With the cumulative experience of hundreds of centuries of living together...

With the cumulative experience of hundreds of centuries of living together, an absolute egocentric individualism and human pettiness were to a considerable extent brought under some ethical scrutiny. In spite of all the benefits that accrued through a mutually recognized social contract, the need to work even harder to improve living conditions had to be guaranteed through the creation of a social and economic infrastructure.

The role played by technology in improving the quality of life was underscored by the state's endeavors to ensure that these scientific advancements were regulated through proper institutions and human rational control. Today, we are witness to the technicalization of societies around the world which has led to phenomenal breakthroughs in global relations through the technology of telecommunications. Things that had appeared to previous generations as scientific fiction have become a reality.

Of all the things, national and cultural boundaries that seemed to have been defined in terms of an “iron curtain” separating the nations into eastern and western blocs have been overshadowed by electronic super-highways of ideas. The revolution of communication has changed the ideological configuration of the world. No nation can afford to live in isolation.

In the midst of all this advancement, however, there remains the troubling question of how to make an individual responsive to the ethical and spiritual values which function as the backbone of a healthy society. Could the democratization of the nations guarantee the preservation of this unquestionably fundamental inner need of humanity?

The world community has experimented with different philosophies and ideologies to strengthen the common vision that would guarantee harmony and justice among peoples of different races and creeds. Nationalism, communism, socialism, capitalism, and so on have alternatively divided the nations, united them partially under one or another -ism, brought them to the brink of destructive nuclear warfare, and forced them to work with each other under international organizations like the United Nations.

The human search for harmony and peace with justice remain the most precious prize for the global community. At the same time, the lingering memory of two World Wars with their disastrous outcomes have provided a grim reminder of how far humanity seems to be from that lofty ideal of peace on earth.