Endnotes to "Turning Point For All Nations"
Endnotes to "Turning Point For All Nations"
1.
Boutros-Ghali, Boutros. 1992. An Agenda for Peace:
Peace-making and Peace-Keeping. (Report of the Secretary-General
Pursuant to the Statement Adopted by the Summit Meeting of the
Security Council, January 31, New York: United Nations.)
2.
Surely the preamble to The Charter of the United Nations is
among the most inspired passages in the history of human governance:
"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, and
"to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and
worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of
nations large and small, and
"to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the
obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international
law can be maintained, and
"to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom,
"AND FOR THESE ENDS
"to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another
as good neighbors, and
"to unite our strength to maintain international peace and
security, and
"to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institutions of
methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common
interest, and
"to employ international machinery for the promotion of the
economic and social advancement of all peoples,
"HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS.
"Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives
assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full
powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present
Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international
organization to be known as the United Nations."
United Nations. 1994. Charter of the United Nations and
Statute of the International Court of Justice. United Nations
Department of Public Information. DPI/511 - 93243 - April 1994 -
40M.
3.
The World Bank. 1994. World Development Report.
(Oxford: Oxford University Press.) pp. 162 - 163.
4.
There have been a number of recent proposals which discuss the
need for reforms in the United Nations system within a particular
issue area. Our Common Future, the report of The World
Commission on Environment and Development, for example, suggested a
number of changes, such as the creation of a special UN "Board for
Sustainable Development" to coordinate UN action in promoting
development while protecting the environment.
The World Commission on Environment and Development, Our
Common Future. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.)
Likewise, the report of The Brandt Commission, Common Crisis
North-South: Co-operation for World Recovery, makes suggestions
for reform in the critical area of finance, trade and energy, as they
affect North-South imbalances.
The Brandt Commission, Common Crisis North-South:
Co-operation for World Recovery. (London: Pan Books, 1983.)
The literature proposing widespread changes in the United Nations
is also voluminous and continues to grow, especially in anticipation
of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. The first major and
serious reassessments of the United Nations began in the 1950s, in
anticipation of the 10th anniversary of the Charter. In this regard
the publication in 1958 of World Peace Through World Law by
Louis B. Sohn and Grenville Clark, which was among the first solid
proposals to suggest eliminating the veto power, must be considered a
milestone.
Grenville Clark, and Louis B. Sohn, World Peace Through
World Law. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1966.)
More recent proposals range from The Stockholm Initiative, which
offers a generalist vision of what might be done to strengthen the
United Nations, to Harold Stassen's recent United Nations: a
Working Paper for Restructuring, which gives an article-by-article
proposal for rewriting the UN Charter. Benjamin Ferencz's latest book,
New Legal Foundations for Global Survival, offers a series of
hard-headed and legal-minded suggestions for reform based on the
premise that nations, peoples and individuals must be free to pursue
their destinies in whatever way they may see fit - providing it does
not jeopardize or destroy the fundamental human rights of others to
live in peace and dignity.
The Stockholm Initiative on Global Security and Governance
1991. Common Responsibility in the 1990's. (Stockholm: Prime
Minister's Office, Stockholm, Sweden.)
Harold Stassen, United Nations: A Working Paper for
Restructuring. (Minneapolis: Learner Publications Company,
1994.)
Benjamin Ferencz, New Legal Foundations for Global
Survival. (Oceana Publications, 1994)
5.
The Commission on Global Governance, Our Global
Neighborhood. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.)
6.
Many thinkers have recognized the reality of oneness and
understood its implications for the development of human society,
including paleontologist Richard Leaky: "We are one species, one
people. Every individual on this earth is a member of 'homo sapiens
sapiens', and the geographical variations we see among peoples are
simply biological nuances on the basic theme. The human capacity for
culture permits its elaboration in widely different and colorful ways.
The often very deep differences between those cultures should not be
seen as divisions between people. Instead, cultures should be
interpreted for what they really are: the ultimate declaration of
belonging to the human species."
Richard E. Leakey, and Rodger Lewin, Origins: What new
discoveries reveal about the emergence of our species and its possible
future. (New York: Dutton, 1977.)
In general terms, the writings of Shoghi Effendi offer a thorough
and extended exposition on the concept of the oneness of humanity. A
brief summary of the concept, as Bahá'ís view it, can be
found in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.
Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í
Publishing Trust. 1938.) pp. 42-43.
7.
We are not alone in making this proposal. The Commission on
Global Governance writes in Our Global Neighborhood: "Our
recommendation is that the General Assembly should agree to hold a
World Conference on Governance in 1998, with its decisions to be
ratified and put into effect by 2000."
The Report of the Commission on Global Governance, Our
Global Neighborhood. (New York: Oxford University Press. 1995.)
p.351.
8.
Two commonly used maxims illustrate this principle. "Small is
beautiful," a maxim coined in the early '70s as an economic principle,
applies equally to governance. Schumacher explains: "In the affairs of
men, there always appears to be a need for at least two things
simultaneously, which, on the face of it, seem to be incompatible and
to exclude one another. We always need both freedom and order. We need
the freedom of lots and lots of small, autonomous unities, and, at the
same time, the orderliness of large-scale, possibly global, unity and
coordination."
E. F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People
Mattered. (New York: Harper and Row, 1973.) p. 65.
"Think globally, act locally," a slogan promoted by environmental
and community development activists, captures a perspective in which
the need for overall global coordination is carefully balanced against
the need for local and national autonomy.
9.
"Far from aiming at the subversion of the existing foundations
of society... [a system of world governance] seeks to broaden its
basis, to remold its institutions in a manner consonant with the needs
of an ever-changing world. It can conflict with no legitimate
allegiances, nor can it undermine essential loyalties. Its purpose is
neither to stifle the flame of a sane and intelligent patriotism in
men's hearts, nor to abolish the system of national autonomy so
essential if the evils of excessive centralization are to be avoided.
It does not ignore, nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of
ethnical origins, of climate, of history, of language and tradition,
of thought and habit, that differentiate the peoples and nations of
the world. It calls for a wider loyalty, for a larger aspiration than
any that has animated the human race. It insists upon the
subordination of national impulses and interests to the imperative
claims of a unified world. It repudiates excessive centralization on one hand, and disclaims all attempts at
uniformity on the other."
Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í
Publishing Trust. 1974.) pp. 41-42.
10.
Writing in the 1930s, Shoghi Effendi, who then led the
worldwide Bahá'í community, sketched out some of the
functions and responsibilities for a future world legislature. Among
other things, he wrote: "a world legislature, whose members will, as
trustees of the whole of mankind... enact such laws as shall be
required to regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust the
relationships of all races and peoples."
Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í
Publishing Trust. 1974.) p. 203.
This view is shared by such scholars as Jan Tinbergen, winner of
the 1969 Nobel prize for Economics, who stated, "Mankind's problems
can no longer be solved by national governments. What is needed is a
World Government. This can best be achieved by strengthening the
United Nations system."
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development
Report 1994. Global Governance for the 21st Century. (New
York: Oxford University Press.) p.88.
11.
Bahá'í International Community. Proposals to
the United Nations for Charter Revision. May 23, 1955.
12.
Throughout His writings, Bahá'u'lláh
consistently uses the terms "order", "world order" and "new world
order" to describe the ongoing and momentous series of changes in the
political, social and religious life of the world. In the late 1860s,
He wrote: "The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the
vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order.
Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of
this unique, this wondrous System - the like of which mortal eyes have
never witnessed."
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Translated by Shoghi Effendi and a Committee at the
Bahá'í World Centre. (Haifa: Bahá'í World
Centre, 1992.)
13.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine
Civilization. Trans. Marzieh Gail. (Wilmette, Ill.:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust. 1957.) p. 24.
14.
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
(UNRISD), States of Disarray: The Social Effects of
Globalization. (London: KPC Group. 1995) pp. 106-109.
15.
There are many ways that such a Commission, or even the World
Legislature itself, might go about determining fair and just borders
for all nations. But as daunting as the task may seem, it is an
important part of the process of building a new order. Wrote
'Abdu'l-Bahá: "True civilization will unfurl its banner in the
midmost heart of the world whenever a certain number of its
distinguished and high-minded sovereigns -- the shining exemplars of
devotion and determination -- shall, for the good and happiness of all
mankind, arise, with firm resolve and clear vision, to establish the
Cause of Universal Peace. They must make the Cause of Peace the
object of general consultation, and seek by every means in their power
to establish a Union of the nations of the world. They must conclude
a binding treaty and establish a covenant, the provisions of which
shall be sound, inviolable and definite. They must proclaim it to all
the world and obtain for it the sanction of all the human race.
This supreme and noble undertaking -- the real source of the peace
and well-being of all the world -- should be regarded as sacred by all
that dwell on earth. All the forces of humanity must be mobilized to
ensure the stability and permanence of this Most Great Covenant. In
this all-embracing Pact the limits and frontiers of each and every
nation should be clearly fixed, the principles underlying the
relations of governments towards one another definitely laid down, and
all international agreements and obligations ascertained. In like
manner, the size of the armaments of every government should be
strictly limited, for if the preparations for war and the military
forces of any nation should be allowed to increase, they will arouse
the suspicion of others. The fundamental principle underlying this
solemn Pact should be so fixed that if any government later violate
any one of its provisions, all the governments on earth should arise
to reduce it to utter submission, nay the human race as a whole
should resolve, with every power at its disposal, to destroy that
government. Should this greatest of all remedies be applied to the
sick body of the world, it will assuredly recover from its ills and
will remain eternally safe and secure."
'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization.
Trans. Marzieh Gail. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust. 1957.) pp. 64-65.
16.
According to a recent article in The New York Times,
charitable giving in the United States in 1994 rose by 3.6 percent to
$130 billion.
Karen W. Arenson, "Charitable Giving Rose 3.6% in 1994,
Philanthropy Trust Says," The New York Times, Thursday, 25 May
1995, sec.A, p.22.
17.
"Regarding the whole question of an International
Language.... We, as Bahá'ís, are very anxious to see a
universal auxiliary tongue adopted as soon as possible; we are not the
protagonists of any one language to fill this post. If the
governments of the world agree on an existing language, or a
constructed, new tongue, to be used internationally, we would heartily
support it because we desire to see this step in the unification of
the human race take place as soon as possible."
Shoghi Effendi, Directives of the Guardian. (Wilmette,
Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust.) p.39.
In making this proposal, we wish to call attention to the term
"auxiliary." The Bahá'í teachings value and promote
cultural diversity, not uniformity. At this point in history, then,
we do not envision imposing a single language worldwide. Rather, what
we imagine is that peoples and nations would keep their own local and
national languages -- while at the same time be encouraged to learn a
universal language. Certainly such a universal language should
ultimately be taught, as a required subject, in all of the world's
schools. But this should in no way detract from legitimate expressions
of national and local linguistic and cultural diversity.
18.
"The day is approaching when all the peoples of the world will
have adopted one universal language and one common script," wrote
Bahá'u'lláh in the late-1800s. "When this is achieved,
to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were
entering his own home."
Shoghi Effendi, trans., Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í
Publishing Trust. 1983.) p.250.
19.
In a "special contribution" to the 1994 Human Development
Report, James Tobin, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize for Economics,
observes that "a permanent single currency" would eliminate much if
not all of the turbulence currently associated with the huge amount of
currency speculation on world markets today. Observing that such a
single world currency is probably a long way off, he proposes as an
interim measure an "international uniform tax" on spot transactions in
foreign exchange.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development
Report 1994. A Tax on International Currency Transactions.
(New York: Oxford University Press.) p.70.
20.
The principle of collective security was put forth by
Bahá'u'lláh over a century ago in letters to the kings
and rulers of the world: "Be united, O kings of the earth, for thereby
will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples
find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should anyone among you
take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is
naught but manifest justice."
Shoghi Effendi, trans. Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í
Publishing Trust. 1976.) p.254.
21.
The Report of the Independent Working Group on the Future
of the United Nations. The United Nations in its Second
Half-Century. (Yale University Press Service, 1995.) p. 16.
22.
Glenview Foundation, The Stassen Draft Charter for a New
United Nations to Emerge from the Original, to Serve World Peace and
Progress for the Next Forty Years. (Philadelphia: Glenview
Foundation. 1985.)
Grenville Clark and Louis B. Sohn, World Peace Through World
Law. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966.)
Keith Hindell, "Reform of the United Nations?" in The World
Today: Journal of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
(United Kingdom, Feb. 1992.) Vol. 48, No. 2. pp.30-33.
John Logue, "New World Order Means Reformed U.N.", World
Federalist News, July 1992.
Benjamin B. Ferencz and Ken Keyes Jr., Planethood: The Key
to Your Future. (Coos Bay, Oregon: Love Line Books. 1991.)
Boutros-Ghali, Boutros. 1992. An Agenda for Peace:
Peace-making and Peace-Keeping. Report of the Secretary-General
Pursuant to the Statement Adopted by the Summit Meeting of the
Security Council, January 31, New York: United Nations.
23.
This is not to say that steps to ban such weapons should await
the full development and deployment of such a Force. We wholeheartedly
support current steps to renew the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of
Nuclear Weapons and to firmly establish a comprehensive test ban, as
well as any further efforts to eliminate nuclear, chemical and/or
biological weapons. Likewise, stronger efforts must be made to
restrict and control conventional weapons such as land mines, which
kill indiscriminately.
24.
Mahbub ul Haq, 1994. Senior Advisor to UNDP
Administrator. Team Leader of the Group that prepares the UNDP annual
Human Development Reports which have brought, in recent years, fresh
insights to development theory and practice, including a new concept
on human security.
25.
Erskine Childers, ed. Challenges to the United Nations:
Building a Safer World. (New York: St. Martin's Press. 1994.)
pp.21-25.
26.
John Huddleston, The Search for a Just
Society. (Kidlington, Oxford: George Ronald. 1989.)
27.
About 75 years ago 'Abdu'l-Bahá offered the following
suggestions for a future world court: "the national assemblies of each
country and nation -- that is to say parliaments -- should elect two
or three persons who are the choicest of that nation, and are well
informed concerning international laws and the relations between
governments and aware of the essential needs of the world of humanity
in this day. The number of these representatives should be in
proportion to the number of inhabitants of that country. The election
of these souls who are chosen by the national assembly, that is, the
parliament, must be confirmed by the upper house, the congress and the
cabinet and also by the president or monarch so these persons may be
the elected ones of all the nation and the government. The Supreme
Tribunal will be composed of these people, and all mankind will thus
have a share therein, for every one of these delegates is fully
representative of his nation. When the Supreme Tribunal gives a
ruling on any international question, either unanimously or by
majority rule, there will no longer be any pretext for the plaintiff
or ground of objection for the defendant. In case any of the
governments or nations, in the execution of the irrefutable decision
of the Supreme Tribunal, be negligent or dilatory, the rest of the
nations will rise up against it, because all the governments and
nations of the world are the supporters of this Supreme Tribunal.
Consider what a firm foundation this is! But by a limited and
restricted League the purpose will not be realized as it ought and
should."
Selections from the Writings of
'Abdu'l-Bahá. Compiled by the Research Department of the
Universal House of Justice. Translated by a Committee at the
Bahá'í World Centre and by Marzieh Gail. (Great Britain:
W & J Mackay Ltd. 1978.) pp. 306-307.
28.
At the present time, for example, the Court's jurisdiction is
limited to 1) cases which the parties refer to it jointly by special
agreement, 2) matters concerning a treaty or convention in force which
provides for reference to the Court, and 3) specified classes of legal
disputes between States for which they have recognized the
jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory.
Europa World Year Book 1994. Vol.I. International Court of
Justice. p.22.
29.
Shoghi Effendi, trans. Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í
Publishing Trust. 1983.) p.260.
"The primary most urgent requirement is the promotion of
education. It is inconceivable that any nation should achieve
prosperity and success unless this paramount, this fundamental concern
is carried forward. The principal reason for the decline and fall of
peoples is ignorance. Today the mass of the people are uninformed even
as to ordinary affairs, how much less do they grasp the core of the
important problems and complex needs of the time."
'Abdu'l-Bahá. The Secret of Divine Civilization.
Trans. Marzieh Gail. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust. 1957.) p.109.
"This same difference is noticeable among animals; some have been
domesticated, educated, others left wild. The proof is clear that the
world of nature is imperfect, the world of education perfect. That is
to say, man is rescued from the exigencies of nature by training and
culture; consequently, education is necessary, obligatory. But
education is of various kinds. There is a training and development of
the physical body which ensures strength and growth. There is
intellectual education or mental training for which schools and
colleges are founded. The third kind of education is that of the
spirit. Through the breaths of the Holy Spirit man is uplifted into
the world of moralities and illumined by the lights of divine
bestowals. The moral world is only attained through the effulgence of
the Sun of Reality and the quickening life of the divine spirit."
'Abdu'l-Bahá, in a Talk delivered in St. Paul on 20
September 1912. The Promulgation of Universal Peace.
p.329-330.
30.
Governments and their partners must bear in mind that material
equality is neither achievable nor desirable. Absolute equality is a
chimera. At various points along the way, there will nevertheless be
the necessity for the redistribution of some of the world's
wealth. For, indeed, it is becoming increasingly obvious that
unbridled capitalism does not provide the answer either. Some
regulation and redistribution is necessary to promote material
justice. In this regard, a tax on income is, in principle, one of the
fairest and most equitable means. There must also be a role for the
voluntary sharing of wealth -- both at an individual and an
institutional level. Equal opportunities for economic advancement and
progress, however, must be woven into the very fabric of the new
order. Ultimately, the most important regulation on any economic
system is the moral regulation that begins in the hearts and minds of
people.
31.
The Establishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is
a commendable first step in the right direction and may be useful in
the long run, as one of the tools that could be the basis for funding
Agenda 21, if its operational scale is enlarged and its mandate
redefined.
32.
World Conference on Human Rights. Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action. 14-25 June 1993. Vienna-Austria.
33.
A further elaboration of this concept can be found in The
Prosperity of Humankind, a statement of the Bahá'í
International Community, Office of Public Information, published in
February 1995: "The activity most intimately linked to the
consciousness that distinguishes human nature is the individual's
exploration of reality for himself or herself. The freedom to
investigate the purpose of existence and to develop the endowments of
human nature that make it achievable requires protection. Human
beings must be free to know. That such freedom is often abused and
such abuse grossly encouraged by features of contemporary society does
not detract in any degree from the validity of the impulse itself.
"It is this distinguishing impulse of human consciousness that
provides the moral imperative for the enunciation of many of the
rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration and the related
Covenants. Universal education, freedom of movement, access to
information, and the opportunity to participate in political life are
all aspects of its operation that require explicit guarantee by the
international community. The same is true of freedom of thought and
belief, including religious liberty, along with the right to hold
opinions and express these opinions appropriately.
"Since the body of humankind is one and indivisible, each member of
the race is born into the world as a trust of the whole. This
trusteeship constitutes the moral foundation of most of the other
rights -- principally economic and social -- which the instruments of
the United Nations are attempting similarly to define. The security
of the family and the home, the ownership of property, and the right
to privacy are all implied in such a trusteeship. The obligations on
the part of the community extend to the provision of employment,
mental and physical health care, social security, fair wages, rest and
recreation, and a host of other reasonable expectations on the part of
the individual members of society.
"The principle of collective trusteeship creates also the right of
every person to expect that those cultural conditions essential to his
or her identity enjoy the protection of national and international
law. Much like the role played by the gene pool in the biological
life of humankind and its environment, the immense wealth of cultural
diversity achieved over thousands of years is vital to the social and
economic development of a human race experiencing its collective
coming-of-age. It represents a heritage that must be permitted to
bear its fruit in a global civilization. On the one hand, cultural
expressions need to be protected from suffocation by the materialistic
influences currently holding sway. On the other, cultures must be
enabled to interact with one another in ever-changing patterns of
civilization, free of manipulation for partisan political ends."
Bahá'í International Community, Office of Public
Information, The Prosperity of Humankind. (Haifa:
Bahá'í World Centre. 1995.)
34.
Ultimately, respect for human rights must begin in the family:
"Compare the nations of the world to the members of a family. A family
is a nation in miniature. Simply enlarge the circle of the household,
and you have the nation. Enlarge the circle of nations, and you have
all humanity. The conditions surrounding the family surround the
nation. The happenings in the family are the happenings in the life of
the nation. Would it add to the progress and advancement of a family
if dissensions should arise among its members, all fighting, pillaging
each other, jealous and revengeful of injury, seeking selfish
advantage? Nay, this would be the cause of the effacement of progress
and advancement. So it is in the great family of nations, for nations
are but an aggregate of families. Therefore, as strife and dissension
destroy a family and prevent its progress, so nations are destroyed
and advancement hindered."
'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace:
Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United
States and Canada in 1912. Comp. Howard MacNutt. (Wilmette, Ill.:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust. 1982.) p.157.
35.
"When all mankind shall receive the same opportunity of
education and the equality of men and women be realized, the
foundations of war will be utterly destroyed. Without equality this
will be impossible because all differences and distinction are
conducive to discord and strife. Equality between men and women is
conducive to the abolition of warfare for the reason that women will
never be willing to sanction it. Mothers will not give their sons as
sacrifices upon the battlefield after twenty years of anxiety and
loving devotion in rearing them from infancy, no matter what cause
they are called upon to defend. There is no doubt that when women
obtain equality of rights, war will entirely cease among mankind."
'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal
Peace. Comp. Howard MacNutt. (Wilmette, Ill.:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust. 1982.) pp.174-175.
36.
"Let it be known once more that until woman and man recognize
and realize equality, social and political progress here or anywhere
will not be possible. For the world of humanity consists of two parts
or members: one is woman; the other is man. Until these two members
are equal in strength, the oneness of humanity cannot be established,
and the happiness and felicity of mankind will not be a reality. God
willing, this is to be so." From a Talk by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to
Federation of Women's Clubs, Chicago, Illinois on 2 May 1912.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal
Peace. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust. 1982.) p.77.
37.
"The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has
dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive
qualities both of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting
-- force is losing its weight and mental alertness, intuition, and the
spiritual qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are
gaining ascendancy. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine,
and more permeated with the feminine ideals -- or, to speak more
exactly, will be an age in which the masculine and feminine elements
of civilization will be more evenly balanced."
'Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted in John E. Esslemont,
Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, p. 156., 4th
rev. ed., 1976, Wilmette: Bahá'í Books, published by
Pyramid Publications for Bahá'í Publishing Trust.
38.
This principle, that women and girls should receive priority
over men and boys in access to education, has been a long-standing
principle in the Bahá'í teachings. Speaking in 1912,
'Abdu'l-Bahá said: "In proclaiming the oneness of mankind
[Bahá'u'lláh] taught that men and women are equal in the
sight of God and that there is no distinction to be made between them.
The only difference between them now is due to lack of education and
training. If woman is given equal opportunity of education,
distinction and estimate of inferiority will
disappear.... Furthermore, the education of women is of greater
importance than the education of men, for they are the mothers of the
race, and mothers rear the children. The first teachers of children
are the mothers. Therefore, they must be capably trained in order to
educate both sons and daughters. There are many provisions in the
words of Bahá'u'lláh in regard to this.
"He promulgated the adoption of the same course of education for
man and woman. Daughters and sons must follow the same curriculum of
study, thereby promoting unity of the sexes."
'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal
Peace. Comp. Howard MacNutt. (Wilmette, Ill.:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust. 1982.) pp.174-175.
39.
Lawrence H. Summers, Vice President & Chief Economist for
the World Bank, Investing in All the People. 1992. Also,
USAID. 1989. Technical Reports in Gender and Development. Making
the Case for the Gender Variable: Women and the Wealth and Well-being
of Nations. Office of Women in Development.
40.
Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice. Translated by a Committee at the Bahá'í World
Centre and by Marzieh Gail. (Great Britain: W & J. Mackay Ltd. 1978.)
p.302.
41.
The Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the
Advancement of Women. As adopted by the World Conference to Review
and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women:
Equality, Development and Peace, Nairobi, Kenya, 15-26 July 1985.
42.
Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice. Translated by a Committee at the Bahá'í World
Centre and by Marzieh Gail. (Great Britain: W & J. Mackay Ltd. 1978.)
p.303.
43.
The interfaith declaration entitled "Towards a Global Ethic,"
which was produced by an assembly of religious and spiritual leaders
from virtually every major world religion and spiritual movement at
the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, suggests that
it is indeed possible for the world's religions to find much common
ground in this regard. The declaration states: "We affirm that a
common set of core values is found in the teachings of the religions,
and that these form the basis of a global ethic... There already exist
ancient guidelines for human behavior which are found in the teachings
of the religions of the world and which are the condition for a
sustainable world order."
44.
The Golden Rule, the teaching that we should treat others as
we ourselves would wish to be treated, is an ethic variously repeated
in all the great religions:
Buddhism: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would
find hurtful." Udana-Varqa, 5:18.
Zoroastrianism: "That nature only is good when it shall not
do unto another whatever is not good for its own self." Dadistan-i
Dinik, 94:5.
Judaism: "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men.
That is the entire Law, all the rest is commentary." The Talmud,
Shabbat, 31a.
Hinduism: "This is the sum of all true righteousness: deal
with others as thou wouldst thyself be dealt by. Do nothing to thy
neighbour which thou wouldst not have him do to thee after." The
Mahabharata.
Christianity: "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye
also to them likewise." Luke 6:31.
Islam: "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his
brother that which he desires for himself." Sunnah.
Taoism: The good man "ought to pity the malignant tendencies
of others; to regard their gains as if they were his own, and their
losses in the same way." The Thai-Shang.
Confucianism: "Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do
not unto others that you would not have them do unto you." Analects,
XV, 23
Bahá'í Faith: "He should not wish for others
that which he doth not wish for himself, nor promise that which he
doth not fulfill." Gleanings.
45.
Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í
Publishing Trust. 1938.) p. 202.
46.
Bahá'u'lláh. The Proclamation of
Bahá'u'lláh. (Haifa: Bahá'í World
Centre. 1978.) p.113.
47.
Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of
Bahá'u'lláh. Compiled by the Research Department of
the Universal House of Justice. Translated by Habib Taherzadeh with
the assistance of a Committee at the Bahá'í World
Centre. (Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre. 1982.) p.167.
48.
The Commission on Global Governance writes: "As the world
faces the need for enlightened responses to the challenges that arise
on the eve of the new century, we are concerned at the lack of
leadership over a wide spectrum of human affairs. At national,
regional, and international levels, within communities and in
international organizations, in governments and in non-governmental
bodies, the world needs credible and sustained leadership.
"It needs leadership that is proactive, not simply reactive, that
is inspired, not simply functional, that looks to the longer term and
future generations for whom the present is held in trust. It needs
leaders made strong by vision, sustained by ethics, and revealed by
political courage that looks beyond the next election.
"This cannot be leadership confined within domestic walls. It must
reach beyond country, race, religion, culture, language,
life-style. It must embrace a wider human constituency, be infused
with a sense of caring for others, a sense of responsibility to the
global neighborhood."
Report of the Commission on Global Governance, Our Global
Neighborhood. (New York: Oxford University Press. 1995.)
p.353.
49.
Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh. Translated by Shoghi
Effendi. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust. 1976.) p. 7.
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