By Harald Wydra

That implies the availability over inexhaustible resources, the overcoming of any moral or social chain and finally the realization of all that on desires. With the help of Mephisto, Faust obtains a nearly unlimited increase of his capacities.

But even then, provided with enormous power over natural laws, he has to recognize, that nothing on earth is absolute, that even his own might is aputated by the loss of the eternal moment and the fulfilled love, two restrictions imposed by devil’s will.

Doctor Faustus, one of the most fascinating and revailing works in literature, is a striking testimony to a characterization of man’s nature. This one is an incessant series of limitations both with regard to his proper existence and as to the world that surrounds him.

Besides, human race is capable of creating lots of artificial and unnecessary obstacles, which render more difficult and even menace seriously our sufficiently troublesome existence. At the threshold to the 21st century we can state, that humanity apparently has reached the cross-roads of its own destiny, that it is supposed to decide.

Technology has reached a sophisticated standard that never had been imagined. The third industrial revolution in form of information science has revolutionized wide sectors of economy, facilitating unknown headways that promote a more comfortable life. Economic growth is the aim of all national states, which still are the decisive political unities.

Modern medicine is raising continously our duration of life and even introducing genetic engineering as the ultimate achievement.

In the field of politics the year 1988 was a good one as to the settlement of international crisis.

It was possible to reach détente in a few conflicts like those between Iran and Irak, in Angola, the retiration of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. Also are visible some steps forward in the disarmament debate between East and West.

Nevertheless we are living in a paradoxical epoch. Europe and North America enjoy more than 40 years without belligerent conflicts. But this kind of peace is purchased by spending a considerable part of our gross national products on defense, that means on weapons of all kind. About 20% of world’s population dispose of 85% of world’s food provisions. Nuclear weapons have been preventing at least up to the present the Third World War. Quickest means of transportation and communication, international economic cooperation have diminished the distances and pulled down certain boundaries. But obviously the actual attitude of the national states doesn’t correspond to the fact, that we all are in the same boat.

The above mentioned threshold to the 21st century contains a lot of time-bombs that are bound to explode sooner or later, if they are not deactivated previously. The ecocide discloses in the best way, that after having destroyed our earth, there won’t be other to colonize. Even now, in an era, in which prevail rationality and technological progress, we are confronted with Faust’s destiny. Eternal growth and unlimited technological expansion don’t work. The oil-price shock in 1973 and the following cconomic crisis stopped abruptly the unchained optimism in the industrialized countries. The crisis of the limitation of natural resources. The ecocrisis of the 80s, which will widen in the forthcoming century, just has assumed tremendous and irreversible dimensions. Nature is running short. It is supposed, that the short-age of drinking-water will be the major problem in the next century. What about the growin hole in the ozone-layer? After Chernobyl nuclear energy still remains a national affair?

Nor we must forget about the social and political devastations, that torment big parts of the planet and that only can be beaten by solidarity and understanding. The indebtedness of Third World countries (only Latin America figures with 420 billion dollars) requires urgently an act of international solidarity if a bigger unrest than the recent in Venezuela should be prevented.

More than a Fourth of the U.S. population are suffering poverty in the world’s richest country. In the European Community there are more than 20 million unemployed.

Once a Dominican friar asked, what sense it makes to explore new deserts in space, having lots of social and environmental deserts on earth without any promising possibility to resolve them.

We continue living in separated societies, despite all international exchange, cooperation, conferences, alliances, communities... The national state, established after the French Revolution and responsible of the big war plagues in the 20th century is still alive, even more stronger than it might seem.

Through its centralizing and national-orientated structures it tries to snatch up all it cans for the pretended benefit of its citiziens. In reality that kind of state organization cannot and won’t reply to the coming challenges.

The barbaric wall of Berlin, that cements not only the forcible division of a city, but also the direct confrontation of two ideological systems, is likely to introduce the 21 century.

What sense do the frontiers of some African countries have, which have been drawn in some bureaus in Paris or London? According to a minister of African country none, except the fact, that many young people would let themselves kill for them.

Any form of outdated colonialism should be abolished, not on account of reestablishing national sovereignty over a territory, but to respect peoples’ right of self-determination and the respective pecularity of each region. Even in Europe the rock of Gibraltar proves the vigour of colonialism at the threshold to the 21st century.

There are a lot of internal resistance mouvements, especially promoted by religious and cultural motives, that question the antiquated national state. In only a few examples we observe diverse motivations with the same object: more autonomy and respect to regional pecularities. In the actuality we find among others the cases of the independency-mouvement in Northern Ireland, the also armed Basque liberation mouvement in Spain, the mostly peaceful autonomy efforts of South Tyrol in Italy and the recent uprising in Yugoslavia’s Kosovo. Even in a totalitarian state like the Soviet Union armenian regionalism and more than 30 million Moslems signify coming difficulties to maintain the state’s unity.

It must not be confounded natural boundaries, produced by geographic, cultural, religious and traditional differences, with artifically imposed frontiers. The overcoming of national borders does not mean the levelling and standardization of the wonderful cultural and religious variety. The case Rushdie for example reveals the crass difference between big parts of the Mohammedan oriental world and the enlightened and liberal occidental world. The Moslems live a similar historical epoch as Christianity did in the times of medieval Inquisition. Freedom of thought has to be defended, but also has to be dealt with all aspects, that means the acknowledgement of the blasphemy felt by the Moslems.

In the next century we all are requested to follow the Pope’s example, who in 1987 assembled in Assisi leading representatives of the principal world religions. Cultural and religious pecularities still continue having so much importance, that only by a universal understanding and acceptance in these fields the political barriers can be pulled down. An important step in this direction marks for example the inauguration of the first European-Arabian university this year in Granada.

But what sense does the stubborn effort of a supranational organization like the European Parlament have, which tries to prohibit the bull-fights in Spain?

Instead of assuming inquisitorial attitudes in a question of cultural identity of a people, any supranational organization should be eager to occupy itself with really burning issues, like e.g. human rights’ violation in Irak, South Africa, Nicaragua, Chile and the Eastern Bloc.

Entering the forthcoming millennium man has to break with Faust’s dream of unlimited possibilities and has to learn modesty and self-restriction. Man’s strenght is limited, just as are drinking-water, clean soil and air. Our actual century has been the richest as to technological and medical progress, facilities of life, social welfare and international understanding. But also the darkest as to cruel wars. starvation, social injustice and ecocide.

What is the point in question? There won’t be a stop in research and science, the military alliances won’t disappear at a blow, nor the national state will be dissolved before long.

The targets are difficult to define, but it is obvius that the indebtedness of Third World countries, environmental dangers, like the hothuse-effect or the ozonelayer, disarmament, scarcity of resoureces are only a few very complex issues, that are beyond the narrow horizons and limited power of the up to the present predominating national states.

Various and grave challenges require the aplication of fast and efficient measures. The planet earth is like a Barque in a vast ocean, alone and dependent on the solidarity among its passengers. Man has to recognize, that he has to impone his will and his imaginations to resolve the enormous problems that he is confronted with and must not continue being dominated by supposed economic necessities or ideologies of all kind.

HARALD WYDRA