Proposals for Global Solidarity in a Plural World
Bandung II Conference, Yogyajarta and Bandung , Indonesia , April 18-24, 2005
By Majid Tehranian and Wolfgang R. Schmidt

Unit of Global Analysis: Human Civilization

In 2005, we face a far more differentiated world than during the Cold War (1947-
1989), in which the world was divided between the capitalist, communist, and
non-aligned blocs.  The world has gone through major economic, political, and cultural transformations. About 1000 Transnational Corporations (TNC) have brought about a global market.  Some 200 national states are divided between a super-power ( USA ), regional powers (e.g. ASEAN, EU), and an increasing number of large, medium, and small powers at different levels of economic development, political integration or disintegration.  In addition, an expanding global telecommunication system has empowered a nascent global society while promoting a consumerist world. Because of such shifts, nation-states seem to be an inadequate unit of
analysis for understanding.  In a globalizing and tribalizing world, the unit of analysis no longer can be the state, which is undermined both at the top and bottom of global social structures. 

What can replace the traditional Westphalian conceptions of world order ? We propose human civilization as a common journey in pursuit peace with peaceful means.  We understand human civilization not in terms of stages like Marx, Rostow, or Bell , nor as cycles of birth, development and death like Spengler, Toynbee, or Sarkar.  We view civilization as a layering process from nomadic to agrarian, commercial, industrial and digital (Tehranian 2005).  Human civilizations may be analyzed in terms of their prevailing modes of production, legitimation, communication, socialization, and selfhood. 

The World community is today deeply divided among these five modes both within and among nations. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cannot be fully understood until we view them as a conflict between different modes of civilization.  More than two-third of the world lives today under the pre-industrial modes at $2 a day of income.  The growing economic, political, and cultural disparities between the five modes suggest a possible global civil war of state and opposition terrorism without physical and moral boundaries and of unknown duration. 

Organic Global Solidarity for Human Civilization

Co-existence of the five layers of human civilisation, combined with identity, commodity and security fetishisms have created a world of antagonisms between differing layers of mechanic solidarities. However, global solidarity has to anticipate the life-interests of all and therefore to be a solidarity of in-equals, including the “other”, the “foreigner”, the "they" and the "we", everyone who lives in any of the five layers of human civilisation. We call this solidarity an organic human and global solidarity for life, because this kind of solidarity takes into account not only one aspect, one person’s or group’s view, one area of interest, one source of power. It takes into account everything organically and pertaining to life: diversity with respect to cultural, social, ethnical and national matters and gender differences. Solidarity by definition is (1) a spirit of community despite differences and inequalities – social differences are even a natural precondition - , and (2) a spirit of community because of difference, namely in spite of unfair impairments against the commonly felt interests.

But the concept of organic solidarity for life does not only reflect the diversity of human beings, it also confirms their universality. Any concrete acting in solidarity always has two preconditions: (1) It accepts and confirms the abstract generalising equality of all human beings. This includes the universality of mankind, of different and alien persons. It is solidarity with “everybody who has a human image” (Habermas). Justice and welfare, freedom and equal chances are normative and universal preconditions for a maximum of implementation of organic solidarity. (2) It is more relevant to accept and confirm its concrete difference of each individual human being. In its concrete form, organic solidarity is constitutive for human community, because it takes serious the individuality of everyone.

For a global civil society beyond the nationalist fragmented and therefore also locally relevant concept of life in global citizenship, the everyday practise of solidarity is of decisive importance. The discovery of the diversity of human beings as a constitutive element of solidarity opens a new base for human life, democratically organized in community on local, regional, global level. Solidarity based activities of the international civil society have questioned the legitimacy of hegemonic global governance and crossing boundaries, religions, cultures and nationalities. Resistance includes labor-, women-, environment-, human rights-, peace-, justice- and other base-movements and should aiming for a global human civilization in global solidarity.

Three Elements for Promotion of Global Solidarity

Under such circumstances, the unit of analysis in international relations must be also viewed as layered from tribes to villages, cities, states, regions, and the entire Planet Earth.   The
mission of Bandung II must be the promotion of global solidarity in a plural world.  It may consist of the three following elements: 
(1) Bandung II can unite the emerging global civil society from all five civilizations into a coherent political voice to counter the hegemonic strategies of the global economic and political forces. 
(2) Bandung II can establish a growing network of global economic, political, and cultural networks for human security and dignity, sustainable development, and the pursuit of world peace with peaceful means.
(3) Bandung II can mobilize the considerable cultural resources of an emerging global society to produce a new global civilization based on unity in diversity. 

Need for a Global Civil Society Movement

Bandung I was an alliance of the non-aligned states during the Cold War.  Historical circumstances have significantly changed since 1955.   Instead of colonialism, the world today is faced with powerful globalization trends that cut across the boundaries of states, markets, and civil societies. The global communication networks also have made it possible for the globalization trends to penetrate almost all countries with disastrous as well as beneficial consequences.

    
Following September 11, 2001 and the rise of state and opposition terrorism, we can witness a need for the renewal of the global movement for peace and justice.  Since states, markets, civil societies, and communication networks are playing a critical role in the current globalization trends, the movement must employ the existing material and cultural resources of all four major
stakeholders.   For the goals of peace and justice, the global civil society constitutes the most sympathetic of the four stakeholders.  The movement must be therefore based on an alliance between civil societies and other sympathetic elements among the other three stakeholders.  This proposal focuses on the construction of such a movement. 

Human Civilization as a Possible Framework

Any social movement would have to adopt a conceptual framework for the development of its strategies and tactics.   In this instance, the need for a peace and justice movement is global in scope.  However, most of the current stakeholders in globalization are currently tied to national boundaries (states), profit seeking opportunities (markets), fragmentary preoccupations (civil societies), and biased journalism connected with state, market or civil society interests (the news industry). 

A global movement for peace and justice requires global citizens.  Fortunately, there is an emergence of global consciousness and global citizenship among ecumenical religious movements, civil society movement such as Greenpeace or Amnesty International, and political movements that have recognized a growing global interdependence.

Human civilization seems to be the only possible common framework for such a task.  Bandung II must adopt as its own the common human journey toward a global civilization that outlaws wars and provides means for conflict management and resolution. However, civilization has been often used as an ideology to mobilize "us" against "them". The ideological conception of civilization that makes a sharp distinction between the civilized and the barbarian are not tenable.  The enemy is within.  Human individuals and societies all have shown a propensity to violence when and if under attack.  Moreover, weapons of mass destruction no longer make a distinction friend and foe, military and civilians, main targets and collaterals.  In the case of the nuclear weapons, it all depends on which way the wind blows.

If we adopt "human civilization" as a common journey, we would have to totally discard its ideological uses.  Depending on the circumstances, we are all civilized and barbarian.   The demonic and angelic forces are present in all human beings waiting to express themselves under appropriate circumstances.    Wars are often fought under the noblest of goals. But they create circumstances under which the the most "civilized" appear as "barbarians".

   
Proposed Goals for the Movement

Bandung II can make a critical difference in the current
international discourse if and when it pursues the following goals:

•    Maintenance of Human unity in diversity
•    Human civilization as a common journey in pursuit of peace with peaceful means
•    Human dignity and security as the first and foremost common goal of human civilization
•    Respect for sovereignty at all layers of human society, from tribes to villages, cities, states, regions, and the Planet Earth
•    Respect for the interdependence of human civilization and its natural environment
•    Concrete measures to narrow the gaps among the five modes of human civilization by means of transfers of knowledge, science, technology, capital, and management.
•    Mobilization of the global civil society to persuade the global market, state, and communication network to work toward the above common goals

Proposed Strategies and Tactics

The foregoing goals cannot be realistically achieved unless and until practical strategies and tactics have been devised at all
levels of global governance.  Bandung II must therefore develop policies to deal with the following strategic objectives:

•    Democratizing global governance
•    Democratizing national governance

° Promotion of women's participation in all aspects of society

•    Respect for the rights and sovereignties of repressed minorities or majorities.
•    Micro credit for all layers of human entrepreneurship
•    Reforming and strengthening of the United Nations system
•    Freedom for the mobility of labor and capital across national boundaries
•    Establishment of a world currency pegged to all other national currencies
•    United Nations citizenship for all those requesting it
•    Outlawing of all forms of violence, from domestic to international
•    Reform of the current global juridical systems to bring all violators to justice
•    Establishment of several global funds to encourage innovations in science, technology, and arts. 
•    Taxation of global commons such as the electromagnetic spectrum, geostationary orbit, ocean resources, or currency exchanges to finance the global funds.

Conclusion

The foregoing proposals may seem idealistic. The goals set by our great spiritual and political leaders in the past also seemed far-fetched at their time.  However, as H.G. Wells has reminded us, "civilization is a race between education and catastrophe."  On that note, we rest our case.

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