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As for me, I cannot reject the ardour expressed in this text, its rich content and the enthusiasm it communicates. While thinking deeply about it, I find that this Platform’s charm lies in applying a "holistic" vision. A vision that is constructed on the basis of serious and precise judgement of world reality. The Platform’s idea comes from a global vision. Three imbalances are predominant: imbalances between the North and the South, between the rich and the poor and between man and Nature. Faced with the incongruity of the world, traditional institutions seem helpless. Human beings are once again confronted with an alternative. The Platform dreams of constructing a new world government which can use the collective force to oppose or come out of this disharmonious situation between regions and countries. According to my understanding, a fundamental philosophical conviction supports the Platform: the rationale of human beings is the driving force which enables the construction of a better world. Thanks to this force, we can reconcile with the rapport between cultures and diverse traditions. With the help of reason, one can judge and bring out common values in order to arrive at the final goal.

The Platform presumes that the functioning of the contemporary world, a world dominated by modern logic, tends to fill in the cultural gaps made by history. Be it the third world or the first world, each and everyone is dominated by the general principle of modernity, so much so that all cultures are undoubtedly confronted with similar kinds of problems: destruction of environment, extraction and excessive use of natural resources, gap between the rich and the poor, general degeneration of social morals etc. The problem is that imbalances formed all along the historical process were highlighted by the force of modernity and not that "modernity" had eliminated historical distances and the current differences between societies. Neither could modernity have brought in these problems in an identical community faced with the same problems. The Platform does not realise that the force of history is not only stronger than the capacity to co-ordinate any political community but also the consequences of the choice of history and tradition do not necessarily appear as irrational even though this kind of choice is not based on western rationalism.

(...) Grosso modo, we can highlight the focus of the Platform. At the outset, while rejecting the scientific mode, it wanted to contain all the positive traditions and local experiences and at the same time take into consideration the imbalances in the development of the regions. It seemed to possess a sort of pluralism of values. However, its ultimate aim is to integrate all the regional affairs in a pre-programmed field and in order to be co-ordinated it attempts to establish common rules. We can therefore conclude that the Platform’s chain of ideas applies a typical rationalism which results in an insurmountable paradox. This is because the specific character of rationalism is to ignore the process and history, and to deny the decisive importance of the functional structure of culture and morals, formed by the accumulation of tradition. This rationalism applied to the Platform is presented in a post-modern package but its core remains a "discourse of modernity", so much so that it removes the "raison d’existence" of local experiences.

Yang Nian-qun

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Social development of humanity has progressed enormously even while being accompanied by serious crises. Clear-minded people concerned with developmental perspectives for the future of humanity who are increasing in number, are conscious of the seriousness of the crisis. They have introduced all sorts of platforms, action programme projects by trying to reduce pressures and eliminate these crises in the hope of achieving harmony. The Platform for a united and responsible world underlines the need to call out to thousands of people so that they combine their effort towards this aim. To this effect, it cites the setting up of an analysis of principles and values, priority subjects and strategies of action, search for converging points of all human cultures on fundamental points in order to carry out common efforts.

Given the wide gap between regions, different kinds of development are needed. The Platform gives due attention to these differences but it is not completely right when it considers that countries absorbed in their own priorities form an obstacle towards the realisation of this approach. (...) The problems faced by countries are (must be) classified according to the degree of their importance. All this is a part of a global strategy for the development of humanity. If one does not take into account this state of things, every attempt to motivate countries to adopt to common methods would be unrealistic and would tend to undo those actions. China is a developing country, its problems are many, its per capita natural resources are relatively weak, its educational; and technological level is rather "behind the times"; China faces the difficult historical task of reinforcing its production capacities and totality of producing forces in the State and to improve standard of living. (...)

Because of the solid scientific and economic base of developed countries, they must assume more responsibility. The possibility of constructing a responsible and united world depends on their aptitude to assume these responsibilities.

Guo Zhi-gang

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