This is an excerpt from Mikhail Gorbachev's new book "The Search for a New
Beginning: Developing a New Civilization", inspired by the "State of the
World Forum" that will take place next week in San Francisco. This excerpt
was printed in "Noetic Sciences Review", Autumn edition.
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A CALL FOR NEW VALUES
by Mikhail Gorbachev
One of the paradoxes of the twentieth centry 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 souce 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 create the basis for genuine unity.
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Copyright by HarperSanFrancisco.
The book can be ordered from Noetic Sciences at: 1-800-383-1586
For information on the State of the World Forum:
Gorbachev Foundation/USA, The Presidio, PO Box 29434, San Francisco, CA 94129
1-415-771-4567, info@worldforum.org
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