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Introduction
- University of Washington Press
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ll',·rItODUc·r101" Barbara Sundberg Baudot In Utopia, citizens live in blissful peace and harmony with one another, free from deprivations, physical dangers, and conflicts that in the real world fill ordinary lives with unhappiness and insecurity . Such, for example, is the perfection of the pastoral life of the Houyhnhnms of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, or the just ordering of life in Thomas More's Utopia. Karl Marx with his eschatological vision of a classless, harmonious society, and Plato with his transcendent vision of The Republic convey other blueprints for just and virtuous societies. These utopian designs do not necessarily have strong appeal, even to the people who conceive them. They may be too perfect, too comprehensive, and they are often lifeless. The value of such paradigms, however, does not lie in . descriptions of perfect societies, but in the controversial interest they generate by their criticisms of the societies of their times. They reveal social inequities, exploitation, political repression, private vices and other evils that would have no place in an ideal world. Conceived perhaps in a humanist's dream of a kinder, more gentle world, and often fed by nostalgia for an imagined past, utopian thinking challenges contemporary societies with ideas intended to awaken thought to brighter horizons. No society should overlook this kind of conceptualizing of its future, so long as it questions prevailing assumptions about necessities of life and/or critically explores and inspires desirable, practical changes. The sense of a better, realizable state of the world not only gives substance to critical engagement but also encourages interest in meaningful change through political action. 3 BARBARA SUNDBERG BAUDOT The central theme of this book is the need to rediscover and articulate ethical and spiritual values in the ethos of modernity and in the emerging global economy and society. Some critics might consider this an utopian undertaking. In the sense of critically exploring and offering inspiration for desirable and practical changes in the prevalent conception of development and progress, it is certainly at least eutopian, or "seeking the good place" in the meaning ofThomas More. However, unlike utopianism, it does not prescribe a single path to social progress, nor does it design the contours of a perfect society. Rather, it explores different ideas and approaches to enriching the contemporary political discourse. Each contribution to this book offers a candle shedding a particular light on the dark images of the modem world. Three assumptions underlie, explicitly or implicitly, the various contributions to this book. The first is that moral and spiritual inclinations and aspirations are inherent in human nature. Heeded, they give meaning and orientation to human thoughts and actions; they render possible distinctions between good and bad, right and wrong, and between truth and error; and they determine the quality of human relations and civilizations. Being in touch with reality requires that we recognize the centrality of the moral and spiritual dimensions of life in society. The second assumption holds that individuals, independently or collectively, have the capacity to foster or impede the realization of moral and spiritual values in society. Institutions providing forms of social intercourse-families, schools, churches, the media, private businesses, national and international public agencies-are instruments that have ability to concretize and promote values and thus influence ways people construe ethical behavior and qualities of the spirit. Individuals, especially those with the privileges and responsibilities of power, have significant roles to play in protecting and advancing moral and transcendent values. The third assumption is that societies must use their freedom of thought and their capacities to acquire knowledge for purposes of giving greater importance to the moral and spiritual dimensions of life. Prevalent political discourses on the most egregious 4 [44.200.101.170] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 03:09 GMT) INTRODUCTION problems in international relations, political economy, and social well-being ignore a host of unexplored, often forgotten but vitally important interests, beliefs and values, setting aside the critical questions of meaning and purpose in human life. These assumptions justifying the appeal for an enriched perspective on globalization, development, and progress have been reflected in the discourse of the United Nations. They defy a narrow materialistic understanding of the "faith in the dignity and worth of the human person" affirmed in the Charter written by "We the peoples -of the United Nations." They obviate a purely individualistic interpretation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article 29 that: "everyone has duties to the community in which...