INTEGRITY OF CREATION, JUSTICE, PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION: CLARIFICATION OF TERMS
The title given to this talk needs some clarification. What is the relationship between these terms: integrity of creation, justice, peace and development? The underlying idea is that there is a certain order that leads to development. If there is respect for creation, if attention is given to justice and efforts are made to maintain peace, then development will be the result. This implies that if there is disorder, abuse of creation, injustice and a lack of peace, there will be a lack of development.
How can we define an order that leads to development? It is a certain ethical view we have of creation, of life and of human society, a particular worldview. The ethical view we have of our world is the rationale and the basis for development. This view must become a moral commitment to planned action so that the ethical vision can become a reality.
It is not the intention of this paper to go into the whole discussion on natural law and a common moral foundation for a pluralistic society; it is, however, the underlying idea of our topic.
Let us now look a bit closer at the various terms we have used so that we may get a better idea of the relationship between them.
Integrity of Creation. Integrity refers to the rational use of creation, a use that is respectful of its purpose and destiny and is mindful of the needs of future generations. Creation calls for collaboration in an ongoing process and a contribution towards the realization of an unfinished potential.
Justice is an active concept: it refers to a relational dimension in human society, built upon agreed criteria, the social contract. This is not always so easy to recognize in society. Is neo-liberal capitalism such a social contract? It is a basic tenet of capitalism that there is n invisible hand that regulates the market. Is this a wild, irrational activity or is there a rational principle behind it? Yet, the most powerful nation in the world today considers this policy the ideal for our world.
Peace is also an active pursuit; it is not the absence of something, it is the result of a certain social behaviour, regulation and agreement. There must be international agreement on the factors that disturb peace. For instance, the so-called preventive armed intervention in Iraq by the US and Great Britain was very much a one-sided decision and set a most dangerous precedent.
Development embraces all dimensions of human existence. Development that is unbalanced, stressing one aspect, for example the material at the expense of other aspects, such as the social and the spiritual is not humanly fulfilling; it leads to unbalanced relationships. Development must be based upon moral values, like trust, solidarity, altruism, companionship, honesty, respect for others, tolerance, forgiveness, mercy. It implies an engagement with the world. It aims at improving the quality of life, realising the unfinished capacity of nature. Fatalistic attitudes and underdevelopment diminish the humanity of people and therefore their potential for development. Development is an open-ended process
Its provisional character is an essential part of creation. For us this implies that we accept the responsibility for its unfinished process and that we continue to move it forward. This means there must be a vision to guide us and a continuous re-vision in the way we are moving towards that vision.
What becomes clear, therefore, is that integrity of creation, justice, peace and development must move in a rational order, guided by the human agent and with a vision that is inspired by the Author of that creation. This is a faith perspective, a God-given purpose.
ANALYSIS OF OUR HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IN THE CONTEXT OF EAST AFRICA.
In the light of what has been said above, we are now invited to evaluate some of the realities we see in our context and in our recent history in East Africa.
Freedom from colonialism meant self-rule. But how was this realized? Was it for the benefit of all? Did the use of power encourage a rational distribution of it by creating participatory involvement? We must also ask what the actual international scene is showing: who is ruling our societies? How is participation organized at the level of international financial institutions and world trade? Is political governing subject to financial hegemony? Is there a new form of financial colonialism ruling the world?
Self-reliance was a popular slogan. However, it has meant different things to different groups. Self-reliance for the ordinary people today means: do not expect others to help you. For the educated elite it means: to be in charge of the resources and of their distribution.
This situation has led to a breakdown in credibility, in trust and in solidarity in our societies and this is preventing self-reliance to be communal. Mutual help has become more difficult to realise and this has prevented local capacity from becoming a real force for development.
A balanced and rationally organized society. This is the essence of what we mean by democracy. We are still searching for it and by trial and error to develop a true balance of power, a more structured democratic participation, better ethical and legal codes and control systems. The greatest barrier to arrive at this balanced and rationally organized society is the weak implementation of the existing codes and regulations. We are able to produce many good plans and policies but are too often unable to implement them.
The dependency syndrome. The dependency syndrome prevents creative thinking. It creates the psychology of denial, blames others for bad situations, avoids hard work and refuses to take responsibility.
Corruption. Corruption has taken our society to the point where it is no longer considered much of a problem. It has become normal. There is a spirit of opportunism and living on the back of others.
We have now moved into a new era, an era of self-questioning. We are realizing that independence and self-government have not taken away the reality of sin and of imperfect nature. We have come to accept that transformation is an ongoing process. We have become aware of the fact that the international community is not going to give us development on a platter and that we have to work with all people of good will to influence events and policies so that we move forward in the direction we have chosen as our destiny.
OUR INSPIRATION: TO SEE THE WORLD WITH GOD’S EYES
Briefly we can enumerate what God’s Word gives us as inspiration and as virtues required for building our world according to his purpose. In order to realize a well ordered society humanity had to learn to listen to God. From its historical listening the believing community has learned and is still learning what virtues are necessary to come to a balanced behaviour that leads to human development in the full sense of the term. We can summarise this understanding in the following ethical principles:
- Respect human dignity;
- Have concern for the common good;
- Live in solidarity with others;
- Take special care of the poor and vulnerable;
- Aim at integral development;
- Apply the subsidiary approach in governance;
- Have an open attitude and a readiness for reconciliation;
- Use the goods of this earth in a spirit of stewardship.
These basic virtues should guide our human behaviour and assist us in organizing our life together, both at individual and at the social level. They need to be translated into economic and political concepts and policies.
This translation of virtues into concrete planning is always a trial and error process and in continual need of adjustment. Our achievements will never be perfect, but we must not give up trying to improve things. If these virtues are to become the reality of our life and the guidelines for our behaviour we must apply intellectual and scientific knowledge, both theoretical and practical. We must learn to debate about policies and acknowledge different views, but always with the profound desire to do what is best for all the people.
This searching for the best way of expressing the basic inspiration of the Kingdom of God and the practice of its virtues in concrete policies is continuous. It finds expression in activities related to parliamentary debates, lobbying and monitoring, strengthening civil society pressure and public defence of religious values. Without such contributions to the development debate progress in this area will be retarded.
Let us consider some questions we need to ask in our desire to follow spiritual inspiration.
- How do we organize economic solidarity: fiscal contributions by different social groups and distributions of benefits in a way that is fair to all?
- How do we take unequal starting points and capacities into account and insure that the weak have a chance of survival in both the local and the international market place?
- What system of subsidies is necessary, both national and international, with respect to areas and groups that are lagging behind?
- How do we create greater participatory responsibility and decision-making in the political process?
The application of human rights in the area of basic needs calls for moral choices. The universal common good cannot become a reality unless there are political and administrative structures in place at the global level. At the same time, good governance at the local level is impossible unless there is a well-developed system of local government with financial capacity to further that development. In this connection, what is now called the informal sector must be given a chance to become part of the formal sector. To speak of partnership between the haves and the have-nots is an illusion unless there is equality at the decision making level.
THE SITUATION IN EAST AFRICA: THE TANZANIA EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTED
Can we say that the way we respect creation and build justice and peace among us is such that it leads to development? Or are we behaving and acting in a way that causes disorder and obstructs development?
Looking at the Tanzanian experience in particular, we have to recognize that it was not a straightforward process. There have been times that progress was made but at other times the country regressed.
In colonial times, just before independence, civil society was a strong force for the movement towards independence. After independence, socialism came in with its emphasis on distribution of services to the people, but at the same time with a desire to build a united nation of all groups integrated into one party. The result was that human rights like freedom of expression and association were curtailed. With the policies of nationalization and centralized planning, the system did not lead to greater productivity and development.
It came to a crisis in the early 1980s and Nyerere clashed with the IMF and the World Bank. He was not ready to give up the socialist ideal of distributing social services to the ordinary people in the name of economic reform. He lost that battle: the country had to accept macro–economic reforms. The medicine was bitter but necessary, so it was said, in the structural adjustment programmes.
Up till today that tension has not been resolved. Economic reforms, liberalization and privatisation have taken place and the economy is now healthier. However, social services are not easily available to ordinary people. The poor have not improved their standard of living so for them life remains a struggle.
The Tanzanian experience may vary somewhat different from Kenya and Uganda. But in essence they are not very different. We observe that there is light and shadow. Progress has been made but there are big drawbacks. Ideas and new approaches are needed to improve the situation and to accelerate the needed transformation.
Let us now describe in more detail the progress made, the drawbacks and the alternative ideas