Quarterly Bulletin

What has globalisation to do with Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.?  Can the two be mentioned in the same breath?  Teilhard died 50 years ago and the phenomenon of globalisation has only gained much currency since 1989.  Teilhard was a Catholic priest and globalisation is a technological, economical and cultural phenomenon.  So why are we talking about Teilhard in connection with globalisation?  Is there any connection at all?  I think there is and I intend to show that connection.  Teilhard’s vision of the unification of humankind finds resonances in the phenomenon of globalisation.

GLOBALISATION: WHAT IS IT?

     What is globalisation?  In this discussion, I will use the definition advanced by Joseph Stiglitz, formerly chief economist at the World Bank.  He defines globalisation as: “the closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world which has been brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of transportation and communication, and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flow of goods, services, capital knowledge and people across borders”.

     The world comes together in a global village mainly through advances in information and telecommunication technologies.  However, one has to ask what kind of unity is taking place.  And how this unity relates to Teilhard.  In the following, I will attempt to discuss the two issues.

TEILHARD AND GLOBALISATION

     Teilhard, writing in the late 1940s amid the chaos and carnage of the Second World War, envisioned a world where humankind was united and working towards a common goal.  This unity he referred to as “..a dense tangle of economic and social relationships.”  He figured that science and technology would have advanced to such an extent that most transactions would be undertaken through a complex web of electronic gadgets linking people of diverse backgrounds, geographical settings and persuasion. 

     In this manner we can claim that Teilhard somehow foresaw the Internet coming and envisioned the unity of humankind in the form of globalisation.  He envisioned the emergence of a global community united in mind and heart.  This community would be connected through “..astonishing electronic machines by which our mental capacity to calculate and combine is reinforced and multiplied..” 

     The connection will entail economic, social, psychic, political and  cultural   interactions   across the face of the earth.  Teilhard was writing this at the time of the Second World War and he visualized the unity of humankind in spite of the hatred, violence and chaos around him.  He retained an unbelievable faith in humankind’s ability to come together and work for the common good.

     Teilhard was not talking about globalisation as we experience it today nor was he talking about the World Wide Web (WWW).  But there is no denying that what he envisioned in the late 1940s has come to pass, thanks in large part to the advances scored in the information and communication technologies.  However, not everything that Teilhard envisioned has either come to pass or has happened in the fashion he wanted.

     But what kind of globalisation did Teilhard envision?  Let me begin the exploration of this topic by sharing with you a personal experience that I think would help us appreciate what Teilhard wished to see happen.

PERSONAL ANECDOTE

     Five years ago, I was introduced to a project known as the Global Economy and Culture research project, sponsored by Woodstock Theological Centre based at Georgetown University in Washington DC.  The project was collecting narratives from around the world on people’s experiences of globalisation.

     I was invited to send in a narrative describing people’s experiences of globalisation in Zambia.  Over the course of the years I continued collaborating with a number of Jesuits across the world through the internet.  I sent in my data for analysis and comments and I received feedback from many people.  I gave my own input on other narratives.  Eventually, we all met in Washington DC to compare notes and plan the way forward.

     What really struck me about that event is that even though I had never physically met these people, I felt like I knew each one of them.  And yet the only means of communication we had used up to that point was the internet.  Through collaboration and correspondence via the internet we had become a family.  The internet proves in our case to be the means by which we achieved unity of purpose.

GLOBALISATION AND PIERRE DE CHARDIN

     Economic globalisation entails opening up of local economies to the global economy designed to facilitate undisturbed flows of goods, services and people across borders.  Teilhard may not have imagined what a globalised world would look like but he certainly was sufficiently aware that economic relations are key to the globalisation of the world.

     Teilhard believed that the process of globalisation can only lead to greater unification of humankind.  He speaks about the human block “being bound and mingled together in a more inextricable knot.”  However, he believed that the enforced interactions would naturally be mutually conditioning and reinforcing in the direction of unity and love.  What is the meaning of all this?

THE WORLD WIDE WEB

     The internet has radically changed our way of life.  So much of what we do today is connected with the internet.  It used to be letter writing and then became the phone, now it is the email that enables us to connect with so many people separated from us by physical distance.  The internet has resulted in the shrinking of physical distance and has led to the high mobility of commodities, capital and labour across the world.  It has facilitated an amazing amassing and transmission of information.

     It has brought about a unification of humankind in many ways.  The unrestricted information flows can only lead in the direction of a convergence of cultures and peoples.

     Teilhard would regard the emergence of the internet as an inevitable and even inexorable outcome of the evolutionary process towards the unity of humankind.  It is one of the outcomes of an authentic evolutionary process.  It seems as if Teilhard had already envisioned the form it would take.

     “Today we find the reverse: research students are numbered in hundreds of thousands -- soon to be millions -- and they are no longer distributed superficially and at random over the surface of the globe, but are functionally linked together in a vast organic system that will remain in future, indispensable to the life of the community.”  It is not so hard to say how this has come to be when one visits the many cyber cafes in one particular city.  It is something Teilhard would consider as the pathway to human collectivization.  But what can we learn from Teilhard’s notion of globalisation?

TEILHARD AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB 

     Writing in 1949, Teilhard envisioned the formation of a collective project of human beings endeavoring to search for the truth  via  a   complex   system   of communication that simultaneously connected people and enabled them to communicate almost instantaneously.  “It is favoured by the sudden multiplication of ultra rapid means of travel and transmission of thought and consists in the formation of more and more psychic zones or groups.  In these the human nuclei are converging their power of reflection upon one common problem with one common enthusiasm and so organise themselves into stable functional complexes.” 

     I do not think that the people who conceived the global economy and culture project were aware of this statement by Teilhard.  But it certainly turned out that so many of us in different parts of the world are united in one common pursuit, to reflect and come up with alternative creative strategies on how to harness the good side of globalisation and discard the bad side.

     The WWW is an essential tool in the advancement of gloablisation.  It has this ability of connecting people across thousands of kilometers instantaneously.  However, some practices today would seem to militate against the notion of unity as envisaged by Teilhard.  Let me cite two.

Accessibility: because of the relatively high initial costs of setting up information and communication facilities today, it is almost inconceivable that resource poor communities would enjoy the same opportunities as those who are relatively well off.  Internet access is widespread in the urban areas compared to rural areas in Africa. It is practically a way of life in the industrialised countries.

     Computer literacy: the use of computers requires some skills. Basic computer literacy is a necessary condition for anyone to enjoy the benefits of the WWW.  Unfortunately, this can not be said about many of our people in Africa. 

     The two examples clearly demonstrate how uneven the playing ground already is with respect to spreading the benefits of the internet to as many population groups as possible.  So if you are thinking of promoting unity through the internet you probably have to begin with laying the necessary infrastructure and building the necessary capacities.

HIGH CONSCIOUSNESS

     However these hindering factors are not insurmountable.  One of the important notions of the evolutionary process according to Teilhard is that the emergence of highly complex organism would simultaneously lead to the emergence of highly conscious individuals.  This implies that the more complexity emerges the more likely that you would see highly conscious individuals.  These individuals would act towards others with love and compassion.

     If we are to take the notion seriously, we could act in solidarity with others especially those who are less endowed than ourselves.  Specifically, in our discussion today, those who enjoy the benefits of globalisation must extend compassion and solidarity to those who are victims.  This might entail in practical terms that some people in the “sharing” industrialized countries would for instance make available computers to less endowed communities and others with knowledge would help with training people with the basic computing skills.  Ultimately, love is what will motivate people to act in this fashion.  Love is the norm that should guide and shape interactions.

     The internet needs to be infused with as much as moral and spiritual information as much as it contains other sorts of information.  This is because left to itself it can proceed along the path of destruction but if properly harnessed and redirected the internet can be an important force for the collectivisation envisaged by Teilhard.  The intent can be a space where physics, metaphysics and religion can freely interact to bring about a better world for many.  Religion and science even though serving different realms can be brought into some kind of harmony to serve humankind.

THE CHURCH AND GLOBALISATION

     The church welcomes technological innovations.  It recognises the opportunities for evangelisation and education for human values.  In respect of the advances in information technologies that are so influential in the emergence of globalisation, the church advocates the use of these technologies as part of its integral mission for the promotion of justice and solidarity.  The criterion in the adoption of any means of communication remains the search for the truth.  The church is against the pursuit of ephemeral and provisional values.  It is always concerned about the promotion of the Gospel and enduring values.

     Consequently, according to John Paul II, the church urges everyone to “take advantage of opportunities offered by the communication media as pathway to intensifying communion and rendering the penetration of the proclamation of the word.  The internet is to be used for the promotion of the common good, defense of human dignity and building up of social justice.”  This implies that the use of these technologies should be guided by ethical and moral concerns.

     Many of us are committed to the building up of the Kingdom of God in our unique ways.  I would say one way of building the Kingdom of God is to work for the promotion of the globalisation of values and principles enunciated by Teilhard de Chardin.  We are charged with the responsibility of working for the good side of globalisation and working against the bad side of globalisation.

     This means that we should work for a globalisation that promotes human rights, attempts to bridge the disparity between the poor and the rich and includes all in reaping the benefits that come with it.  It is globalisation that should culminate in human security that does not compromise the capacity of the earth to provide for future generations.  Such a globalisation respects local cultures and benefits true integral human development.

IMPLICATIONS AND LESSONS

     In terms of implications for the present stage of globalisation, let me suggest a few issues that are worth noting at his point in time. No doubt you have other issues you would like to raise.  To bring about a balanced globalisation, I would say the following issues are crucial:

     A globalisation of equity and justice: the current form of globalisation promotes asymmetrical distribution of goods and resources.  The greater majority of the world’s poor are not benefiting compared to the majority of the affluent people across the world who are enjoying the benefits.  A globalisation of justice and equity is imperative if it has to be brought in line with some of the ideals and values of Teilhard de Cahrdin.

     A globlisation of dialogue: in many respects, globalisation appears to be an imposition on many people.  Insufficient dialogue takes place as to what should  be  globalised  partly  as a result of the non-regulation of information flows but I think more so because there is very little space for dialogue in this process.  A balanced globalisation requires dialogue amongst all its partners if the benefits are to accrue to all the stakeholders.

     In Africa, globalisation of authentic human values: up to this point, globalisation has been experienced as one way traffic.  Most of what is globalised comes from the north.  Very little comes from the South.  Here in Africa communal or group life is very important.  This is a value that can be globalised to promote a global community.

CONCLUSION

     My experience with the Global Economy and Cultures project has convinced me that it is possible to build a global community that respects the local issues and concerns which are then taken on board and become the basis of conversation and dialogue.  The outcome of dialogue is a gloablisation of equity and justice.  The internet is one of the important communication tools that can facilitate this development.  It can help us move closer to the vision of Teilhard de Chardin -- a movement towards greater unification culminating in the ultimate union with the Christ.

     Some of us would have watched the funeral mass of the late Pope John Paul II.  I am sure you would not have missed the unbelievable congregation of various personalities from all walks of life and many parts of the world united in grief and celebrating the passing of a great Pope.  Teilhard dreamed of such unity.  It is up to us to continue working for such a unity using the means at our disposal.  The internet is one such means that can advance a true globalisation.

Leonard Chiti, S.J.
Hekima College
Nairobi