Conference paper
Globalisation or Journay into the Second Discovery of the Globe
Davor Rodin
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The author claims that the globe was discovered by courageous adventurers and visionaries who had trust in geographical utopia that the Earth was round so they plunged into the unknown in their wretched sailboats. This stage ended in foundation of huge colonial empires but, eventually, this kind of violent colonization failed. What has been left from the first discovery of the globe? The most important reminder is discovery of identities of the former colonized peoples as well as the identity of their colonizers, the Europeans. In that way globalisation begins where the revelation of other nations's identities results in becoming cognizant of one's own identity. Due to it, the western political theory as a precondition for the organization of a multicultural global community has to answer three vital questions: How to carry out non-violent changes in the global community? How to control power-holders by the check and balance system and verify that they have not been abusing their power? How can citizens of the world participate in power sharing? Western rationalism brought into the new world, first of all, the western individualism of both individuals and states. This abstract concept or structure gradually destroyed traditional collectivism of new nations, the one that was based on their historical experience. Such experience-based communities disappeared in Europe as early as Plato and Aristotle era, and were replaced by abstract political communities such as polis, state or empire that were constituted upon written constitutions. Such a constructive rationalism in the field of politics made possible such universal organizations as the United Nations Organization. Globalisation has also been derived from the same constructivism. As has been shown by Aristotle, experience-based communities only divide people and nations because experience is not capable of abstractions; we cannot feel other people’s toothache however experienced we may be.
Keywords
discovery; global community; globalisation; constructivism; identity; rationalism; UN
Hrčak ID:
23384
URI
Publication date:
30.7.2003.
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