We have determined that global unity is the only path that will prevent human extinction and also maximize the realization of overall human values; furthermore, the unification of mankind is no longer just a necessity, but also a possibility.
Humans must be the impetus behind global unification. The transformation from a country-based society to a unified society will an unprecedented social reform as well as an unparalleled rational choice. Its significance and influence will be unsurpassed. In the face of such a great cause, what forces can we rely on?
SECTION ONE: THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THINKERS AND POLITICIANS
Any major social change will require an enlightenment of ideology as a basis. This ideological awakening will take some time to process. The direction of history is usually shrouded to the general public, so only the handful of profound thinkers will recognize the true way of the future. These prophets will recognize the turning points of history before everyone else.
Thinkers alone are not enough to change the course of history. Major change must always be endorsed by the masses. Unfortunately, ordinary people lack serious consideration and research of the general direction of history, as well as a systematic theoretical foundation for enlightenment; therefore, an ideological movement is required to promote widespread dissemination of mature ideological theories proposed by the leading thinkers.
Once these theories are widely accepted by the people, it will transform into a force for change, and new history will be created.
It would be impossible for a new world order to be born without the drive and support of the people; thus, some persons must emerge to unite the people into a formidable charge and lead the process of change. These persons are usually the political leaders of the specific era. Without their powers of integration, social reform could not take place. Thinkers and politicians must work together to first awaken and then unite the general public into a new era.
The crucial role of thinkers and politicians can be clearly seen in the development of world history. We know that feudal theocracy ruled Medieval Europe for thousands of years. Under this rule, the world had no creativity and the people were in a state of ignorance. It was the rise of the Renaissance movement in the fourteenth century that brought about ideological liberation and destroyed the shackles of theocracy and feudalism. The ideological liberation movement promoted by the Renaissance freed Europe from the darkness of feudal theocracy and led the world out of the Middle Ages.
The Enlightenment movement in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was the second ideological liberation movement in modern history. The movement originated in France and soon spread to other parts of Europe and the Americas, thus affecting the whole world. The ideas of freedom, equality, democracy, and law advocated by the Enlightenment directly promoted revolutionary movements in Europe and the United States. It had particular influence on the American Revolution and similar independence movements across Europe. It can be said that without the Enlightenment, there would be no modern democracy.
As we all know, the victory of the Russian October Revolution in 1917 created the first socialist country in the world. After that, the socialist movement encompassed half of the world, and many countries established socialist regimes in succession; however, the victory of the October Revolution was not accidental. It was the result of long-term dissemination of socialist ideas and promotion of the workers’ movement. These ideals can be traced back to the utopian socialism born in the sixteenth century. In the nineteenth century, Marx and Engels drew from the experience of the international workers’ movement and analyzed the classic philosophy of Germany, the classical political economy of Britain, and the fantasies of France to form Marxist theory. The spread of Marxism was the prerequisite and foundation for the success of the socialist revolution.
Each ideological liberation movement will create a group of outstanding thinkers. The Renaissance movement produced Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Shakespeare, and Cervantes. The Enlightenment movement produced Grotius, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau. The communist movement produced Marx and Engels. It was the thoughts of these ideological giants that paved the way for historical development and subsequent social change.
Likewise, a series of outstanding political leaders will inevitably emerge during major turning points in history. For example, George Washington emerged out of the American Revolution, and Lenin came to prominence during the Russian socialist revolution. These politicians led their people to realize the ideals of the great thinkers and promote the development of history. The progress of history cannot be separated from great thinkers and politicians. Any reasonable and conscientious thinker or politician should bravely shoulder the heavy responsibility of history and never hesitate in the move forward.
The transformation from a country-based society to a unified society will be the most significant historical turning point in human society and will have unsurpassed impact on human society. No past change has ever targeted the fundamental makeup of human society or used universal happiness as the banner. The Renaissance aimed to overthrow feudal theocratic rule and free people to a certain extent; the Enlightenment sought to destroy the feudal monarchy and gain a limited amount of democracy and equality; and the communist movement’s goal was to build socialist countries with proletariat dictatorships. All past social changes have been mainly aimed at wresting control from the ruling party and secondarily focused on gaining limited amounts of happiness for the people. In such processes, it was inevitable that only certain groups of mankind benefited while other groups were deprived.
The unified society will be a fundamentally different type of social change in two ways. First, its intent will be to protect all of humanity from extinction (it is also the only thing that will prevent human extinction) and to ensure as much universal happiness as possible. Second, unification will be for the sake of all mankind. No groups or individuals will need to sacrifice their interests for the interests of other groups or individuals.
Some people’s interest will suffer to an extent during the unification process. For example, some people may lose their ruling powers and privileges, while others may experience slight decreases in living standards. However, they will obtain the survival of all humanity in exchange, not only for themselves, but for their future descendants as well. This gain will obviously be much more important than any lost interests.
The cause of global unification is a great cause that will benefit all humans. When this cause comes into conflict with localized interests, we must search for peaceful resolutions through the promotion of moral values.
To realize this goal, we must initiate a widespread ideological enlightenment movement that will awaken people to the importance of a unified society. This movement must change the established concepts of country and nationality so that people will willingly accept and happily welcome the arrival of a unified world.
The following aspects will be especially important during this enlightenment movement: people must replace the concept of national interests with the concept of universal human interests; they must replace the worship of science and technology with the awareness of its dangers; they must replace discrimination with universal equality; they must place universal survival above individual hedonism; and they must realize the maximum value potential of the unified society.
Though we are on the precipice of historical change, we cannot ask for all the masses to be rational; however, we can demand rationality from all conscientious politicians and thinkers. The greatest thinkers and politicians of our time must bravely lead the charge and pave the way towards the unified society. This is their sacred responsibility.
SECTION TWO: THE ROLE OF GIANTS
Great persons are those who contribute during the important turning points of history. The achievements of these great persons will be documented in history and known to the world. Great persons are not only equipped with personal talents and prowess, but also accompanied by major historical events. As the Chinese saying goes, “The time creates the hero.”
Without World War II and the powerful machinations of Hitler, great leaders like Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill would not have come to prominence. These leaders passed difficult tests of life and death and led their people to victory despite terrible circumstances. As a result, they changed the course of history and left illustrious marks on its pages. What types of people can be called giants? From a literal perspective, it can be generally understood that giants must achieve even more than great persons. There have been very few people who deserved the title of “giant” throughout history.
Among the most distinguished political commanders recognized in world history, there are some who are especially remarkable: Alexander the Great, Emperor Ashoka, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Julius Caesar, Muhammad, Genghis Khan, Peter the Great, George Washington, Vladimir Lenin, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill. These people are recognized because they have had a tremendous impact on history. The actions of these people can be roughly divided into the following categories:
1. Large-scale conquests and domination of unprecedented territory (Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan).
2. Effective administration and political, economic, and military systems reform; steady increase of national strength and successful large-scale foreign conquests and occupations (Julius Caesar and Peter the Great).
3. Unification of big nations (or ethnicities) or large lands with ground-breaking significance (Emperor Ashoka, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and Muhammad).
4. Establishment of new national systems with far-reaching impacts on future generations (George Washington and Vladimir Lenin).
5. Defeat of mighty invaders and safeguard of national or world stability (Emperor Wu of Han, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill).
Analysis shows that, so far, the most outstanding political leaders in human history cannot escape these three major characteristics:
First, all of their achievements were centered around the interests of groups, such as countries, ethnicities, and religions. For example, in World War II, Roosevelt would not have sent troops if the interests of the United States had not been threatened. The never-ending conquests of Alexander and Genghis Khan were to build empires of unprecedented power; Washington and Lenin, on the other hand, wanted to establish countries with an ideal political system. Ashoka, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Caesar, Muhammad, and Peter the Great all fought for the interests of certain groups. In the end, the accomplishments and ambitions of these great leaders can all be attributed to the interests of groups.
Second, all of their efforts were centered around the theme of happiness. The prominent figures and political leaders in history who launched expansions and conquests did so to expand their spheres of dominance or satisfy their desires of subjugation. These were their pursuits of happiness. The leaders who led wars against invasion and established better political systems were all doing so to safeguard the happiness of their people.
Third, the achievements of these great leaders were all inseparable from war. This is partly related to the very nature of the country-based society. The conquering or protection of nations and the establishment of new political systems all require the motivation of war; thus, the accomplishments of all great leaders were built on massive casualties.
The transformation from a country-based society to a unified society will be a social reform on a never-before-attempted scale. It will require the combination of both historical giants and historical patterns.
What types of historical giants will emerge in the course of this transformation? Further analysis will show that this transition will be vastly different from all other historical transitions before.
First, all past historical revolutions have been centered on the interest of groups; the transition to a unified society will revolve around the interests of all mankind
Second, all past changes have been centered on the goal of happiness for a limited group of people; the transition to a unified society will focus on the survival of all humans.
Third, all past social reforms have been based on wars and violent killings; the transition to a unified society will be achieved through peaceful transi tion. Furthermore, though the unified society’s original intent is to prevent human extinction, it is also the most ideal form of society that most complies with the maximum value principle. This makes the peaceful transition towards a unified society even more likely and just.
If great persons were born during past human history, giants will be born in the transition to a unified society. The superior significance of this unprecedented historical change cannot be described with mere words. Though the country is the highest form of power in our country-based society, not all national leaders have the power to influence the world. The leaders of the major powers will be strongest forces behind change. We have elaborated on this point before.
We know that the development of science and technology is only threatening humanity more as time passes. The sooner we can complete the transition to a unified society, the sooner we can alleviate the survival crisis of humanity. The objective conditions for global unity have already been satisfied; the time to act is now. We may not be able to rely on every person in the world to realize this on a rational level, but we can hope that the major leaders of this world will promote the best course of history.
This is a time for giants. The major leaders who shy away in such an important time will be the eternal sinners of history; those who step forward to assume the most important task of history will be immortalized in the memory of all future generations. For the continued survival of all mankind, for the happiness and peace of our future descendants, let us sound the historical call for giants!