Political Humanism

Political Humanism

In this essay I wish to introduce a new political theory that I have named Political Humanism. This theory is my response to one of the dominant political positions of our time, Nationalism. If the dynamo of Nationalism is the love for one’s nation, than consider the engine of Political Humanism to be the love for humankind.

Before becoming a political humanist, one has to go through three different stages. In the first stage, he will have to abandon the love for one’s homeland and replace it by the love for humankind as a whole. He will no longer feel part of one specific nation, but a part of the race of men. I am talking about a drastic identity shift, a change in the way one feels about himself and how he relates to the world around him. In the second stage, the individual, who is no longer a part of a specific nation, but considers himself now to be a world citizen, will reach an inevitable conclusion: the mere existence of nations is absurd and nationalities are artificial devices that pits men against men, that leads them to kill each other to rape the next man’s wife, for the greedy to steal from the innocent and for the strongest to enslave the weakest. Reaching this conclusion, and understanding the true nature of nationalism and its consequences, the individual will understand that nations are enemies of every men in this planet. This epiphany will show him the path that will lead to a third stage of enlightenment, where the individual will become a true political humanist and leave older ideologies and allegiances behind. He will understand that the only way to extinguish nations and protect men from the scourges of nationalism is to create a republic for all men.

The voyage towards Political Humanism starts by questioning one's own identity. Slowly, one ceases to identify himself with his nation, and starts to identify with the whole of mankind. He is no longer part of one group of people, instead he becomes part of the people of the Earth, of a brotherhood of men. He no longer feels any closer to the man who share his nationality, he starts to feel an irresistible love for mankind, for each man, woman and child in this planet. He no longer feels in terms of “us” and “them”. No such thing separates men now. He is born again and recognizes the people of the earth as his, and he sees each man as his brother.

The very notion that he is different from a certain group of men because he was born in a different place and speaks a different language is abandoned. He sees further now, and a new world is unfolded in front of him. He understands that the things that unite us are much more important than the things that separate us. Although we might have a different skin color, all men love in the same way. Although we may speak different languages, we all prefer peace rather than war. Although we might have been born in different cities, we all live in the same dying planet. We have to unite, because only that way can we face the challenges ahead of us. Only then can we effectively fight global terrorism and preserve our freedom and the rule of law. Only them can we start saving our planet, instead of continuing to destroy it. Only them can we prevent the wars of the future and the many millions of deaths that will ensue. The political humanist is born from the ashes of a past where Men were always afraid of other Men, and he pledges himself to the cause of a brotherhood of Men, united in the pursuit of the goals that are dear to us all, Peace, Freedom and Justice.