Left Flank

I always assumed the Golden Rule was unexportable, but Hans Küng argues for a globalized ethics based on the Golden Rule and a modified form of the Abrahamic religions.

Likewise, Confucius was the first to formulate the Golden Rule of Reciprocity: «Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.» Through the spread of Chinese characters, the concept of ren and the Golden Rule spread throughout the vast Chinese-influenced area that reaches from Central Asia to Taiwan and from Korea to Singapore.

This Golden Rule, however, also appears in the Indian tradition. In Jainism, it is stated as: «A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.» In Buddhism: «A state that is not pleasant or delightful to me must also be so to him; and a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?» In Hinduism: «One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality.»

This «Golden Rule» can also, of course, be found in the Abrahamic religions. Rabbi Hillel (60 B.C.) said: «What is hurtful to yourself do not do to your fellow man.» Jesus worded it positively: «So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.» Islam, too, has a similar concept: «None of you believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.»

Moreover, such commonalities go beyond the principle of humanity and the Golden Rule of Reciprocity. Four concrete ethical rules were laid down in the Buddhist canon by Patanjali, the founder of Yoga, in the Chinese tradition and, of course, in the three prophetic religions: «Do not kill,» «do not steal,» «do not bear false witness,» and «do not abuse sexuality.»

These trans-cultural ethical rules form structural elements of a common human ethic, whatever we call it, and make almost irrelevant the idea of a deep antagonism between «Asian» and «Western» values. If Asia focuses on its trans-cultural ethical core, an entirely new spirit of unity can be developed that uses soft power instead of military force and does not know enemies, but only partners and competitors. In this way, Asia could catch up with the West in terms of its cultural integration while contributing to the establishment of a genuinely peaceful new world order.

This project differs from the West's human rights movement, which is based on natural law thinking. The point is rather to integrate values, standards, and attitudes of ethical-religious traditions that, while appearing in each culture in a specific form, are common to all, and that can be supported by non-religious people as well.