Our Approach to Global Governance
The Philosophical Roots of the Global Governance Forum
Humanity today faces unparalleled threats to its future, from climate change to nuclear risks to governance failures to persistent poverty. The threats that lie ahead should not, however, blind us to past progress. Among others, rapid scientific and technological change have improved the quality of life for billions of people. Advances in communication, international trade, and citizen initiatives across borders have tied the world together in new ways. The massive expansion of education also gives hope that human ingenuity and creativity can solve the problems presently casting shadows over our collective future.
That future, however, is not assured – in part because of a resurgence of sectarianism, tribalism and other narrow identities often instrumentalized to fan the flames of competition and conflict. At the Global Governance Forum, in contrast, we believe that many of the contemporary threats facing humanity can only be addressed by adopting a mindset that explicitly incorporates the notion that “we the peoples” means the entire human race.
These concepts are a part of humanity’s collective philosophical heritage. Ancient Greek, Roman and Persian philosophers over 2,000 years ago – such as Diogenes, Seneca and Heraclitus – extended solidarity from narrow tribe to nation to the whole human family. The Enlightenment built upon these universalist concepts. They are manifested today in African concepts like Ubuntu, a principle that recognizes our common humanity. These approaches have not subsumed lesser loyalties but built upon them. Nor was this a rapid process. Only slowly have these ideas evolved, matured, and taken practical social root. Painstakingly they have led to the gradual inclusion of previously disenfranchised segments of society and to the curtailing of slavery, indentured servitude, caste rule, racial or ethnic supremacy theories, and the subjugation of women. That vital work is not yet complete.
Biology and anthropology confirm this trajectory. In June of 2000, a first draft of the Human Genome Project became available, a mapping of the entire sequence of the human genome. The work definitively confirmed that racial categories are not based on genetics, but rather social constructs. It may take decades before most of humanity understands or embraces the scientific basis of its own oneness and decades more to deconstruct deeply ingrained prejudices and the baggage of painful histories.
Similarly, some have argued that humans are too different to accommodate shared identities like global citizenship. Yet, this idea runs counter to decades of anthropological observation across diverse cultures. George Murdock, one of the leading anthropologists of the 20th century, once compiled a long list of the elements common to all known cultures, including etiquette, funeral rites, gift giving, hospitality, inheritance rules, penal sanctions, postnatal care, puberty customs, religious rituals, and trade, just to name a few. What binds us is deeper than what differentiates us.
Today, we are witnessing another big shift in consciousness, this time centered on an ecological recognition that our common home is in distress. Planetary custodianship is deeply rooted in the histories and belief systems of native peoples and early civilizations. Major advances in planetary science over recent decades confirm a basic and increasingly urgent truth that what impacts one part of our threatened ecosystem impacts us all. A new custodial approach to the planet is urgently needed. Is it any wonder then, that many people, although justifiably proud of their own origin and identity, also see themselves simultaneously as citizens of one planet?
Which bring us to matters of global governance. The UN Charter – adopted in June 1945 by 51 countries – famously begins with the words “We the peoples of the United Nations … determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.” The founders declared their intention to “practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors [and to] …unite in our strength to maintain international peace and security.” In the ensuing decades, new members signed on to the principles embodied in the Charter, which remain unchanged. The world body now has 193 member states. Repeatedly, since 1945, the Preamble’s words have been tested on every continent, a period that has seen over 200 individual conflicts, but, importantly, no third world war – at least not yet. Skepticism of the United Nations is understandable because it has too often fallen short of expectation, and many current critiques of its performance in different areas are legitimate. Despite this, considered as a whole, no one seriously doubts the value of its contribution across three-quarters of a century.
The 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights marked a similar normative step forward. It declared that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and “are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Initially endorsed by 48 governments, the Declaration contributed to a major strengthening of the legal human rights framework at the global level. It also led to the negotiation of a wide range of international treaties and protocols addressing the status of refugees, genocide, the rights of women, slavery, and torture, among others. Whether we recognize it or not, everyone has benefitted directly or indirectly from these protections. Although nations can and do regularly fall short in implementing these obligations, they still represent a profound affirmation of our common human heritage.
As in the 1940s, growing global crises today call for new approaches. Despite the allure of national sovereignty-based ideas of protectionism or isolationism, it is often more, not less, international cooperation that can deliver the future we need and seek. At the Global Governance Forum, we do not pretend to know what specific contemporary proposals best respond to today’s urgent needs. While the Forum’s many contributors bring forward diverse views and proposals, we share a dedication to the open public conversation, to the imperative importance of a forum on global governance in which the very best ideas, old and new, can be examined and debated by the widest number of people possible.