Teacher, help me look ahead!”
Eduardo Galeano (a pupil who saw the sea for the first time).
We are living in times of
great confusion, which instead of clearing things, rather cast a shadow over
them; times of accelerated revision, dehumanization, confrontation and
violence... Times of artifice and oblivion, of fear and disregard for the huge
human capacity... The COVID-19 pandemic has been followed by great natural
catastrophes and ecological modifications, some of which have an irreversible
nature... And straightforward wars have been added to the “hidden” ones; the
social gap on a global scale has become even greater, and thousands of migrants
are constantly claiming, while moving and living in unacceptable human
conditions, that the global governance takes care of them, in full compliance
with the essential principle of equal dignity.
The neoliberal plutocracy,
aided by multiple tax heavens, has replaced political guidelines by
merchandising; and justice, which was the cornerstone of coexistence and
supportive progress, has lost its essential independence in favour of
ideological links - "conservative" or "progressive" - which
are radically intolerable....
And as happened with the
veto of the five victors of the Second World War in the case of United Nations,
an organisation that was deprived since the beginning from the possibility to
take any decision, it is now the European Union, due to the absurd request of
unanimity — which is the antithesis of democracy— who may not play the
essential role it should be playing, thus leaving the world as a whole in the
hands of the reason of force of unsuitable “democracies” … The current “global
disorder” (title of the Dossier
from the Spanish journal La Vanguardia from January to March 2023) requires the
unpostponable construction, - that could not be imagined up to now, of a new multilateral democratic system. The
adoption of a great Universal Declaration of Democracy could become the big
global reference enabling this crucial renewal of global governance.
José Enrique de Ayala has
recently dealt with great success with these issues (“La crisis geopolítica de
un mundo multipolar”) in La Gaceta Sindical
from December 2022, where Francisco Aldecoa deals with the urgent need to go
further in the construction of a European federal project.
We human beings “are” not
in the world, but “are” rather the world, stresses Emilio Lledó in his
excellent chapter entitled “Education for democracy” from his book Identity
and friendship (Taurus 2022): “The human look” -writes the author- “is
simultaneously a vision and an interpretation.
A vision that may understand what it sees (...). The possibility to
understand has to feed itself continuously with freedom and light (…).The light
of words is what creates the universe of what is human”… I will repeat here two
concepts that are essential for a new beginning: the duty of memory and the
crime of silence. Yes: now “We, the peoples”
can finally put into practice the third paragraph of the preamble of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ”compelled to rebellion”. A general
mobilization for a democratic multilateralism that requires —as indicated by Roberto Savio and
Giuliano Rizzi (OtherNews, 13 October 2022)— “re-establishing a
compass to identify the new paths of change”. Pressing changes in order to put
into practice, at last, the first sentence of the Charter of the United
Nations: “We, the peoples are determined to save succeeding generations from
the scourge of war”.
Until a few decades ago, “We, the
peoples” did not exist. Under the absolute masculine power, 90% of the
citizenry was born, lived and died in a few square kilometres. They only knew
what happened in their immediate environment. And they were fearful, obedient,
silent, muted. Whereas now “the peoples” can at last take action, if we succeed
in making them abandon the inertia of being impassive spectators to become
diligent makers of the future we long for. Now, at last, with a conscious
citizenry, capable of reacting, knowing that hope lies in human creativity, the
boundless faculty of each of us to design his own future. Desperate migrants
will continue to pour in, at the risk of their own lives, as long as a few ones
continue to cling to a speculative economic system with huge military
investments, a productive relocation to the East - anything goes, regardless of
working conditions - and managerial and innovative relocation to the West,
which favours only 20% of humanity and widens social rifts. There is enough
place for everyone and we are all equal in dignity. The big challenge for the
future we dream with is to share more equally. And to do so we only need to
take a look at the world in general to be able to understand what we fear
comparatively. It is only when we “see” the world that we suddenly feel we are
brothers and sisters (as established, by the way, in Article 1 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights). The solution is development. With a big global sustainable development
plan, the right conditions for habitability and progress would be created,
allowing immigration to become a freely taken decision that would benefit
everyone.
“Democratic” Europe, Europe of the
human rights -described in year 2000 in one of its most precise and precious
“Charters”-, while “developed” and prosperous Europe... is looking elsewhere.
Europe of the markets has forgotten “democratic principles” which were so
lucidly written in the UNESCO Constitution at the end of the Second World War.
The most
relevant lesson of the global crisis produced by the coronavirus is that
knowledge is the essential pillar of the new era. In just a few years deep
changes of a very different nature have occurred that should now allow us -if
we remain tied to memories and do not accept, once again, that a few ones
distract and intimidate the many ones- to reach the following great objectives:
the equal dignity of all human beings whatever their gender, ethnicity,
ideology, beliefs, etc.; the participation of the citizenry at a national (real
democracy) and international scale (democratic multilateralism) to fully
exercise a governance excluding the plutocratic artifices (G7, G8, G20) of
neoliberalism and ensuring a fine intergenerational legacy; the popular mobilization
in presence and in the cyberspace because, for the first time in history,
everybody has the capacity to express and communicate themselves thanks to
digital technology; set up without delay a new concept of security to deal not
only with territorial conflicts but also with natural or provoked catastrophes;
a new concept of work, that will liberate humanity of many tasks that do not
require the use of its distinctive faculties, always with the machine at its
service and never the other way round; education during the whole life - not to
be confused with training - developing personal autonomy, reflexive and
creative faculties...; The implementation of the 2030 Agenda (Sustainable
Development Goals) cannot be postponed, taking into account the indisputable
priority of potentially irreversible processes...
In an article about artificial intelligence (“El País”, Ideas,
8.3.20 20), José María Lasalle wrote the following: “We are about to penetrate
in a scenario where the negative externalities that AI may unleash - if not
developed within an appropriate regulatory framework - can lead to dystopia,
exclusion and inequality... The European Commission approved on 19 February
2020 a White Paper on AI that outlines an ethically based AI... which must be
human-centred. The aim of this proposal is to try to improve democracy and the
market without giving up the responsible autonomy of citizens and
consumers..."
Environmental regulation and the
implementation of the objectives of peace with the Earth and on
Earth can already be glimpsed. It is now possible for “the peoples” to
accomplish the mission that was entrusted to them by the United Nations on
1945. It is in the creative capacity that our collective hope lies because, for
the first time in history, human beings, equal in dignity, may freely express
themselves thanks to digital technology. This is why it is so urgent that as
many people as possible become aware that the future is finally in their
hands... And that they must overcome the
temptation to "let themselves go", to be abducted by irrelevance and
irresponsibility. The first article of UNESCO Constitution defines the
“educated” as those who “are free and responsible”. The moment has come for
liberty, the supreme gift and responsibility, starting by always taking into
account the next generations.
A new beginning is
imperative in which, aware of the big challenges we have ahead, but also of the
reasons for hope, we can raise big popular clamours that shall eliminate the
plutocratic governance and contribute to a diligent democratic multilateralism.
Educated within liberty
and responsibility, the future must be cleared out by virtue of the distinctive
faculties of the human species: reflecting, imagining, anticipating,
innovating, creating!, excluding forever force and money from the government
institutions.
With the leadership of
intellectual, scientific and cultural communities, represented by people who
have reached a great notoriety, and by those who have a great knowledge and public
recognition (I am thinking of Leo Messi and Joan Manuel Serrat...) we would be
able to gather many followers, especially young people who will allow the
transition from force to a culture of peace and non violence, from irrelevant
and easily manageable multitudes to people who “direct their own lives”,
according to the wise definition of Francisco Giner de los Ríos in reference to
the objective of the educational process: to educate sowers of solidarity,
capable of sharing, of living together, of going out of their way for others.
We must remember today in
the first place the war in Ukraine but also other wars (such as mentioned by
Andrea Rizzi, José Naranjo and Antonio Pita in El País of 21/12/2022 in
their article “The war in Ukraine
is terrible. Also these other
wars”) where most of the information is modulated by big oligopolies, in order
to put into practice the great mission “We, the peoples”, a formula that was
premature in 1945 but has now become possible. And this is a big hope, which
has recently become sounder with other good news: first of all, the energy of
nuclear fusion which - contrary to what is happening with nuclear fission -
leaves no radioactive residues and is an inexhaustible source of energy.
Although the ITER project was languishing since many years, now finally the US
Department of Energy (National Ignition Facility) has succeeded, with laser
energy of 3 million degrees Celsius, in transforming hydrogen into helium plus
neutrons.
Now it is possible to
comply with the ecological requirements of 8 billion people who may - thanks to
democratic multilateralism without vetoes - successfully steer the common
destiny.
At last “the peoples”, the genuine democracy, at the helm of the
ship Earth!... to keep away the plutocratic groups from the global governance
and be able to face unacceptable ravings, such as that of the tycoon Elon Musk,
who has announced that "in six months he will put a chip in the human
brain". “We, the peoples” shall not consent to dehumanization, the loss
of freedom and creativity, which are the two big pillars of the human species. Critical moments are
approaching... but also great opportunities for change that cannot be
postponed... for a new beginning.
Posts
