The Spirit of Global Belonging: Perspectives from Some Humanity-Oriented Icons

Abstract

Many forces are making the world increasingly smaller and a movement for global citizenship is underway. Better technology and transportation now facilitating greater mobility among people; borders for ideas, in particular, are virtually disappearing. Many national and international organizations acknowledging this are reinventing themselves to not only benefit from it, but also serve as catalysts. Major multinational corporations are embracing global citizenship. Leading institutions of higher learning in many developed countries are integrating the notion into their curriculums. Although global citizenship is still a loosely defined term legally, politically and institutionally, there are efforts - academic and otherwise, to scope out its notion.

Of course, before the movement for global citizenship gathers momentum, the spirit of global-belonging (aka belonging to the world) ought to be widely embraced. In this brief essay, we explore the need for the spirit by reviewing the ideas of several icons of twentieth century: Einstein, a name most known to science, Martin Luther King, Jr., world renowned for the struggle against racism, Mohandas Gandhi, a well known spiritual and political leader from India, and Kazi Nazrul, a name little known beyond his region and language.

Keywords: Global Belonging, Humanity-orientation, Global citizenship, one humanity, Islam, Universalism, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Einstein, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Non-violence

JEL Classification: Z00