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European values are the core
January 18 2014
These are not ideology or economic system We have been in quite a long
discussion of what we meant by saying `European values'. We know what
the advocates of Putin Russia and the Customs Union mean under it.
However, I do not pursue the objective to get into debate with them;
anyway, we will not convince each other. I will just say that the
Russian political, philosophic notion of the 18-20th centuries was
developing under the influence of these values, sometimes, more or
less, contrasting them, and greatly enriching these value system. This
topic is worthy of separate consideration. And so, there are three
sources of European values: Christianity, Greek democracy and Roman
law. The Japanese, Arab, Jew, American or Brazilian, and many, many
other nations have their own values system, which, in its turn, is fed
by other sources. These values and sources are not anything good or
bad of European values; they are just different. Armenians, Russians,
Portuguese or Norwegian, no matter how different they are, no matter
what characteristics they have, in the process of their history, they
were nourished by the aforementioned sources, being subjected, of
course, to many other influences, and impacting on the nation living
with other values. Historically, it happened so that in the 20th
century, the world order that emerged after the World War II (which,
many believe that now it is either reviewed, or have even been finally
demolished) was formed first of all under the influence of European
values. For example, it is not difficult to notice that the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 is directly generating
from the aforementioned sources. This document, which I will
repeatedly refer to in this series of articles, is signed by the
countries for which the clauses found in the declaration are too
alien, not only because the authorities of these countries were (and
are) maltreating their nations; there are countries for which these
clauses are contrary to the culture and ideology of these nations. In
a sense, it can be said that the Declaration, as well as numerous
other documents, are product of `the post-war romanticism'. But, the
provisions responding to these values, despite some claims, are
entirely compatible with the thinking of Armenians. Another matter
that the current Government of Armenian does not implement them. Some
people confuse European values with liberalism. It is a delusion. In
the 19th century, the socialist ideas (including Marx's theory), are
entirely going to fit into our indicated system. For example, `he who
does not work, will not eat' slogan, which runs like a red thread in
communist theories, is taken directly from the theses of Thomas
Aquinas, who, in his turn, quotes the words of the apostle Paul. Thus,
the same straight line goes from the Bible to allegedly atheistic
`Communism builder code of conduct', as it is from the same Scriptures
to Calvinism, and as worded by Max Weber, `the spirit of capitalism.'
It's another matter that in both cases, through declaring the right
ideas, the implementers were often fabricating them. Thus, the
European value system includes different ideologies, different
political and economic categories. However, it is, nevertheless, an
outlook, where social relations are built around its core. My article
is about the very `core'.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN The project is implemented under the `Open Society
Fund' program.
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2014/01/18/163390/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
January 18 2014
These are not ideology or economic system We have been in quite a long
discussion of what we meant by saying `European values'. We know what
the advocates of Putin Russia and the Customs Union mean under it.
However, I do not pursue the objective to get into debate with them;
anyway, we will not convince each other. I will just say that the
Russian political, philosophic notion of the 18-20th centuries was
developing under the influence of these values, sometimes, more or
less, contrasting them, and greatly enriching these value system. This
topic is worthy of separate consideration. And so, there are three
sources of European values: Christianity, Greek democracy and Roman
law. The Japanese, Arab, Jew, American or Brazilian, and many, many
other nations have their own values system, which, in its turn, is fed
by other sources. These values and sources are not anything good or
bad of European values; they are just different. Armenians, Russians,
Portuguese or Norwegian, no matter how different they are, no matter
what characteristics they have, in the process of their history, they
were nourished by the aforementioned sources, being subjected, of
course, to many other influences, and impacting on the nation living
with other values. Historically, it happened so that in the 20th
century, the world order that emerged after the World War II (which,
many believe that now it is either reviewed, or have even been finally
demolished) was formed first of all under the influence of European
values. For example, it is not difficult to notice that the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 is directly generating
from the aforementioned sources. This document, which I will
repeatedly refer to in this series of articles, is signed by the
countries for which the clauses found in the declaration are too
alien, not only because the authorities of these countries were (and
are) maltreating their nations; there are countries for which these
clauses are contrary to the culture and ideology of these nations. In
a sense, it can be said that the Declaration, as well as numerous
other documents, are product of `the post-war romanticism'. But, the
provisions responding to these values, despite some claims, are
entirely compatible with the thinking of Armenians. Another matter
that the current Government of Armenian does not implement them. Some
people confuse European values with liberalism. It is a delusion. In
the 19th century, the socialist ideas (including Marx's theory), are
entirely going to fit into our indicated system. For example, `he who
does not work, will not eat' slogan, which runs like a red thread in
communist theories, is taken directly from the theses of Thomas
Aquinas, who, in his turn, quotes the words of the apostle Paul. Thus,
the same straight line goes from the Bible to allegedly atheistic
`Communism builder code of conduct', as it is from the same Scriptures
to Calvinism, and as worded by Max Weber, `the spirit of capitalism.'
It's another matter that in both cases, through declaring the right
ideas, the implementers were often fabricating them. Thus, the
European value system includes different ideologies, different
political and economic categories. However, it is, nevertheless, an
outlook, where social relations are built around its core. My article
is about the very `core'.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN The project is implemented under the `Open Society
Fund' program.
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2014/01/18/163390/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress