Dr. iur. Urs Lustenberger | Zurich, Switzerland | September 26, 2023
After World War II, the world was sternly polarized into well-defined power centres believed to be aiming to destroy one another. There was no room for thoughts about a shared future of humanity as it was simply inconceivable to share a future with the other power centre.
Over the next few decades, the edges of that polarization started to soften; one of the poles eventually collapsed, and the world as such seemed to become a place for all of humanity where the main boundaries seemed to be defined less by nationality but more by individual affiliation to religion, financial wellbeing and race.
In this relatively peaceful atmosphere, the vision of a Community with a shared future of mankind was a compelling and enlightening vision. If shared by the majority of world leaders, it could have helped to shift the focus away from the national border to the peaceful survival of mankind seen from the universe. War among nations would not be necessary, and large human projects such as global poverty reduction, global health initiatives, global education, preservation of nature, climate and the planet as such, etc., could have been undertaken with the support of all of mankind.
Instead, the world shifted back into another cycle of polarization. This means that any such initiative will be accused by one of the poles simply because the other pole initiated it, never mind whether its substance would benefit all. As we stand, I am afraid that the vision of a “Community with a shared future for mankind” was formulated ahead of its time or too late.
In the world of dysfunctional media, I have little hope that the vision will find overwhelming global support. Instead, the “Western Pole” leadership will use much of its argumentative influence to depict it as an evil plot of the “Eastern Pole” to reach global supremacy.