The idea of "universal" values runs beneath a lot of our political dialogue. Dominique Möisi, whose work we discussed last week, argues the U.S. and Europe must again believe in the universality of our values but that we must practice rather than preach them. In his press conference Monday, President Obama offered specific examples of universal values, such as peaceful assembly and dissent.
Universality has a mixed history and has too often been a pretext for imperialism. Its philosophical complement, relativism, has an equally mixed history and has too often been merely self-satisfied disinterest in others' suffering. Is it true that "No man is free if another remains in chains?" Or should we "Live and let live?"
More below the fold....
Whose Universal Values?
Universality runs through modern political discourse, though often assumed as fact without need of proof. We sometimes state it as such (e.g.: "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."). Where another party is not acting on what we assume to be a universal value, we often assume the party 'really' shares that value, and is either: (a) betraying that value in favor of self-interest (hypocrisy); or, (b) has been misled to act against that value (false consciousness). We're often loathe to consider whether the other defines that value so differently that it's not "shared" at all, or if it is shared, weighs it much less than we do.
Such assumptions create problems in discussion. They lead us to conclude the other is morally or mentally deficient. The truth of our argument is obvious given the values we're applying, and if those values are universal then the truth of our argument should be equally obvious to the other as well. If the other "doesn't get it," he/she must be morally or mentally deficient.
Universality has a checkered history. Too often it has been merely tribal arrogance ("others 'really' are or want to be just like us") and used to justify imperialism. But to abandon it entirely in favor of relativism begs other questions and risks, and can be criticized as a different sort of tribal arrogance ("others aren't yet culturally mature enough to share our superior values"). At worst, relativism is a smug disinterest in others' suffering ("I've got mine and you would too, if you really valued it").
Roots of universality: arrogance, empathy, simplicity.
It's true that claims of universality have often been rooted in arrogance, a belief that others 'really' are or should want to be just like us. Discussions about the protests in Iran over the past two weeks have arguably contained more than a hint of this. It's difficult to remove the "lens" of one's own culture in watching events in another culture, so it's natural to perceive events in Iran as if the protesters (and the government) were 'really' acting on our own political values.
Of course it's easiest to recognize that arrogance when we see it in others, such as absurd comparisons of Iran's media crackdown to the GOP having lost legislative dominance in Congress, or of street protests where hundreds of thousands risk nothing less than death with the "tea parties" where dozens risked nothing more than derision. It's harder to recognize our own arrogance in assuming the protesters want a Western-style, secular democracy. But arrogance is not the only root of universality.
The adage "No man is free if another remains in chains" is rooted in the common human impulse of empathy. If we cherish the opportunities afforded by our own values, empathy leads many of us to believe others should share the same opportunities and, by implication, the same values. Our horror at the death of Neda Soltan, the 26-year-old woman shot at a protest in Tehran, reflects that empathy. For some of us, it brought back memories of the deaths at Kent State University in 1970 and other incidents where our own government met dissent with deadly force. I believe it was this empathy that President Obama expressed in his comments Monday, claiming universal values like the right to peacefully assemble in dissent.
Finally, our impulse for universality is often grounded in a desire for simplicity. People and events are more predictable, and our discussions and policies less complex, if we assume a framework of universal values. In an increasingly integrated global community where we're likely to be talking to someone halfway 'round the world, pausing to contextualize every idea in terms of other cultures presents huge challenges. We want common values - like ground rules in a sport - to anticipate the likely points of dispute, plan to avoid them, and resolve them more easily when they can't be avoided.
Challenges of universality: difference and intolerance.
However noble our empathy or reasonable our desire for simplicity, claims of universal values meet intractable challenges. We don't all share the same values. Even if we use a common word, we may define the word very differently or weigh other values as equally or more important. Given those differences, appeals to a value may deepen rather than diminish a dispute. This is especially true where we attach such emotional import to a word (e.g.: "freedom"), that citing it as a value simply raises the stakes of the discussion. If we don't acknowledge our differences, our noble empathy or reasonable desire for simplicity quickly devolves into arrogance.
But acknowledging differences raises another set of questions. If your values are not the same as my values, whose values do we apply to resolve a dispute? By implication, the values we apply are superior and that can easily lead to intolerance. We're not simply "different;" I'm "better." This in turn leads to the formation of group identity, and brings in the moral morass where group identity and loyalty trump the other values by which we defined the group to begin with. Intolerance and our group's "winning" become more important than values and reason.
We'll explore those challenges - and the equally vexing challenges of relativism - in more depth tomorrow. In the meantime, what values do you think are (or should be) universal, and why?
+++++
Happy Thursday!