Report R3.7 Globalisation, Governance, & World Unity Seminar Leader: Kittu Reddy, Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry kittu[at]auromail.net The idea of world unity has been discussed in various fora. In the past, there have been many attempts to form organisations like the League of Nations and the United Nations, to further the cause of world peace and unity. The notion of bringing the world under a single governance system took a formal shape with colonisation. Napoleon had dreamt of a united world. His ambition and influence brought about the fall of many nations. He created a new form of government in France, reshaped the boundaries of Europe, and influenced revolutionaries and nationalists the world over during the period from 1796 to 1815. Such exploitative efforts at unity were usually countered by movements for independence. The victorious allied powers of World War I established the League of Nations. The League was ineffective in stopping the military aggression that led to World War II. The League ceased its work during the war and dissolved on April 18, 1946. The United Nations assumed its assets and carries on much of its work. But these attempts at uniting the world have not produced the anticipated results. The seminar leader proposed a plausible explanation for their failure. The explanation outlines three conditions that are necessary for sustainable unity within any social unit--in this case, the globe. (a) Primary allegiance to the largest unit, and not to any of the sub-units: The basic social unit of society is the family. Children grow up within the family, friends circle, and school. They develop a sense of nationality as they grow up and later develop a global feeling. In order to establish a sense of oneness with humanity one has to ensure primary loyalty to the biggest unit. (b) Equality: In order to sustain this unity, fundamental equality of all basic component units has to be achieved. The state has to ensure that every citizen is able to meet the basic needs of life. This is currently being attempted through reservation policies for the downtrodden. Every individual would then try to reach out to each other. (c) Freedom: Sustenance of individual freedom in a unified world order is vital. Every individual’s freedom has to be respected and ensured. Controls create barriers to growth. The growth of every individual could be brought about when every individual develops a sense of belonging to a united world. Is world unity inevitable? Globalisation is one of the prime forces shaping the contemporary world. Issues like pollution of the environment cannot be addressed from a local perspective anymore. The responsibilities of national governments are increasing. It has led to the need for global governance. In today’s world, terror, AIDS, and poverty represent the new face of globalisation. They have spread their wings far and wide. In order to overcome these evils, humanity will have to come together. It is logical to argue that nation states would be the sub-units in a united world structure. But is it possible that individuals could be the basic unit in a united world structure? The coming together of nations/individuals in an amicable manner will lead to a united world. However, economic and political foundations of today’s world do not easily allow this new structure to take shape. We need to search for a more effective model for world unity. An analysis of the history of evolution of the nation state reveals three phases in its formation. In the first phase, there is a sense of loose unity among the constituent components because of geographical proximity, religious affiliation, etc. In the second stage, the formation of a centralised state takes place through administrative, financial, and military mechanisms. During the third stage there is usually some revolt against such strictly centralised structures and a certain degree of decentralisation happens in response to this. This brings about stability of the nation state. There are indications today that we are well into the first stage mentioned above in the formation of a world entity. Many organisations have surpassed national affiliations and are addressing global concerns. Amnesty International strives to address the suffering of humanity. Green Peace has taken up the responsibility of protecting our global environment. Is it necessary to go through the second and third stages outlined above, while attempting to form a world state? What then may be the way forward? To address this question, Prof. Reddy spoke of Sri Aurobindo’s vision of spiritual universalism. Every individual needs to develop a sense of internationalism. This spirit should go beyond the realm of mental faculties and should engage the intuitive and spiritual faculties of the individual. This will help foster a sense of oneness among all members of humanity and bring about unity in the world. Concluding the seminar, the seminar leader spoke of the inevitability of world unity and challenged researchers to address the following issues: * Economic foundation of a new world order * Principles for governing a united world * Role of psychology in bringing out a harmonious world Reported by C. D. Kuruvilla, with inputs from J. D. Vakkayil, A. G. Menon, and I. Chakrabarti (6 October 2005). Copyleft Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home |
