Humanism: The Inhumane Alternative

Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s attacks on Gaza show how the political philosophy of humanism continues to ‘play both sides’ – resulting in no deeper inquiry or solutions, writes Rafael Holmberg

If we follow the line of early 20th Century sociological interpretation, beginning with Émile Durkheim, then politics and humanistic compassion cannot be separated.

Politics, as the collective formation of a social contract, required an element of ‘social cognition’ or empathetic relationality. At the same time, and especially since the dawn of neoliberal economic planning in the 1930s, political structures and financial powers seem to proceed mechanistically – divorced from any humanistic concerns.

Politics, if we are to judge by the exploits of Western foreign policy in the last 100 years, has left global welfare irreconcilable with the aggressive tactics of concentrated ideological appropriation.