Dialogue across civilizations is no longer a political option; it is an essential and historical imperative in the current realities. In today’s world, a peoples’ that can learn how to deal with cultural pluralism will become stronger and better able to handle the intense challenges of the 21st Century, whereas those that are rigid, exclusivist and domineering will find that they do not have the flexibility or creativity to meet its challenges. The dialogue across civilizations is imperative towards bridging a shared humanity and in a world riddled with conflicts it will be crucial towards identifying, addressing and resolving the problem of domestication and other manifestations of the denial of peoples’ rights by the powers that be.
With the growing realization that humanity is one collective entity, the emancipated world order has to be perceived in totality. As a result, the State as an institution requires transformation, and United Nations need to embrace and represent all humanity. The process of people determining their own future, electing their own government, and deciding the form of government and institutions are all crucial to the realization of humanity. Patrick Hoenig emphasizes that “the full realization of individual rights, such as the freedom ‘to share dreams and strengthen visions’, as well as collective rights, such as the right to self-determination, will depend on the rebuilding of international law into a system reflecting the interests of entities other than states, primarily individuals, groups and peoples.”
With a vision to realize the humanization of humanity, all human cultures need to have the opportunity for “the realization of freedom, in the guaranteed right of each culture to move in mutual respect, each one freely running the risk of being different, fearless of being different, each culture being for itself.” A shared humanity that upholds cultural pluralism in thought and action, calls for transformation of the State and its institutions, and a reconstruction of the public sphere, will invariably empower members of all peoples to bring their particular identities, cultures, histories, and languages to public expression. In this manner, differences are not only recognized but respected and in which an underlying solidarity is forged across such differences.
In the context of a shared humanity, one’s freedoms and rights are not absolute, and needs to be framed within the broader principles of ethical responsibility, respect and justice, of both the self and the other. Consequently, dialogue as a process needs to take place simultaneously at different levels and essentially towards identifying and attaining basic needs, shared interests and shared objectives. This very nature of dialogue implies a bottom-up approach and therefore is not a process that disregards others completely. However, dialogue is neither a favor done by one for the other. It fundamentally rests in the notion of respect and democratic relationships that create opportunities to transcend present forms of thinking and behaving. Hence, a dialogue across civilizations is crucial towards ensuring that the idea of an emancipated shared humanity does not wither away.
