The dignity of difference , how to avoid the clash of civilzations. by Essay

The dignity of difference , how to avoid the clash of civilzations. by jonathan sachs - Essay Example Sacks reflects on this issue, and he recalls Jonathan Swift’s observation that we have â€Å"just enough religion to make us hate one another but not enough to make us love one another† (Sacks 4). Therefore, â€Å"the great faiths must now become an active force for peace and for the justice and compassion on which peace ultimately depends† (Sacks 4). Globalization poses a lot of challenges, because we are more aware of the presence of other cultures in the world, and there is a danger of imposing a single way of life in a plural world, which would be a mistake. The moral dimension of globalization cannot be ignored. In Sacks’ view, the moral and spiritual issues involved in globalization â€Å"are among the most important we must face if we are to enhance human dignity, improve the chances of peace and avoid Samuel Huntington’s prediction of a clash of civilizations† (Sacks 2). Sacks pretends to exorcize what he calls â€Å"Plato’s ghost†, which is universalism, or the idea of a universal truth. According to Plato, in the world of ideas, difference is resolved into sameness. This concept implicates that there is one truth on the essentials of human condition, and one possessor of the truth, while the others who think in a different manner are mistaken. The attempts to convert, cure and save others from their error have lead to some of the greatest crimes of history. Nowadays, corporate globalism promotes a uniformity of practices throughout the world, in despite of differences. The sequence of universalizing systems or regimes in Western history, from Greek and Roman civilizations, has tended to erase the local customs, cultures and languages, and it has culminated in globalization and the emergence of a universal culture. Corporate globalism takes the role of these systems in the present-day world, and it is based on the market, the media, and multinational