Civic Values for Global Justice: What Values

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Civic Values for Global Justice What Values?

• World Civic Forum
• 1st Thematic Session
• May 2009
• Dr Manuel Escudero
• Special Advisor, United Nations Global Compact
• Head PRME Secretariat

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The context of the 2009 Global Forum2008 was
the year in which a new global agenda was unveiled

• In the first half of the year we faced several
  global crises (energy and food), and the urgency
  concerning climate change was heightened.
• These crises point out to a new important and
  crucial fact as a result of economic growth and
  the incorporation to the international markets of
  the emerging countries (Russia, China, India and
  Brazil), we are now facing the certainty of
  scarcity in the supply of natural resources in
  the world in the areas of food, energy, water
  and climate, and therefore the need for effective
  global governance.

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The context 2008 was the year in which a new
global agenda was unveiled

• In the second half of the year, we witnessed the
  collapse of the credit system and a rapid spread
  of the biggest and most contagious economic
  recession in our lifetime. This crisis implies
  the need to
• Rethink global capitalism (in the precise sense
  of the financial system and also in terms of the
  role of corporations and the managerial model)
• Design and implement global recovery
• Design new global financial regulations
• Reform the IMF to cope with economic distress in
  developing countries
• Ultimately, reform the international monetary
  system.

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The context of the 2009 Global Forum 2008 was
the year in which a new global agenda was unveiled

• Finally, as a result of the crisis, we have seen
  that there are new silent, but powerful new
  partners of the global agenda, notably emerging
  economies, and that, therefore, we are not
  anymore in a unipolar (West dominated), but
  multipolar world.
• However, unilateralism and protectionism have not
  disappeared, and without multilaterism, in a
  multipolar world we can live a period of
  instability, fragmented alliances and unclear
  leaderships.

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The context of the 2009 Global Forum some
conclusions when we inquire about civic values

• a) Global Interdependence In the XXI Century
  civic values should be global, values which
  address the problems emerging from
  interdependence at the global scale.
• b) Urgency confronted with these crises
  (economic, financial, of natural resources),
  civic values have to mean values for collective
  action. Challenges do not wait!
• c) Legacy of the 2009 WCF a call of the Forum
  should mean a definition of civic values for
  global governance and for collective engagement.

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Civic Values relevant background

• The Roots of Civic Values
• Religion as a culture many religions have, at
  the core, an important call to transcend the
  mere individual, to recognize the others in
  society and to build a dynamics of community
  cooperation.
• Regional cultures particularly, some regions
  present a heritage of the culture of harmony,-
  between the individual and the community ,and
  between humanity and nature.
• Even the last important ideological developments
  of humankind, capitalism and political
  liberalism, even if they affirm the rights of the
  individual, entail a mixture of individual and
  collective values (the mixed economy, social
  democracy, the concept of freedom)

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Civic Values relevant background

• The Roots of Civic Values
• While the roots explain the existence of a basis
  for collective cooperation and community
  building
• While these roots (religions, regional cultures
  or ideological mainstream trends) also explain
  the commitment to civic values of many leadings
  personalities and social institutions
• There is no such a thing as a Kantian moral
  imperative that effectively guarantees human
  progress. Civic values are historical, and have
  to be defended and consolidated every day for
  them to become effective guides of human
  behavior.
• To define civic values in the XXI Century, we
  have to inquire about the social milestones which
  have affected the values of citizens in the last
  period (post II WW).

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Civic Values towards a new citizen

• Some important transformations are adding new
  attributes to the concept of citizen
• As a result of continued economic growth,
  citizens have today a higher degree of material
  autonomy than ever before in the history of
  humankind .
• Material autonomy means to have ones own
  economic income in order to choose ones personal
  life. It is clear that there are still many
  steps towards material autonomy for each person
  in the world. But it is also clear that never
  before, humanity reached todays levels of
  material autonomy. Moral autonomy (to make
  personal decisions according to ones own
  judgment) presupposes material autonomy, but is a
  wider and deeper concept it cannot be conquered
  without education.
• B) As a result of the existence of public systems
  of education, citizens today are better educated
  than never before. And therefore, the citizen is
  more morally autonomous today than never before.

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Civic Values the new citizen

• Some important transformations are adding new
  attributes to the citizens
• C) As a result of globalization and the IT
  revolution citizens today have more reflexivity
  than never before.
• Reflexivity is the capacity of humankind to
  reflect about itself. The leap in reflexivity
  created by globalization and communications means
  that we are able now to forecast the adverse
  consequences of human actions, and we are much
  better than never before in terms of preventive
  capacities. These capacities are new attributes
  of the citizen.
• D) Finally, the intervention of citizens in the
  public agenda is greater than never before, as a
  result of the development of capitalism, citizens
  now are workers, consumers, investors and active
  public opinion makers.

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The values of the new citizen

• In 2003, the New York Times talked about the
  birth of the New Global Public Opinion (A New
  Power In the Streets Patrick E. Tiller, The New
  York Times, 02/17/2003)
• But the new global public opinion is not
  anecdotal evidence - the public opinion is the
  central factor of legitimacy of the public
  agenda (Habermas).
• My most important thesis is that the new citizen
  has emerged with a critical conscience about the
  state of affairs of the public agenda.

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The values of the new citizen

• The new citizen, familiar to the global scenario
  and active through many crucial activities in the
  public domain, has been born with a new set of
  basic global values
• Respect for Human Rights has won the battle of
  ideas
• b) Respect for the ecological balance with Nature
  and demand of halting climate change also has won
  the battle of ideas.
• c) Social and economic convergence at the global
  scale.
• d) Multilateralism for a multipolar world.
• Proof political correctness and the declaration
  of the G20 show where legitimacy is today.

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The values of the new citizen

• These values do not come from the sky, but are
  being born out of the new characteristics of the
  citizen (moral autonomy, education, reflexivity)
  and are confirmed by the existence of a nascent
  set of global institutions which defend similar
  values the UN, the multipolarity of regional
  associations, the WTO, the International Court of
  Justice or the Kyoto protocol
• Multilateral institutions and values of the
  citizens are in constant feedback and reinforce
  each other

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The values of the new citizen

• The new citizen is also been born with a new set
  of basic local values
• Accountability as a result of moral autonomy and
  education the awareness that the origin of public
  power (political or economic) is the small part
  of sovereignty owned by each citizen - implying
  higher levels of accountability from public
  powers.
• Reasoned democracy The demand for proficiency,
  implying new ways of deliberation and reasoning
  from public powers (and in the case of economic
  powers, the demand for dialogue with all the
  stakeholders)
• Transparency rejection of the imperium
  (domination by public powers) vis-a-vis political
  representatives or economic leaders, which
  implies greater transparency in decision making.
• Proof a new generation of civic political
  leaders, able to connect with the new citizen.

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The consequences of the emergence of new civic
values

• a) The problem of legitimacy of unilateralism as
  the leadership style in international relations.
• b) The problem of legitimacy of traditional
  politics, and the need to rethink democracy
  towards a new type of civic politics (reasoned
  democracy, transparency, and greater
  accountability)
• c) The problem of legitimacy of the traditional
  way of understanding the role of corporations in
  society (a new social contract, CSR, the UN
  Global Compact and PRME).

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The way forward

• The most valuable asset of the WCF is, precisely,
  its underlying concept and the promise it
  encompasses civic values are at the core of the
  new solutions in the XXI Century to the public
  global/local agenda we need a new civic approach
  to international relations, a new civic approach
  to politics and a new civic approach to
  economics.
• In order to progress, the concept is not enough
  there should be a definition of civic values
  today, and maybe Forum should provide that
  definition.
• For what is worth, in my opinion, the civic
  values of the XXI Century are related to
  multilateralism, human rights, halting the
  climate change, global socioeconomic
  convergence, transparency and anti-corruption,
  accountability and reasoned democracy.

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www.unprme.org Prmesecretariat_at_unprme.org escudero
m_at_unprme.org Thank you