Norms in conflict and confusion: Six stories in search of an author

Abstract

Political conflict involves the conflict of norms; yet resolution of political conflict requires that the disputants share some norms about conflict resolution. This presents a problem at the global level, where no such shared normative framework exists. The world is increasingly interconnected; yet the peoples of the world continue to embrace ideas of separateness which are reinforced by their various normative systems. The authors identify six major “stories”—worldviews or paradigms—competing in the current postmodern world: the Western-style mystique of progress, Christian fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalism, Marxist revolutionary ideology, Green politics, and the “new paradigm.” Each of this is in conflict with other normative systems, and none is adequate to serve as the normative framework for a global society. Whether or not such a society emerges depends on whether, as a fundamental characteristic, there exists an ability to deal with information—not only data and concepts, but also “meta-information” about the uses and limitations of information. Whatever the norms of a global information culture, its emergence will be accompanied by a protracted period of conflict and great stress for individuals and institutions of governance.