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March 11, 2014- New York

Time to build a new civilizationMitsuhei Murata

Introduction

In the midst of the current global crisis, I am reminded of the words of Plato of ancientGreece to the effect that, to better the world, kings should become philosophers;otherwise the unhappiness of humanity will not disappear. Due to the lack ofphilosophy, the world has lost its ideals.

"The maximum happiness for the greatest number of people," which should be theessential objective of democracy has been forgotten. Today's materialism is based ongreed, which is now threatening the future of mankind and the globe. The deteriorationof the environment evidenced by increasingly frequent and destructive natural disastersis one clear example and the global security issue emanating from nuclear reactors isanother.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "The earth can provide for every one's need, but not for everyone's greed." This may explain the problem encountered by globalization.

GDP economics

So-called GDP economics ignores all the important values that cannot be quantified andconverted into monetary values, such as culture, tradition, family and social justice. Andit makes a major mistake in regarding natural resources as "income" and not as"capital," which requires preservation. Because of this mistake, economic growth isseriously damaging the environment.

Crisis of civilization

The prevailing supremacy of the economy has eroded the ethics of the presentgeneration, which out of self-interest is building prosperity at the expense of futuregenerations, abusing natural resources. This lack of ethical values is rampant on aglobal scale. Combined with the absence of a sense of responsibility and justice, this iscause for apprehension about the future of mankind and the globe. This lack of three

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senses, namely ethics, responsibility and justice, constitutes the sickness of Japan andthe world.

The deeply-rooted cause of the crisis confronting mankind is the universally prevalentlack of ethics. It is against fundamental ethics to abuse and exhaust natural resourcesthat belong to future generations and leave behind permanently poisonous waste andenormous financial debts. Nature and resources of the world are being exploited withoutregard for the consequences. - The present crisis confronting mankind is a crisis ofcivilization. We should transform this civilization the civilization of power based on'paternal culture or domination ' into a civilization of harmony based on 'maternalculture or cooperation ' that gives the supreme value to life.

A new civilization

.Without establishing global ethics, we cannot create future civilization of mankind thatleaves behind the beautiful planet for succeeding generations. Based on thisunderstanding, it is time to consider how to create a new civilization, based on ethicsand solidarity, respectful of the environment and the interests of future generations. Thisnew civilization must transition from the present material-centered one to a spiritual-centered one. As the late French author and statesman Andre Malraux said: The 21stcentury will be cultural and spiritual, otherwise it will cease to be."

Here we are reminded of the importance of "contentment." This concept was introducedby Eastern spiritual teachers Buddha and Lao Tzu, but this line of thinking was also

advocated in the West by the stoics of ancient Greece, by the Italian artist Michelangeloand by British economist E. F. Schumacher, author of "Small is Beautiful." It thus hasuniversal appeal.

Contentment allows us to maximize happiness by reducing desires, as opposed to themaximization of consumption now being pursued.

This is in line with the teaching advocated by Buddha that happiness equals wealthdivided by desire. In this numerical formula, desire is a denominator and wealth anominator.

How should we proceed toward creating a new civilization that requires threetransitions: from materialism to spiritualism, from greed to contentment, and fromselfishness to solidarity?

We are confronted by three important tasks: establishing global ethics, forming trueleaders, and counterbalancing the supremacy of the economy with culture.

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Global Ethics

Concerning global ethics, the widely shared belief in the existence of a supernaturalbeing, or a sense of providence, could be the common ground for those who holdreligious beliefs and those who do not. The common ethical standards of major religionsand the conscience of civil society could be integrated to constitute a valid basis for theestablishment of global ethics. The will of heavens and the earth is my translation ofprovidence. It is the law of history researched by philosophy. Examples are not a few."The inevitable fall of the arrogant." "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." "You cannotdeceive everybody forever." "Good intentions are helped by heaven." This will haswitnessed the rise and fall of numerous civilizations, and has gone through the test oftime

Global brain As to the formation of true leaders, capable of serving as a "global brain" to lead thenew civilization, the importance of compassion and sensibility should be stressed. Thewords of Charlie Chaplin in his famous 1940 film, "The Great Dictator," are impressive;"We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery; we need humanity; morethan cleverness we need kindness and gentleness."

True leaders must be accountable for the future of humankind and the planet Earth. It isessential to nurture in all sectors of society such leaders who are equipped not only withintellect but also with sensibility. Global brain is the term I have created to designate

such leaders. Civil society has consequently a greater role to play. It is imperative tofoster global brain with vision and ideals, in all sectors. Such global brains are capableof taking into account the future of mankind and the earth.

Cultural exchange

Lastly, let me touch upon the issue of counterbalancing the economy with culture. Theconcept of economic supremacy has brought about "human exclusion," observable, forexample, in "restructuring' in workplaces. The excessive pursuit of efficiencyundermines and ignores human dignity

The co-existence of diverse cultures and civilizations as well as various religions hasbecome a problem of great challenge for the world. Cultural exchanges could be the keyto resolving apparent conflicts. Human happiness cannot be considered without culture.Culture enhances basic trthical values. Cultural exchanges can contribute to creatingsolidarity. Amidst the prevailing tendency to exclude humanity, the counterattack ofculture to restore humanity is badly needed.

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Paternal and maternal cultures

In this process, there is an important point to bear in mind. It concerns the strikingdifference between paternal culture and maternal culture. The former valuescompetition, confrontation and power, whereas the latter attaches importance to

harmony, cooperation and compassion for the weak. In the world of today, the gapbetween the rich and the poor is widening, and paternal culture seems to bepredominant. There is a need to strike a balance between the two cultures. The needfor balancing and harmonizing the two cultures is being increasingly recognized, as isevidenced by the growing pressure within 1818nlie societies to promote female values.History has shown that paternal culture leads to catastrophe. Maternal way of thinking, ifnot maternal culture itself, is indispensable to secure world peace. In this respect, I wasdeeply impressed to see the Chinese character meaning "harmony" depicted byChinese dancers at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on August 8,2008 It was a reminder that maternal culture is widely shared in Asia and the beatconserved in Japan. Originally Japan had a maternal culture characterized by harmonyand solidarity After the Meiji Restoration Japan introduced paternal culturecharacterized by competition and confrontation in military form. History shows thatpaternal culture leads to catastrophe in the end. Fukushima is a result of supremacy ofeconomy, another form of paternal culture introduced after WW2. It has led toFukushima. Maternal culture of harmony is the remedy for the paternal culture of power.

Conclusion

Japan now has the historical mission to plead for the complete nuclear abolition, both

military and civil. It is the lesson of Fukushima.We must prepare to make the short term sacrifices in our life styles for the long termsafety of mankind and the earth without nuclear energy Natural and renewable energiescould constitute the basis for a maternal civilization based on ethics and solidarity thatrespects the environment and the interests of future generations.

In this spirit, I join in the plea for holding a United Nations Ethics Summit and creatingan International Day of Global Ethics as is called upon by WFUCA. I firmly believe thatthis Summit will pave the way toward the vision of President Obama for the" Worldwithout Nuclear Weapons".

Secretary General Ban M.-moon wrote me in his letter dated 2 March, 2013 that hewould gladly support it if member-states submit it to the General Assembly.

The trinity of global ethics, maternal civilization and true denuclearization should bepursued. In view of the realities full of difficulties, it is hard to remain hopeful. However,it is the above-stated will of heavens and the earth, transcending human power thatallows us to have hope for the future of humankind and the planet earth.