ANOTHER UNIVERSALISM

In recent times, various world events have shown changes in the way people address globalization and have demonstrated that several aspects of the organization of world relations do not meet the needs of normal people. In some cases the attempted solutions have led to the growth of nationalism and tensions between peoples. The world seems to move towards an increase in hatred and intolerance.

Some may think that the problem is globalization itself, but I and many others believe that the fault lies in the way in which international relations have been organized, through the hegemony of one culture, one nation, one geographic area, and as an evident symbol of this hegemony, also the dominance of one language as the basis of globalization.

However, another globalization is possible, one in which people can feel equal and have equal rights, in which the respective great powers do not impose their cultures to the rest. Our universalism and our desire to approach humanity, without borders and barriers, must overcome this crisis, because they are not to blame for the flaws in the current process.

A good example that another solution is possible is the continuity and vibrancy of the international language Esperanto. For many years it has been an effective tool for communication among people around the world, without the need to abandon one’s own language, and without this feeling that we all experience when we speak the languages of another people: The feeling that our situation is inferior. When we speak Esperanto with other people, we feel that we have a common ground, that we are equal, and that we can experience feelings of friendship that transcend the borders that separate us.

Esperanto is a perfect demonstration that another way of connecting to the whole world is possible, and that universalism and the sense of community among the people of the planet are still valid, but that we need to find another way to organize it. Now is not the time to create more walls, we just have to find other ways to overcome the present ones.