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14 Ethics, Values, Vision, Mission and Gender
UNIVERSAL HUMAN VALUES The Institute for Global Ethics carried out interviews with two dozen ‘men and women of conscience’ to reveal eight shared values that can guide a troubled world through the tumultuous future. Throughout these interviews with men and women of conscience there was a recognition of an underlying moral presence shared by humanity and a search for a global code of ethics (Kidder, 1994). 1) Love – moral behaviour is based on solidarity, love and mutual assistance. Love should come of its own will spontaneously. Meaningful guidance without love is not possible. In the words of a Nebraskan tribal chief, ‘We have to be compassionate with one another and help one another, to hold each other up, support one another down the road of life’. 2) Truthfulness – we all have a responsibility to keep our promises and not be afraid to say our opinions. People should not obtain their ends through deceitfulness. Technology increasingly forces people to reveal themselves. There is nevertheless a fear that trust, central to honesty and truthfulness, is falling into abeyance. 3) Fairness – there is a danger of being overcomplicated about social justice. It is better to concentrate on treating others as one would want to be treated. The pursuit of equality focusing particularly on race and gender is basic. It is suggested that equity, the most important value, has collapsed. Justice is about fair play. 4) Freedom – the desire for liberty is central. The concept of degrees of freedom of action, as against excessive constraints on action by political leaders, provides a sense of individuality and the right of an individual to express ideas freely. The principle of individual conscience is central. The effect one upright individual can have is incalculable. Democracy is freedom of expression plus accountability plus equal opportunity. 5) Unity – the value that embraces the individual’s role in the larger collective concerns co-operation and solidarity. It is a simple cri de coeur in a world that is falling apart. Unity embraces a global vision capable of moving humanity from unbridled competition to co-operation. Carried to the extreme individualism is destructive of social life, destructive of communal sharing and destructive of participation. Unity is about putting the community, meaning 140
