“A multipolar world order takes shape”

Some 150 participants and 20 speakers from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the US met in Thurgau, Switzerland, from 1 to 3 September for this year’s “Mut zur Ethik” conference. Invitations were extended by the “Mut zur Ethik” working group.

This was the 30^th anniversary of the "Mut zur Ethik" gatherings. Since 1993, guests from various European countries and numerous speakers from all over the world have come together once a year over three days to discuss the pressing burning issues of the day in open dialogues between speakers and audiences. As the year before, the talks were held in hybrid format, so that, in addition to those present, speakers and participants in different countries could be connected.
  The subject of this year’s conference was “A Multipolar World Order Takes Shape – Being Human and Humanity in a Changing World.”
  As stated at the beginning, the world is in upheaval: The majority of non-Western countries are speaking out confidently: they have had enough of the paternalism, interference and dominance of Western countries and instead want to pursue their own path in the future while acting prudently but also decisively. Alliances and partnerships are forming, supported by the will to work together on an equal footing – and thus to take more notice of what really serves the well-being of their countries and, while advancing their own interests, to negotiate constructively toward common goals and ways with the others.
  However, there are many indications that the dominant forces in the West still refuse to accept these new realities. However, the “rest of the world”, i.e., the world beyond the West, is clearly breathing a sigh of relief. Countries that have long endured Western dominance, arrogance, and neocolonial coercion are taking courage and no longer acquiescing to these burdens; they are simply saying “No” – no to unequal treatment and subordination they can no longer accept. Instead, they call for mutual respect between countries and equal treatment – and for peace, development, cooperation, and progress for all. This process towards more independent development in non–Western countries is taking place before our eyes, whether in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, or Africa. This process cannot be stopped, even if the road is not easy – this in part because the hitherto powerful West declines to join in.
  In early 2023, Wang Wen, a professor and executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, described this process as follows:

“The non-Western world is presenting a picture as never seen before. Their response to Western hegemony is not necessarily through confrontation, conflict or an insistence on checks and balances. Instead, they are simply shaking off Western control by increasingly putting their national interests at the strategic center. A more democratic form of international politics and mutual respect are their main demands. A more equal political relationship between the West and the rest is being built, and this will be an important feature of world politics in this third decade of the 21^st century. It will not be a mellow world in 2023, but the de-Westernisation movement is irreversible and will only evolve.”

The Western world is at an historic crossroads. Does it have the greatness to do some serious soul-searching and critically examine what it has done or supported, to put aside its arrogance and prejudices and abandon hegemonic, domineering practices? Will it cooperate and finally embark on a constructive path that could enable a coexistence oriented towards the well-being of all people? Does Europe refocus on its humanistic heritage with its fundamental cultural substance corresponding to man and his nature? The spiritual foundations for human coexistence have been there for a very long time; the records of these foundations fill many libraries.
  Since the highly esteemed historian and psychologist Dr Annemarie Buchholz–Kaiser founded “Mut zur Ethik” 30 years ago, these proven foundations have also been incorporated into our conferences. These include, in particular, the humanistic traditions of the monotheistic religions, modern humanism, modern natural law, the achievements of the Enlightenment, modern anthropology, and personalist psychology. Its core content is the recognition of and respect for human dignity, the pursuit of the good for all, the bonum commune, the protection of the inalienable rights of all people, and the moral responsibility of each of us. The conditio humana has emerged in most cultures of our world.
  Being human and humanity must continue to have a central place in a changing world.

In this issue we publish a first selection of Congress contributions. Further contributions will be published in the following issues of Current Concerns.  •