Oscar Arias Sanchez Reflects on Working Toward Peace
Responsibility,
as a moral quality, serves as a natural, voluntary check
for freedom. In any society, freedom can never be exercised
without limits. Thus, the more freedom we enjoy, the greater
the responsibility we bear, toward others as well as ourselves.
The more talents we possess, the bigger the responsibility
we have to develop them to their fullest capacity.
The opposite is also true: as we develop our sense of
responsibility, we increase our internal freedom by fortifying
our moral character. When freedom presents us different
possibilities for action, including the choice to do right
or wrong, a responsible moral character will ensure that
the former will prevail.
Sadly, this relationship between freedom and responsibility
has not always been clearly understood. Some ideologies
have placed greater importance on the concept of individual
freedom, while others on the unquestioning commitment to
the social group.
Without a proper balance, unrestricted freedom is as dangerous
as imposed social responsibility. Great social injustices
have resulted from extreme economic freedom and capitalist
greed, while at the same time cruel oppression of people's
basic liberties has been justified in the name of communist
ideals and society's interests.
Either extreme is undesirable. At present, with the disappearance
of the East-West conflict and the end of the Cold War, with
the failure of Marxist experiments and the gradual humanization
of capitalism, humanity seems closer to the desired balance
between freedom and responsibility. We have struggled for
freedom and rights. It is now time to foster responsibility
and human obligations.
The initiative to draft a Universal Declaration of Human
Obligations is not only a way of balancing freedom with
responsibility, but also a means of reconciling ideologies
and political views that were deemed antagonistic in the
past. The basic premise, then, should be that humans deserve
the greatest possible amount of freedom, but also should
develop their sense of responsibility to its fullest in
order to correctly administer their freedom.
Because rights and duties are inextricably linked, the
idea of a human right only makes sense if we acknowledge
the duty of others to respect it. Regardless of a particular
society's values, human relations are universally based
on the existence of both rights and duties.
The [United Nations'] Universal Declaration of Human Rights
describes a detailed set of conditions which, if present,
are believed to be conducive to a good life. Among these
are freedom, equality, economic and social security, and
peace, aspirations which portray the main challenges that
lie ahead of humanity.
Nevertheless, of the Universal Declaration's thirty articles
only one-Article 29-refers to human duties. The only other
reference to obligations is a brief section of Article 1
which states that all human beings are endowed with reason
and conscience, and should act towards another in a spirit
of brotherhood. This spirit of brotherhood, or solidarity,
is precisely what the world needs more of today. Solidarity
with our fellow humans, solidarity between nations, and
solidarity towards our planet Earth.
The importance of the concept of responsibility should
not be overlooked. After all, it is a sense of responsibility
that makes people accountable for their actions. Indeed,
we are all responsible for the problems humanity faces today:
destruction of the environment, extreme poverty, and the
persistence of armed conflict around the globe. These threats
are nothing else than the result of human action-action
driven, in most cases, by greed, selfishness, or just plain
ignorance. Whatever the reasons, humanity clearly can no
longer afford to endure such tragedies.
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