ジョージ・ソロスの論説(『ジャパン・タイムズ』掲載)を議論の素材として
Global
mission for the EU
November 23: The Japan Times
Europe is in
search of its identity. I believe it is easy to find: the European Union embodies the principle of open society, which could serve as
a force for a global open society.
Let me explain
what I mean.
The concept of
an open society was first used by the French philosopher Henri Bergson in his
book The Two Sources of Morality and Religion . One source, according
to Bergson, is tribal and leads to a closed society whose members feel affinity
for each other but fear or hostility towards others. The other source is universal,
leading to an open
society guided by universal human rights that protects and promotes the freedom of the
individual.
Karl Popper
modified this scheme in his ! seminal book The Open Society and Its Enemies
, published in 1944. Popper pointed out that an open society can be
endangered by abstract, universal ideologies like communism and
fascism. Because these ideologies’ claim to be in possession of
the ultimate truth is bound to be false, they can be imposed on society only
through repression and compulsion. By contrast, an open society accepts
uncertainty, and it establishes laws and institutions that allow people with
divergent views and interests to live together in peace.
The EU embodies
the principles of an open society to a remarkable extent. Although its guiding
principles have not been enshrined in a constitution, even this may be
appropriate to an open society because, as Popper argued, our imperfect
understanding does not permit permanent and eternally valid definitions of
social arrangements.
The EU was
brought into existence by a process of piecemeal social engineering – the
method Popper considered appropriate to an open society – directed by a
far-sighted, purposeful elite who recognized that perfection is unattainable.
It proceeded step by step, setting limited objectives with limited timetables,
knowing full well that each step would prove inadequate and require a further
step.
That
step-by-step approach ground to a halt with the defeat of the European
Constitution. The EU is left in an untenable position, with an enlarged
membership of 27 states and a governing structure designed for six. The
political will to keep the process moving forward has eroded. The memory of past
wars has faded, and the threat posed by the Soviet Union has disappeared.
Nationalist, xenophobic, and anti-Muslim sentiments are on the rise, aggravated
by the failure to integrate immigrant communities.
Unfortunately
the disarray within the EU is part of a broader global turmoil. The United
States used to be the dominant power and set the agenda for the world. But
President George W. Bush’s war on terror undermined the basic principles of
American democracy by expanding executive powers. It undermined the critical
process that is at the heart of an open society by treating any criticism of
the administration’s policies as unpatriotic, thereby allowing Bush to order
the invasion of Iraq.
Worse still,
the war on terror was counterproductive. It increased the terrorist threat by
creating innocent victims, while leading to a precipitous decline in American
power and influence. As a result, the US is no longer in a position to set the
world’s agenda.
The EU cannot
possibly take the place of the US as the world’s leader. But it can set an
example, both within its own borders and beyond. The prospect of membership has
been the most powerful tool in turning candidate countries into open societies.
Although most of its citizens do not realize it, the EU serves as an inspiring
example. All that is needed now is for Europe’s people to be inspired by the
idea of the EU as the prototype of a global open society.
What this
means in principle can be stated concisely: the EU needs a common foreign
policy. That is the one part of the European constitution that urgently needs
to be rescued.
In the
meantime, the absence of institutional reform should not be allowed to serve as
a pretext for inaction.
The EU already
possesses ample resources to make an impact on the world stage:
- half of the world’s overseas development assistance;
- the biggest single market in
the world;
- 45,000 diplomats;
- almost 100,000 peace-keepers
serving on every continent;
- and the prospect of using
trade, aid, and membership as catalysts to encourage neighboring states to
become open societies.
Where Europe has adopted a common policy – such as
on Iran – it has succeeded in persuading others, including the US, to change
long-held positions. But all too often the EU fails to live up to its potential.
For example, Europe has made little progress in
formulating a common energy policy, leaving it increasingly dependent on
Russia, which has not hesitated to exploit its bargaining position. Likewise,
the EU has failed to give adequate support to Georgia, or to impose appropriate
sanctions on Uzbekistan for last year’s massacre at Andijon. Nor has the
European Neighborhood Policy gathered any momentum, while the EU’s treatment of
Turkey is pushing an important ally in the wrong direction.
There is also trouble brewing in some of the newly
admitted member countries, such as Hungary and Poland, where the EU could play
a more proactive role in promoting democratic stability.
Needless to say, a common EU foreign policy should
not be anti-American. Such a posture would be self-defeating, because it would
reinforce the division of the international! community that the Bush
administration has initiated. But the EU can set an example of international
cooperation that the US, under a different leadership – which is bound to come
– would eventually emulate.
More at GeorgeSoros.com
GeorgeSoros.com
888 7th Avenue
New York City
New York 10106
United States
-----------------------------------------------------
Tha Japan Times 記事として。
Thursday, Nov.
23, 2006
Global mission for the EU
By GEORGE SOROS
PRAGUE -- Europe is in search of its identity. I believe it is
easy to find:
The European Union embodies the principle of open society, which
could serve as a force for a global open society. Let me explain what I mean.
The concept of
an open society was first used by the French philosopher Henri Bergson in his
book "The Two Sources of Morality and Religion."
One source,
according to Bergson, is tribal and leads to a closed society whose members
feel affinity for each other but fear or hostility toward others. The other
source is universal,
leading to an open society guided by universal human rights that protects and promotes the freedom of the
individual.
Karl Popper
modified this scheme in his seminal book "The Open Society and Its
Enemies," published in 1944. He pointed out that an open society can be
endangered by abstract, universal ideologies like communism and fascism.
Because these ideologies' claim to be in possession of the ultimate truth is
bound to be false, they can be imposed on society only through repression and
compulsion. By contrast, an open society accepts
uncertainty, and it establishes laws and institutions that allow people with
divergent views and interests to coexist.
The EU embodies
the principles of an open society to a remarkable extent. Although its guiding principles have not been enshrined in a
constitution, even this may be appropriate to an open society because, as
Popper argued, our imperfect understanding does not permit permanent and
eternally valid definitions of social arrangements.
The EU was brought into existence
by a process of piecemeal social engineering -- the method Popper considered appropriate to an open society --
directed by a far-sighted, purposeful elite who recognized that perfection is
unattainable. It proceeded step by step, setting limited objectives
with limited timetables, knowing full well that each step would prove
inadequate and require a further step.
That
step-by-step approach ground to a halt with the defeat of the European
constitution. The EU is left in an untenable position, with an enlarged
membership of 27 states and a governing structure designed for six. The
political will to keep the process moving forward has eroded. The memory of
past wars has faded, and the threat posed by the Soviet Union has disappeared.
Nationalist, xenophobic and anti-Muslim sentiments are on the rise, aggravated
by the failure to integrate immigrant communities.
Unfortunately
the disarray within the EU is part of a broader global turmoil. The United
States used to be the dominant power and set the agenda for the world. But
President George W. Bush's war on terror undermined the basic principles of
American democracy by expanding executive powers. It undermined the critical process
that is at the heart of an open society by treating any criticism of the
administration's policies as unpatriotic, thereby allowing Bush to order the
invasion of Iraq.
Worse still,
the war on terror was counterproductive. It increased the terrorist threat by
creating innocent victims, while leading to a precipitous decline in American
power and influence. As a result, the U.S. is no longer in a position to set
the world's agenda.
The EU cannot
possibly take the place of the U.S. as the world's leader. But it can set an
example within its own borders and beyond. The prospect of membership has been
the most powerful tool in turning candidate countries into open societies.
Although most of its citizens do not realize it, the EU serves as an inspiring
example. All that is needed now is for Europe's people to be inspired by the
idea of the EU as the prototype of a global open society.
What this means
in principle can be stated concisely: The EU needs a common foreign policy.
That is the one part of the European constitution that urgently needs to be
rescued.
In the
meantime, the absence of institutional reform should not be allowed to serve as
a pretext for inaction. As the single biggest market, the EU already possesses
ample resources to make an impact on the world stage. It provides half of the
world's overseas development assistance, has 45,000 diplomats and almost
100,000 peacekeepers. It can use the prospect of trade, aid and EU membership
as a catalyst to encourage neighboring states to become open societies.
Where Europe
has adopted a common policy -- as on Iran -- it has succeeded in persuading
others, including the U.S., to change long-held positions. But all too often
the EU fails to live up to its potential.
For example, Europe
has made little progress in formulating a common energy policy, leaving it
increasingly dependent on Russia, which has not hesitated to exploit its
bargaining position. Likewise, the EU has failed to give adequate support to
Georgia or to impose appropriate sanctions on Uzbekistan for last year's
massacre at Andijon. Nor has the European Neighborhood Policy gathered any
momentum, while the EU's treatment of Turkey is pushing an important ally in
the wrong direction.
There is also
trouble brewing in some of the newly admitted member countries, such as Hungary
and Poland, where the EU could play a more proactive role in promoting
democratic stability.
Needless to
say, a common EU foreign policy should not be anti-American. Such a posture
would be self-defeating, because it would reinforce the division of the
international community that the Bush administration has initiated. But the EU
can set an example of international cooperation that the U.S., under a
different leadership -- which is bound to come -- would eventually emulate.
George Soros, a financier and philanthropist, is chairman of the
Soros Fund Management and of the Open Society Institute. Copyright Project
Syndicate 2006 (
www.project-syndicate.org)