The Possible Utopia: A Gift of Hope and Reason for Action—Changing the Course of History!
ABSTRACT
Today, the world’s current state reflects how we are living in a critical and chaotic time which brings multiple and challenging problems in social, economic, ecological and cultural aspects among many others. However, for women and men of good will, who yearn for a better, more human, and more solidary world, it is very encouraging that, despite this sad reality, there is a “possible utopia” that would change the course of history. But everybody asks themselves: How can we face a challenge of this magnitude? What path should we follow? Will man be able to change his mind and heart to do so? Will man have the faith, spirit and strength required? Will humanity be able to transform its creations of death into structures of life? What story should be built from now on to the future? It is an enormous and extremely complex task to have a better world, but if we are not willing to start, here and now, where and when will it be? And if we do not, who will? In this sense, Einstein and Edmund Burke challenge us as humanity, with their great motivating and appropriate statements: “If you want different results, do not do always the same” (as cited in Davidovich, Nikolay, Laugerman, & Commodore, 2010: p. 23) and “For evil to triumph [on earth] it is enough that good men do nothing” (as cited in Bartlett, 1968: p. 454; Kirk, 2009: p. 204; Landau, 2006: p. 222). Now, more than ever, it is the best time to start. Without a doubt, it is a monumental challenge, but also a “unique opportunity” that demands the availability of men and women, bold and brave, in order to unite their wills, to make possible the impossible, because our future as humanity is truly at stake.
Today, the world’s current state reflects how we are living in a critical and chaotic time which brings multiple and challenging problems in social, economic, ecological and cultural aspects among many others. However, for women and men of good will, who yearn for a better, more human, and more solidary world, it is very encouraging that, despite this sad reality, there is a “possible utopia” that would change the course of history. But everybody asks themselves: How can we face a challenge of this magnitude? What path should we follow? Will man be able to change his mind and heart to do so? Will man have the faith, spirit and strength required? Will humanity be able to transform its creations of death into structures of life? What story should be built from now on to the future? It is an enormous and extremely complex task to have a better world, but if we are not willing to start, here and now, where and when will it be? And if we do not, who will? In this sense, Einstein and Edmund Burke challenge us as humanity, with their great motivating and appropriate statements: “If you want different results, do not do always the same” (as cited in Davidovich, Nikolay, Laugerman, & Commodore, 2010: p. 23) and “For evil to triumph [on earth] it is enough that good men do nothing” (as cited in Bartlett, 1968: p. 454; Kirk, 2009: p. 204; Landau, 2006: p. 222). Now, more than ever, it is the best time to start. Without a doubt, it is a monumental challenge, but also a “unique opportunity” that demands the availability of men and women, bold and brave, in order to unite their wills, to make possible the impossible, because our future as humanity is truly at stake.
KEYWORDS
Possible Utopia, Virtuoso Leap for Common Good, Shared Responsibility for Integral Human Development, From Dictatorship of Relativism towards Conversion, Faith, Reason, Values and Ethics for Building Virtuosity
Possible Utopia, Virtuoso Leap for Common Good, Shared Responsibility for Integral Human Development, From Dictatorship of Relativism towards Conversion, Faith, Reason, Values and Ethics for Building Virtuosity
Cite this paper
Rodiles, P. and Chevalier, J. (2015) The Possible Utopia: A Gift of Hope and Reason for Action—Changing the Course of History!. Open Journal of Leadership, 4, 47-53. doi: 10.4236/ojl.2015.42005.
Rodiles, P. and Chevalier, J. (2015) The Possible Utopia: A Gift of Hope and Reason for Action—Changing the Course of History!. Open Journal of Leadership, 4, 47-53. doi: 10.4236/ojl.2015.42005.
References
[1] Ahlquist, D. (2006). Common Sense 101: Lessons from G.K. Chesterton. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press. [2] Bartlett, J. (1968). Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature (14th ed.). Boston: Little Brown and Company. First published in 1855. [3] Benedict XVI (2009). Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/
hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate.html [4] Biwi, M. (2013). Nelson Mandela’s Quotes and Tributes. Melville, NY: AA Global Sourcuibg Ltd. [5] Brian, D, & Brian, K. (2005). The Unexpected Einstein: The Real Man behind the Icon. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. [6] Calaprice, A. (Ed.). (2011). The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Foreword by Freeman Dyson. New Jersey, USA, Oxfordshire, UK: Princeton University Press. [7] Cammaerts, E. (1937). The Laughing Prophet: The Seven Virtues and G. K. Chesterton. Victoria, Londres. Methuen & Co. [8] Clark, R. W. (1973). Einstein: The Life and Times. Londres: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. [9] Davidovich, R., Nikolay, P., Laugerman, B., & Commodore, C. (2010). Beyond School Improvement: The Journey to Innovative Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. [10] Egeberg, S. E. (2012). The Art of Life: Make the Changes You Desire. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. [11] Einstein, A. (1967). Out of My Later Years. Totowa, NJ: Littlefield, Adams and Co. [12] Holt, J. (1997). Science Resurrects God. The Wall Street Journal, December 24. Dow Jones & Co., Inc. [13] Hourani, F. (2012). Daily Bread for Your Mind and Soul: A Handbook of Transcultural Proverb and Sayings. Xlibris Corp. [14] Jammer, M. (2002). Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [15] John Paul II. (1998). Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/
documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091998_fides-et-ratio_en.html [16] Kirk, R. (2009). Edmund Burke a Genius Reconsidered (1st. ed., 1967). Wilmington, DE: ISI Books. [17] Kliksberg, B. (2002). ética y Economía. La Relación Marginada. Cayapa. Revista Venezolana de Economía Social, 2. Recuperado de
http://redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=62220302
http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/622/62220302.pdf [18] Knowles, E. M. (Ed.). (2009). The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. The first edition was published in 1941. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. [19] Landau, R. S. (2006). The Nazi Holocausto: Its History and Meaning. Salem Road, London, New York: IB Tauris & CO. Ltd. [20] Mandela, N. (n.d.). Nelson-Mandela-Facts-Weebly.com
http://nelson-mandela-facts.weebly.com/about-nelson-mandela.html [21] Max-Neef, M. (1986). Economía Descalza. Señales desde el Mundo Invisible. Traducción de Estela Lorca. Prólogo de Leopold Kohr. Coedición de CEP AUR-Centro de Alternativas de Desarrollo y NORDAN-Comunidad. Estocolmo, Buenos Aires, Montevideo: Editorial Nordan. (Trabajo original publicado en 1982 con el titulo From the Outside Looking In: Experiences in Barefoot Economics. Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. Edición en sueco (1984), Fran andar sidan Frlaget Nordan-Comunidad, ©Manfred Max-Neef). [22] Neumann, A. (2012). Uplifting Quotes on Gratitude and Goodness to Show Appreciation. Cleveland/Akron, Ohio: Good Plus Tech LLC. [23] Novak, M. (2009). Catholic Social Teaching, Markets, and the Poor. In S. Rundle (Ed.), Economic Justice in a Flat World: Christian Perspectives on Globalization (pp. 21-49). Colorado Springs, CO: Paternoster. [24] Petras, K., & Petras, R. (2014). It Always Seems Impossible until It’s Done: Motivation for Dreamers & Doers. New York: Workman. [25] Racine, J. B. (1692). Athalie, tragedia tirée de l'écriture Sainte. Paris: D. Thierry. Digitized: March 27th. 2013.
https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=SSrD6_KR3KsC&dq=Athalie,+tragédie%3B+
tirée+de+l%27écriture+Sainte+Racine&hl=es&source=gbs_navlinks_s [26] Racine, J. B. (1982). Four Greek Plays: Andromache-Iphigenia, Phaedra-Athaliah. Translated with introduction and notes by R.C. Knight, emeritus professor of French, University College of Swansea. Cambridge, London, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, Sydney: Cambridge University Press. [27] Racine, J. B. (1895). Racine’s Athalie. Edited with an Introduction, Containing a Treatise on Versification and with notes by Charles Augustus Eggert, Ph.D, professor of Modern Languages, University of South Dakota. Boston, DC: Heath & CO.
https://books.google.es/books?ei=t3ITVcX6KYW4ogSjtoCwBA&hl=es&id=bZYXAAAAIAAJ&dq [28] Ratzinger, J. (2005). Mass Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice. Dean Homily of Cardinals College. Apr18. Vatican Basilica.
http://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/homily-pro-eligendo-pontifice_20050418_en.html [29] Ridley, F. (2015). Nelson Mandela: It Always Seems Impossible until It’s Done. Grayslake, IL: ReadZone Books. [30] Rodiles, P. (2005) El Reto del Milenio: El Combate a la Pobreza ante la Globalización con Sentido Humanista—Propuesta de Solución que Involucra a: Organismos Internacionales, Gobiernos Mundiales, Empresarios del Mundo y Sociedad Civil Internacional. Tesis de Maestría, University of the Americas, Puebla, México. [31] Scola, A. (2009). La crisis económico financiera puede convertirse en ocasión de un sobresalto virtuoso—Cardenal Angelo Scola. Humanitas, 53.
http://www.humanitas.cl/html/biblioteca/articulos/d00065.html [32] Shapiro, F. R. (Ed.). (2006). Epstein, J. (Foreword). The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. [33] Sodano, A. (2009). Prólogo al Vademécum de definiciones de las encíclicas antropológicas de Juan Pablo II.
http://www.humanitas.cl/html/destacados/Cardenal%20Sodano.pdf [34] Strobel, B. (2005). America’s Dénouement: The Decline of Morality, Growth of Government and Impact of Modern Liberalism. Baltimore, MD: Publish America. [35] Taylor, C. (1995). The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. Trad. esp. de Pablo Carbajosa. La ética de la Autenticidad. Introducción de Carlos Thiebaut. Barcelona: Paidós. The Ethics of Authenticity was first published in Canada (1991) under to title The Malaise of Modernity. Concord, Ontario: Anansi. [36] The American Chesterton Society (ACS). (n.d.). Discover Chesterton. Frequently Asked Questions. When Man Ceases to Worship God.
http://www.chesterton.org/ceases-to-worship/ [37] Van Inwagen, P. (1994). Quam Dilecta. In T. V. Morris (Ed.), God and the Philosophers: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason (pp. 31-60). New York: Oxford University Press. [38] Williams, P., & Denney, J. (2015). 21 Great Leaders: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Influence. Uhrichsville, OH: Shiloh Run. [39] Yunus, M. (1998). Hacia un Mundo sin Pobreza. Traducción de Pablo Azócar (9a. edición, p. 79). Santiago de Chile: Andrés Bello.
[1] Ahlquist, D. (2006). Common Sense 101: Lessons from G.K. Chesterton. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press. [2] Bartlett, J. (1968). Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature (14th ed.). Boston: Little Brown and Company. First published in 1855. [3] Benedict XVI (2009). Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/
hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate.html [4] Biwi, M. (2013). Nelson Mandela’s Quotes and Tributes. Melville, NY: AA Global Sourcuibg Ltd. [5] Brian, D, & Brian, K. (2005). The Unexpected Einstein: The Real Man behind the Icon. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. [6] Calaprice, A. (Ed.). (2011). The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Foreword by Freeman Dyson. New Jersey, USA, Oxfordshire, UK: Princeton University Press. [7] Cammaerts, E. (1937). The Laughing Prophet: The Seven Virtues and G. K. Chesterton. Victoria, Londres. Methuen & Co. [8] Clark, R. W. (1973). Einstein: The Life and Times. Londres: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. [9] Davidovich, R., Nikolay, P., Laugerman, B., & Commodore, C. (2010). Beyond School Improvement: The Journey to Innovative Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. [10] Egeberg, S. E. (2012). The Art of Life: Make the Changes You Desire. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. [11] Einstein, A. (1967). Out of My Later Years. Totowa, NJ: Littlefield, Adams and Co. [12] Holt, J. (1997). Science Resurrects God. The Wall Street Journal, December 24. Dow Jones & Co., Inc. [13] Hourani, F. (2012). Daily Bread for Your Mind and Soul: A Handbook of Transcultural Proverb and Sayings. Xlibris Corp. [14] Jammer, M. (2002). Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [15] John Paul II. (1998). Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/
documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091998_fides-et-ratio_en.html [16] Kirk, R. (2009). Edmund Burke a Genius Reconsidered (1st. ed., 1967). Wilmington, DE: ISI Books. [17] Kliksberg, B. (2002). ética y Economía. La Relación Marginada. Cayapa. Revista Venezolana de Economía Social, 2. Recuperado de
http://redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=62220302
http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/622/62220302.pdf [18] Knowles, E. M. (Ed.). (2009). The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. The first edition was published in 1941. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. [19] Landau, R. S. (2006). The Nazi Holocausto: Its History and Meaning. Salem Road, London, New York: IB Tauris & CO. Ltd. [20] Mandela, N. (n.d.). Nelson-Mandela-Facts-Weebly.com
http://nelson-mandela-facts.weebly.com/about-nelson-mandela.html [21] Max-Neef, M. (1986). Economía Descalza. Señales desde el Mundo Invisible. Traducción de Estela Lorca. Prólogo de Leopold Kohr. Coedición de CEP AUR-Centro de Alternativas de Desarrollo y NORDAN-Comunidad. Estocolmo, Buenos Aires, Montevideo: Editorial Nordan. (Trabajo original publicado en 1982 con el titulo From the Outside Looking In: Experiences in Barefoot Economics. Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. Edición en sueco (1984), Fran andar sidan Frlaget Nordan-Comunidad, ©Manfred Max-Neef). [22] Neumann, A. (2012). Uplifting Quotes on Gratitude and Goodness to Show Appreciation. Cleveland/Akron, Ohio: Good Plus Tech LLC. [23] Novak, M. (2009). Catholic Social Teaching, Markets, and the Poor. In S. Rundle (Ed.), Economic Justice in a Flat World: Christian Perspectives on Globalization (pp. 21-49). Colorado Springs, CO: Paternoster. [24] Petras, K., & Petras, R. (2014). It Always Seems Impossible until It’s Done: Motivation for Dreamers & Doers. New York: Workman. [25] Racine, J. B. (1692). Athalie, tragedia tirée de l'écriture Sainte. Paris: D. Thierry. Digitized: March 27th. 2013.
https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=SSrD6_KR3KsC&dq=Athalie,+tragédie%3B+
tirée+de+l%27écriture+Sainte+Racine&hl=es&source=gbs_navlinks_s [26] Racine, J. B. (1982). Four Greek Plays: Andromache-Iphigenia, Phaedra-Athaliah. Translated with introduction and notes by R.C. Knight, emeritus professor of French, University College of Swansea. Cambridge, London, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, Sydney: Cambridge University Press. [27] Racine, J. B. (1895). Racine’s Athalie. Edited with an Introduction, Containing a Treatise on Versification and with notes by Charles Augustus Eggert, Ph.D, professor of Modern Languages, University of South Dakota. Boston, DC: Heath & CO.
https://books.google.es/books?ei=t3ITVcX6KYW4ogSjtoCwBA&hl=es&id=bZYXAAAAIAAJ&dq [28] Ratzinger, J. (2005). Mass Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice. Dean Homily of Cardinals College. Apr18. Vatican Basilica.
http://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/homily-pro-eligendo-pontifice_20050418_en.html [29] Ridley, F. (2015). Nelson Mandela: It Always Seems Impossible until It’s Done. Grayslake, IL: ReadZone Books. [30] Rodiles, P. (2005) El Reto del Milenio: El Combate a la Pobreza ante la Globalización con Sentido Humanista—Propuesta de Solución que Involucra a: Organismos Internacionales, Gobiernos Mundiales, Empresarios del Mundo y Sociedad Civil Internacional. Tesis de Maestría, University of the Americas, Puebla, México. [31] Scola, A. (2009). La crisis económico financiera puede convertirse en ocasión de un sobresalto virtuoso—Cardenal Angelo Scola. Humanitas, 53.
http://www.humanitas.cl/html/biblioteca/articulos/d00065.html [32] Shapiro, F. R. (Ed.). (2006). Epstein, J. (Foreword). The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. [33] Sodano, A. (2009). Prólogo al Vademécum de definiciones de las encíclicas antropológicas de Juan Pablo II.
http://www.humanitas.cl/html/destacados/Cardenal%20Sodano.pdf [34] Strobel, B. (2005). America’s Dénouement: The Decline of Morality, Growth of Government and Impact of Modern Liberalism. Baltimore, MD: Publish America. [35] Taylor, C. (1995). The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. Trad. esp. de Pablo Carbajosa. La ética de la Autenticidad. Introducción de Carlos Thiebaut. Barcelona: Paidós. The Ethics of Authenticity was first published in Canada (1991) under to title The Malaise of Modernity. Concord, Ontario: Anansi. [36] The American Chesterton Society (ACS). (n.d.). Discover Chesterton. Frequently Asked Questions. When Man Ceases to Worship God.
http://www.chesterton.org/ceases-to-worship/ [37] Van Inwagen, P. (1994). Quam Dilecta. In T. V. Morris (Ed.), God and the Philosophers: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason (pp. 31-60). New York: Oxford University Press. [38] Williams, P., & Denney, J. (2015). 21 Great Leaders: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Influence. Uhrichsville, OH: Shiloh Run. [39] Yunus, M. (1998). Hacia un Mundo sin Pobreza. Traducción de Pablo Azócar (9a. edición, p. 79). Santiago de Chile: Andrés Bello.