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Issue 4 Part 1
The World Academy of Art & Science has conducted fifteen conferences over the past three years exploring various dimensions of a human-centered development paradigm intended to address the multi-dimensional challenges confronting humanity today. This project is based on the premise that incremental improvements in institutions and policies are insufficient to cope with the increasingly... Read more
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The articles in this issue examine the political, economic, social, educational and ecological dimensions of transition to a new human-centered paradigm as discussed during the conference at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University last November and on the agenda for upcoming conferences in Kiev, Baku and Gainesville in April-May 2015.
We hope you enjoy this Part.
The Editors Read more
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Abstract
To fulfill its mission a human-centered paradigm as envisioned by World Academy of Art & Science should combine optimism with pessimism. An essential meta-value is avoiding the bad, in addition to achieving “the good”. Realistic assessment of human beings is a must. An appropriate phased time horizon of 10 to 80 years should frame the paradigm. Evaluation... Read more
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Abstract
To all appearances the world seems to be floundering without leadership, direction or even a clear formulation of goals and processes. Yet, paradoxically, amidst the apparent chaos and confusion, evolutionary patterns of advance somehow seem to emerge, universal values become ever more prevalent and powerful as deep drivers and determinates, a more than... Read more
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Abstract
Global economic growth has undoubtedly produced enormous benefits for hundreds of millions of people in both developed and developing countries. But we are heading fast into a perfect storm of connected environmental, economic and social challenges. The issues confronting the world community today are more intense and threatening than those we have faced in the... Read more
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Because of the military aggression by Russia, Ukraine is in war, and is in a poor political, economic, social and ecological state. The world is helping Ukraine by condemning Russia’s actions, by imposing sanctions on Russia and by financially helping Ukraine. A majority of the countries in the world are however themselves in a very poor state, with... Read more
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Abstract
War and peace perpetually alternate. Peace is always seen as an endless project, even a dream, to be realised in brotherhood by everyone all over the earth. During the last centuries, outstanding endeavours have been undertaken by the international community to create an international order free from wars through the strengthening of mechanisms aimed at... Read more
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“I pretended not to know. / And now / my conscience / is without rest / night and day”.
Abstract
In the last few years, there has been an enormous decline on all fronts and in all areas. The world, Europe and Spain undoubtedly suffer its effects. Our political leaders have surrendered to the rules of the markets and obediently subjected our society to “austericide”,... Read more
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Contemporary challenges create the need for a new paradigm of global development. This is why Kazakhstan wants to tackle this problem. President Nursultan Nazarbayev launched the G-Global initiative that aims at uniting efforts of the international community to establish just and secure world order.
This initiative offers an absolutely new form of global discussion... Read more
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Abstract
The concept of nuclear deterrence is seriously flawed, and it violates the fundamental ethical principles of all major religions. Besides being morally unacceptable, nuclear weapons are also illegal according to a historic 1996 decision of the International Court of Justice, a ruling that reflects the opinion of the vast majority of the worldʼs peoples. Even a... Read more
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Abstract
Women play a crucial role in many activities essential for coping with climate change. Indian women appear to be more vulnerable than men to differential impacts of climate change because they share most of the household managing responsibilities but have limited access to participation in decision making and governance. Most of the policies for climate change... Read more
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Research misconduct is a serious threat to science and to society. A variety of Codes of Conduct for research integrity have been developed in Europe by universities, academies of sciences and funding organisations, but this has resulted in a patchwork of codes and procedures, which hampers international collaborative research. ALLEA and ESF have taken the... Read more
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As globalization continues, many transformations in international and domestic laws are underway or called for. There are too many laws and too few, too much law that is inadequate or obsolete, and too much law-breaking. This biblioessay covers some 100 recent books, nearly all recently published, arranged in four categories. 1) International Law... Read more
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Abstract
Although Asian countries attain relatively high growth rates of GDP, many citizens do not seem to benefit from it. To remedy this problem, multilateral development institutions have developed the concept of inclusive growth, defined as growth that allows all members of a society to participate in and contribute to the growth process on an equal basis, regardless of... Read more
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Abstract
Sovereignty-sharing has placed European countries in a position to resolve their common problems through law, not war. As a result, the EU member states now live in peace together and take peace, justice and order for granted. The system of global governance is dysfunctional – some states are failing and the Security Council lacks legitimacy. Humanity does not have... Read more
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Abstract
In this essay, human society is regarded as a “superorganism”, analogous to colonies of social insects. The digestive system of the human superorganism is the global economy, which ingests both free energy and resources, and later excretes them in a degraded form. This process involves an increase in entropy. Early in the 20th century, both Frederick Soddy and... Read more
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Abstract
Law is both a condition and a consequence of social development, an outcome of the broader social process, a form of social organization which channels social energies based on the relative strength of past practice and precedent, the present balance of power and emerging social values. Values are the bedrock of social process and the driving force for social... Read more
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This article describes the relevance of a world parliament in the context of long-term social evolution and the crisis of global governance.[*] It is argued that due to the development of weapons of mass destruction and complex interdependency, war has ceased to be a driver of socio-evolutionary consolidation of power at the world-system level. At the same time,... Read more
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Abstract
The author prepared this simulated judgment at the request of Cadmus editors to demonstrate that there is ample ground for revisiting and revising the landmark 1996 advisory opinion of the ICJ on the legality of nuclear weapons. The ICJ failed to anticipate the proliferation of nuclear weapons, which expands the evolution of the concept of sovereignty, the potential... Read more
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Abstract
The extraordinary extent of the financial crisis has inspired deep systemic reforms world-wide, rethinking financial stability, the resilience of our economic systems, and the role that national and international institutions play. While most of the ongoing activities are understandably centred on banks and the banking sector – the origin and centre of the crisis –... Read more
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Abstract
The publication of the Club of Rome’s landmark report ‘The Limits to Growth’ in 1972 shook the intellectual foundations of social theory and challenged the very premises on which modern economy and prosperity are based. Once set in motion, it led to a revolutionary re-evaluation of human aspirations and economic activities. Among its many consequences, it has... Read more
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Abstract
History that comes to us as a chronology of events is really a collective existence that is evolving through several stages to develop Individuality in all members of the society. The human community, nation states, linguistic groups, local castes and classes, and families are the intermediate stages in development of the Individual. The social process moves through... Read more
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Editorial
Society is a teeming ocean of human energies and capacities, unorganized but latent with unlimited productive potential. The organization of social energies and capacities converts social potential into Social Capital. Each member of society is a microcosm of human potential – an unorganized reservoir of energies, aspirations, and capacities. The organization of the energies and... Read more
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Social development is largely a subconscious process. It expresses irresistible human aspirations and social tendencies but works itself out through a long process of trial and error, advance and retreat, conflict and resolution.
Law is a complex phenomenon. The principles and practice of law are a composite of multiple forces – the force of past precedent, established... Read more
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“The tremendously wasteful underutilization of precious human resources and productive capacity is Greece’s most serious problem and also its greatest opportunity.”
The recent agreement to write off a substantial portion of Greek bonds only postpones but does not resolve the essential problem. The key to the Greek crisis lies in economy, not finance. Any financial solution that... Read more
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Great landmarks of history are few and far between. Normally they are recognized by scholars only long after the fact. Those in the thick of the fray may often be consciously inspired by the significance of their actions, but rarely does history come to share that perception. The rise of individualism in ancient Greece, its revival during the Italian Renaissance and the radical transformation of... Read more
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Social networking did not begin with the Internet. It is as old as human history. For what we now call social networking is really the evolution of human relationships which constitute the backbone of civilization. The emergence of the Internet is the third giant leap forward in a saga that began with the development of symbolic spoken language, the first great instrument that enabled human... Read more
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“Focusing on growth of the part without reference to its impact on the whole is a formula for social disease.”
The American subprime mortgage crisis, the international financial crisis that followed and the European financial crisis presently centered on Greece are all expressions of a deeper and wider crisis that has been preparing to surface for decades. This crisis encompasses... Read more
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Issue 4 Part 1