Planetary consciousness is the idea that human beings are members of a planetary society of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

as much as they are members of their nations, provinces, districts, islands, cities or villages.

History

In his 1906 book ''American Character'', author

Brander Matthews James Brander Matthews (February 21, 1852 – March 31, 1929) was an American academic, writer and literary critic. He was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at Columbia University in New York and played a significant role in est ...

mentions the idea of a "league of nations" and a "planetary consciousness", believing it would be created by American politicians in the coming centuries. Key planetary consciousness events of the 20th century include the creation of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, the signing of Kellogg-Briand Pact, the creation of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and the creation of the

Bretton Woods system The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial relations among 44 countries, including the United States, Canada, Western European countries, and Australia, after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement until the ...

Democratic globalization Democratic globalization is a social movement towards an institutional system of global democracy. One of its proponents is the British political thinker David Held. In the last decade, Held published a dozen books regarding the spread of democracy ...

advocate

Abhay Kumar Abhay Kumar (known mononymously as Abhay K.) is an Indian career diplomat and the author of several books including ''Nalanda: How it Changed the World.'' He was appointed as India's first resident Ambassador to Georgia. He currently serves as ...

points to the International Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) board of directors election in 2000, which were conducted globally, as the first example of global democracy. In September 2001, Ervin László and the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

wrote an essay titled "Manifesto on Planetary Consciousness", which was adopted at a meeting at the

Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...

in Budapest. Its introduction begins:

Andreas Bummel Andreas Bummel (*9. February 1976 in Cape Town) is co-founder and Executive Director of Democracy Without Borders and of the international campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. He is also co-convenor of the "We The Peoples" campai ...

, CEO of the Committee for a Democratic UN, says, "The first step into the direction of a world parliament would be the establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations".

Concept

Advocacy for the idea of planetary consciousness is based on the technological advancements made by the mankind in the fields of transport and telecommunications during the 20th century and in the first decade of the 21st century. Kumar claims that these technological advancements have turned the whole planet into an interdependent economic, political and communication community. He specifically cites the invention of the Internet and the mobile phones as key technological achievements of the 20th century which brought humans into more continuous interconnected communication. He believes that these inventions will lead to a second

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and global democracy, just as the

Gutenberg press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the c ...

in 1439 led to the first Renaissance, the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

, and

Nation state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the State (polity), state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly ...

s. Bummel describes planetary consciousness as integral, insofar as it does not conflict with other levels of

social identity Identity is the set of qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, or expressions that characterize a person or a group. Identity emerges during childhood as children start to comprehend their self-concept, and it remains a consistent ...

, but instead is a holistic perspective on humanity and the planet as a whole. Steven Kull writes that while nation states are reluctant to work cooperatively, individuals seem more willing. Author

Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, author, and former diplomat, who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is currently the Chairman of Committee on External Affairs. ...

argues that an Earth Anthem sung by people across the world can inspire planetary consciousness and

global citizenship Global citizenship is a form of transnationality, specifically the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader global class of "humanity". This do ...

among people.Indian diplomat pens anthem for earth
The New Indian Express 5 June 2013

References

{{Reflist Consciousness Futures studies Global citizenship Global politics Globalism Political movements Society Theories of history

History

Concept

See also

References