The Earth Charter
Stoyanov, Alex
Contemporary Poli Thought Final Paper The Earth Charter is a radical document that tries to offer solutions to help the world and all of mankind to try and find a level of sustainability. Through Jean Paul Sartre’s theories and ideologies, I try and find my own voice and ideals of how I personally feel about the Earth Charter. Many people have tried to figure out what they could do, with little success, to fix the Earth and save it from ourselves. Though it is a start, the Earth Charter simply does not have a clear and concise plan of what needs to be done. Jean Paul Sartre’s conceptualizations of justice and power and how power should be organized make the Earth Charter an unjust document. Question 1
Nietzsche was critical of modern notions of justice, which lead him to advocate his theory of will to power as the basis for politics. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in man; achievement, ambition, the striving to reach the highest possible position in life; these are all manifestations of the will to power. He felt that a person’s will was the driving force in a human’s life and that humans should follow their will for true justice to be achieved. By doing so, humans would be able to set themselves beyond good and evil and eventually become an Übermensch. Nietzsche's concept for "an over man or Übermensch " is someone who overcomes the herd perspective and is capable of creating a new perspective without dogmatically forcing his perspective on others. Nietzsche also believed that justice was only just when it was among people of equal stature and class. It certainly seems true that, if we conceive of justice as a form of fairness (not many would dispute this), and fairness is only really achievable among those who are equally powerful, then justice as well is only achievable among those who are equally powerful. Which means, that the least powerful in society must, necessarily,
Contemporary Poli Thought Final Paper The Earth Charter is a radical document that tries to offer solutions to help the world and all of mankind to try and find a level of sustainability. Through Jean Paul Sartre’s theories and ideologies, I try and find my own voice and ideals of how I personally feel about the Earth Charter. Many people have tried to figure out what they could do, with little success, to fix the Earth and save it from ourselves. Though it is a start, the Earth Charter simply does not have a clear and concise plan of what needs to be done. Jean Paul Sartre’s conceptualizations of justice and power and how power should be organized make the Earth Charter an unjust document. Question 1
Nietzsche was critical of modern notions of justice, which lead him to advocate his theory of will to power as the basis for politics. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in man; achievement, ambition, the striving to reach the highest possible position in life; these are all manifestations of the will to power. He felt that a person’s will was the driving force in a human’s life and that humans should follow their will for true justice to be achieved. By doing so, humans would be able to set themselves beyond good and evil and eventually become an Übermensch. Nietzsche's concept for "an over man or Übermensch " is someone who overcomes the herd perspective and is capable of creating a new perspective without dogmatically forcing his perspective on others. Nietzsche also believed that justice was only just when it was among people of equal stature and class. It certainly seems true that, if we conceive of justice as a form of fairness (not many would dispute this), and fairness is only really achievable among those who are equally powerful, then justice as well is only achievable among those who are equally powerful. Which means, that the least powerful in society must, necessarily,
Citations: 1. The Second Sex, 1949, translated by H M Parshley, Penguin 1972; 2. http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/2nd-sex/index.htm 3. Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault Vintage; 2nd Edition edition (April 25, 1995) 4. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/michelfouc400252.html 5. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm 6. http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/pages/Read-the-Charter.html