M. - The Dalai Lama [has] tried to introduce into the constitution not only the notion of individuals' rights but also the idea of individuals' responsibility toward society and the state's responsibility toward other states in the world.J.F. - Yes, it's true that one aspect of what we could call the crisis of modern democracies is that in our own state of law the citizens feel that they have more and more rights and less and less responsibilities toward the community [...] people are a lot less interested in the question of citizens' responsibilities than in that of their rights. They're nevertheless two side of the very same thing.
M. - The East is more inclined than the West to think that society's harmony shouldn't be compromised by people using the notion of human rights to justify doing anything they like, at any time, however they want, as long as it's 'allowed'.
For indeed, such an attitude is really a form of anarchy. It leads to an imbalance between right and duties, between liberty for oneself and responsibilities toward others.
The individual is supreme in Western societies. The individual can do practically anything, as long as it's within the framework of the law.
The individual's responsibility is to consciously preserve the harmony of society. That's something that can only be done if individuals respect the law, not as an obligation, but in the light of an ethical sense, both spiritual and temporal.
The point is not to restrain individuals' freedom but to instill in them a sense of responsibility.
[...] the public's fascinated by violence and sex, and commercially it works very well. The producers only see money to be made, while the legislators are paralyzed by the fear of even touching people's freedom of expression.The result is complete ignorance about responsibility and an inability to translate such a notion into either law or convention.
If human rights are considered on their own, without human responsibilities being taken into account, there's never going to be a solution to the problem.
In the end, a sense of responsibility has to come from the maturity of individuals, not from restrictive laws. And for individuals to attain such maturity, spiritual principles that make inner change possible have to be alive and well in society, instead of being cruelly missing.
[Matthieu Ricard]
and [Jean-Francois Revel]
The Monk and the Philosopher, p.282, 284, 286-7
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2 comments:
The Dalai Lama often points out how particularly necessary universal responsibility is in our world, which has shrunk to the point that one can easily be on the other side of the world in a single day.
It's obvious that unless a sense of responsibility develops in all the individuals sharing this planet, it'll be very difficult to apply any democratic ideals.
[...] That's why I think lack of responsibility is one of the big weaknesses of our age.
[Matthieu Ricard]
The Monk and the Philosopher, p.225, 227
The task before parliamentary socialism is that of articulating and advocating its policies to an ill-educated electorate in a society where there is freedom to choose one's representatives;
in short, where there is always the danger that the electorate will choose self rather than society.
[John Fowles]
The Aristos, p.120
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