\u201d19 Europe is on course to put into practice Kant\u2019s theoretical\u00a0 demands for a fusion between successful interstate relations\u00a0 and intra-state improvements for the benefit of the inhabitants of\u00a0 those states. One can only hope that this course will be adhered to\u00a0 and that the violent times of the past remain where they belong.<\/p>\n

If one looks at the earth as a whole, a number of conflicts have\u00a0 developed since World War II which were carried out with the help\u00a0 of weapons of war, so that the language of war continues to\u00a0 dominate the face of the earth.The pressure upon the environment,\u00a0 regarding sustainability or rather the ability to self-regenerate, has\u00a0 built up so much that the point of no return has already been\u00a0 reached.20 Further dangers, in the form of violence against nature,\u00a0 jeopardize a long-term survival, not to mention the quality of life,\u00a0 of the human race as well as of the ecological environment.<\/p>\n

The 20th century left as a legacy for the new century a complex\u00a0 mesh of problems, primarily man-made, including climate change,\u00a0 ozone hole, environmental poisoning, dying trees, expansion of\u00a0 desert regions, extinction of species, disregard for human dignity,\u00a0 over-population, world famine, drought, migration of the poor,\u00a0 ethnic cleansing, mass-unemployment, wars, state terror, violent\u00a0 fundamentalism, weapons of mass destruction, unconventional weapons, and arms trade, to mention just a few. Therefore, the\u00a0 question as to whether this array of problems of Gordian complexity\u00a0 can be solved is certainly justified.21 From the point of view of\u00a0 Intercultural Philosophy, life and death in the 21st century will very\u00a0 much depend upon the type of interaction between the various\u00a0 peoples, nations, states, and cultures. In particular, it will depend\u00a0 upon whether or not the global community will succeed in solving\u00a0 the inevitable conflicts which arise from the distribution of the\u00a0 world\u2019s resources, by means of the historically new method of \u201dnonviolence\u201d\u00a0 or whether it will revert to the historically trusted\u00a0 methods of \u201dorganized violence.\u201d In light of the available potential\u00a0 violence, this latter alternative could lead to the self-destruction of\u00a0 the global community.<\/p>\n

In an attempt to find solutions to the threats upon our planet,\u00a0 the United States presidential candidate of 2000, Al Gore, in his\u00a0 book Earth in the Balance \u2013 Ecology and Human Spirit<\/em>,22 demands of\u00a0 politics after the Cold War: \u201dIt is essential to save our environment\u00a0 using the common organizational principles of our civilization.\u201dHe\u00a0 illustrates the magnitude of the task by comparing it with two other\u00a0 central organizational principles, namely the fight against fascism,\u00a0 which only ended with World War II and the fight against communism,\u00a0 whose fate was sealed with the fall of the Berlin Wall. The\u00a0 whole of society\u2019s energy, science and technology, finances and economy,\u00a0 politics and ideology, were aimed at these two targets. After\u00a0 the Cold War, all efforts should be mustered to achieve global\u00a0 equality. Just as the United States of America\u2019s Marshall Plan of 1947\u00a0 to 1948 strengthened the rebuilding of Europe, a \u201dMarshall Plan for\u00a0 the earth\u201d must be successful against the environmental threats.<\/p>\n

In contrast to Al Gore\u2019s demands, the terrorist attacks of\u00a0 September 11th 2001 have led United States President George W.\u00a0 Bush to raise the war against terrorism to a \u201dcentral organizational\u00a0 principle.\u201d Bush predicted to the United Nations that they would\u00a0 fall into insignificance if they did not support the United States of\u00a0 America in war against the \u201dvillainous state\u201d of Iraq. In his speech\u00a0 of January 29th, 2002 in front of the United States Congress, he formulated the foremost aims of his policy: the safety of the United\u00a0 States of America by means of a war against terrorism and the revival\u00a0 of the economy.23 In the fight against evil he sees the United States\u00a0 of America fulfilling a new historical role: \u201dIn a single instant, we\u00a0 realized that this will be a decisive decade in the history of liberty,\u00a0 that we\u2019ve been called to a unique role in human events.\u201d24 In the\u00a0 summer of 2002, the United States government developed a\u00a0 doctrine in which it reserved the right of first attack \u2013 in the form\u00a0 of pre-emptive military strikes \u2013 against \u201drogue states\u201d and with\u00a0 which it disregarded the applicable law of nations25 and demonstrated\u00a0 in full view of the whole world that power is more important\u00a0 than the law of nations. Shortly before the beginning of the war\u00a0 against Iraq,Kofi Annan made a statement on March 10th, 2003 proclaiming\u00a0 that the military action was not in keeping with the United\u00a0 Nations Charter.26<\/p>\n

After the Iraq War, in the autumn of 2003, Kofi Annan spoke\u00a0 retrospectively of \u201da unilateral and illegal use of force\u201d and\u00a0 condemned the pre-emptive action of the United States of America\u00a0 by describing the foundations of the United Nations being shaken\u00a0 to the core: \u201dThis logic provides a fundamental challenge to the\u00a0 principles, however imperfect they may be, upon which world peace\u00a0 has been founded for the last 58 years.\u201d27 According to Kofi Annan,\u00a0 the Kosovo War of 1999 demonstrated a tendency not to involve the\u00a0 United Nations Security Council in attempts to uphold world peace\u00a0 and international security.The inadequacies of the global institutions\u00a0 to uphold world peace thus demonstrated, the United Nations\u00a0 Secretary General even warned of a \u201ddangerous path towards\u00a0 anarchy.\u201d28<\/p>\n

If the president of the biggest superpower in the history of the\u00a0 world legitimizes the \u201dstruggle for freedom\u201d as a historical mission,\u00a0 alarm bells will be ringing particularly for non-Westerners in\u00a0 reference to the world collective memory. Is this reference to the\u00a0 historical mission in the fight for freedom a further example of cultural\u00a0 violence being employed to legitimize structural and direct\u00a0 violence, in the same way that it has been used in past centuries? The Iraq War leaves scarce room for doubt. Of considerable significance\u00a0 in the 21st century is whether the super power of the global\u00a0 community will be represented by the United Nations in a subordinate\u00a0 role, or will the globalization expert Thomas L. Friedman\u00a0 be correct in his assessment: \u201dThe most important reason the United\u00a0 States needs the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund,\u00a0 the World Bank, and the various world development banks, is that\u00a0 the United States of America can promote its own interests without\u00a0 having to risk American lives and capital.\u201d29<\/p>\n

With this in mind, it is understandable that Kofi Annan warned\u00a0 the United Nations General Assembly on the occasion of the 60th\u00a0 anniversary of the United Nations in his report In Larger Freedom:\u00a0 <\/em>\u201dThese are not theoretical issues, but issues of deadly urgency. If we\u00a0 do not reach a consensus on them this year and start to act on it,we\u00a0 may not have another chance. This year, if ever, we must transform\u00a0 the United Nations into the effective instrument for preventing\u00a0 conflict that it always meant to be by acting on several key policy\u00a0 and institutional priorities.\u201d30 However, the Anniversary Summit\u00a0 between September 14th to 16th, 2005, achieved only minimal\u00a0 consensus and fell far below the expectations of the Secretary\u00a0 General. The crucial question remained unanswered as to whether\u00a0 the states will succeed in the future in reforming the United\u00a0 Nations, at present kept weak and ill-equipped, into an \u201deffective\u00a0 instrument for avoiding conflicts,\u201d to which belong, according to\u00a0 Kofi Annan, economic development, social justice, protection of the\u00a0 global environment, reduction of the worldwide weapons trade,\u00a0 democracy, diversity und dignity, the recognition of human rights,\u00a0 the idea of the state founded on the rule of law and much more.31\u00a0 In order to realize such \u201dreal peace\u201d the Secretary General of the\u00a0 United Nations explicitly demands the inclusion and support of\u00a0 society\u2019s civil forces, which could promote the urgently required\u00a0 change of behavior through public pressure and a change in the way\u00a0 of thinking.<\/p>\n

Part of the civil forces include the Global Marshall Plan &\u00a0 Planetary Contract Initiative which sees a model of success for a post-war world-wide socio-ecological market. The Initiative sees\u00a0 itself as bound to Kofi Annan\u2019s manifesto Crossing the Divide. Dialogue\u00a0 among Civilizations32 <\/em>and is thus based upon intercultural humanism.\u00a0 Franz Josef Radermacher, one of the foremost thinkers involved in\u00a0 the Global Marshall Plan Initiative, points in his book Balance or\u00a0 Destruction33 <\/em>to the necessity of a \u201ddomestic world policy,\u201d which in\u00a0 this time of globalization would be required to regulate the world\u00a0 economy.34<\/p>\n

The phrase \u201dworld domestic policy,\u201d coined by Carl Friedrich\u00a0 von Weizs\u00e4cker, bridges the classical gap between the foreign and\u00a0 domestic policy of sovereign states and compounds their relationships\u00a0 into a permanent web at a new integral level. According to\u00a0 Kant\u2019s paper Zum Ewigen Frieden,<\/em>35 progressive regulation in the\u00a0 form of political agreements or contracts could lead humanity to a\u00a0 condition of \u201dworld citizenship\u201d in which the states would adhere\u00a0 to a primarily absolute global constitution which would, in turn,\u00a0 have such a positive effect upon the constitutions of the individual\u00a0 states that the citizens in the single states would only then be able to\u00a0 fully develop. From the point of view of Intercultural Philosophy,we\u00a0 are pleading that the mighty, who rule over the present form of\u00a0 globalization with their \u201deconomic regulation,\u201d should not function\u00a0 as a body with the role of an economic, fundamentalist final arbiter\u00a0 but rather that it should act according to and be restrained by the\u00a0 intercultural humanist guidelines.<\/p>\n

In keeping with Kofi Annan\u2019s manifesto for dialogue among\u00a0 civilizations, the idea of global ethics and the Earth Charter, the\u00a0 Global Marshall Plan & Planetary Contract Initiative supports the\u00a0 United Nations in its attempt to persuade the powerful global\u00a0 players – in politics, economy and finance, to participate in a globally\u00a0 recognized, system of regulation and a workable cohabitation of the\u00a0 earth\u2019s citizens in the future, orientated towards global justice,\u00a0 sustainability and peace with peaceful means. The orientation\u00a0 towards global justice could see an end to famine, poverty, and\u00a0 disease, and form the basis for a meaningful life amidst cultural\u00a0 diversity. The orientation towards sustainability raises a sense of responsibility for future generations and strives for a life of harmony,\u00a0 at one with nature. The realization of justice and sustainability could\u00a0 increase the probability of peace with peaceful means in and with\u00a0 nature, post 20th century, a century \u201dperhaps the most deadly in the\u00a0 history of the human race, shattered by innumerable conflicts untold\u00a0 misery and unimaginable crimes,\u201d36 which too often emanated from\u00a0 violent supremacy over man, woman, and nature. This change is\u00a0 possible, if not probable. The improbable deserves a chance. The\u00a0 Global Marshall Plan & Planetary Contract Initiative is thus supported\u00a0 by the Society for Intercultural Philosophy.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We dedicate our essay in grateful thanks to the memory of the pleasant, humorous and zestful conversations with Karl Konrad Graf von der Groeben-Ponarien, the founder of the Global Ethic Foundation. As a successful
    \nentrepreneur, he continually lived the values of Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s as a form of guidance and a reminder.<\/li>\n
  2. Albert Einstein\u2019s letter to Mahatma Gandhi, privately-owned and quoted with the friendly permission of Saraswati Albano-M\u00fcller (maiden namen\u00e9e Sundaram), the daughter of the friend mentioned in the letter.<\/li>\n
  3. compare: Bartosch U (1995).Weltinnenpolitik. Berlin, p. 476.<\/li>\n
  4. compare: Geerk F (1995). Kongress der Weltweisen \u2013 Ein Lesebuch des Humanismus. D\u00fcsseldorf, p. 21-25.<\/li>\n
  5. compare: Mall R A (2005). Mahatma Gandhi interkulturell gelesen. Nordhausen.<\/li>\n
  6. compare: Mall R A (2005). Mahatma Gandhi interkulturell gelesen. Nordhausen, p.45.<\/li>\n
  7. compare: www.int-gip.de<\/li>\n
  8. compare: Mall R A (2000). Mensch und Geschichte \u2013 Wider die Anthropozentrik. Darmstadt, p. 184-190.<\/li>\n
  9. compare: Einstein A in: Seelig C (ed.) (1991). Albert Einstein, Mein Weltbild. Frankfurt on the Main, p. 21-29.<\/li>\n
  10. compare: von Weizs\u00e4cker C F (1992). Zeit und Wissen. Munich, p. 520.<\/li>\n
  11. compare: K\u00fcng H, Kuschel K-J (ed.) (1993). Erkl\u00e4rung zum Weltethos. Die Deklaration des Parlamentes der Weltreligionen. Munich.<\/li>\n
  12. compare: K\u00fcng H (ed.) (1996).Yes to a Global Ethic. London.<\/li>\n
  13. compare: www.earthcharter.org<\/li>\n
  14. compare: Galtung J (1998). Frieden mit friedlichen Mitteln. Opladen.<\/li>\n
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    _____________________<\/em>
    \n<\/em><\/p>\n

    Autoren: Prof. Dr. Ram Adhar Mall\u00a0+ Klaudius Cansczyk 2007
    \npubliced in: “EUROPEAN HOPE – Towards a World in Balance”
    \nStrategy of Partnership + A Virtual Congress for a Better Balanced World
    \nGlobal Marshall Plan Initiative<\/em><\/p>\n

    Go to Original \u2013 sonnenseite.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The values that the Jewish physicist Albert Einstein and the Christian physicist, philosopher, and peace researcher Carl Friedrich von Weizs\u00e4cker attribute to the Hindu politician Mahatma Gandhi, point towards an intercultural humanism which we regard as part of a worldwide array of religions and perspectives of the world which could and should survive as an orientation for the 21st century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-transcend-members"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22223\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}