If, on the other hand, we believe that humans are fundamentally cooperative, that they are all born with equal rights, that the long-term driving force of evolution is cooperation, not competition; that humans are part of nature, then we will develop governments and forms of governance respectful of human rights as well as of nature. These may take different forms in different places at different times, nurtured by different cultures.
I think all cultures have been fluctuating between these two poles of philosophic thinking: Humans are basically non-cooperative; or humans are basically cooperative. The first school of thought has run its course and could lead to the extinction of the human race -- which one day, sooner or later will disappear anyway, because everything that has a beginning has an end.
The second one is gaining strength. If it prevails, it may prolong human life on earth by a few thousand years. We are lead toward it by a number of circumstances, some presenting new challenges, some posing threats to our existence, some being ambiguous..:
. Changes in our perception of science: the emergence of a new scientific paradigm;
. the development of science-based post-modern High Technology, threatening to accelerate the extinction of humankind,
.whether through increasingly sophisticated arsenals of weapons of mass destruction,
. or through pollution poisoning the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat
. or through "globalization," sapping the ethical foundations of social relations while, on the other hand, making it more difficult to insist on self-centred certitude about the exclusive rightness of our own beliefs.
To meet these challenges and threats, the emerging "philosophy of ocean governance" is based on a number of new concepts and visions. The most seminal of all of these is probably
The common heritage of mankind
As elaborated by Ambassador Arvid Pardo of Malta -- and I had the privilege of being very much involved in this elaboration -- and as eventually articulated in the Law of the Sea Convention, the Common Heritage of Mankind (1) cannot be appropriated by any State or person: It is non-property; (2) it must be managed by an Authority representing the world community, for the benefit of mankind as a whole, with particular consideration for the needs of the poor; (3) it is reserved for exclusively peaceful purposes; and (4) it must be conserved for future generations who also a part of Mankind. Thus it has an economic dimension -- the Common Heritage must be developed; it has an environmental dimension -- it must be conserved; it has a peace & security dimension -- it is reserved exclusively for peaceful purposes; and it has an ethical dimension -- benefits are to be shared equitably, with particular consideration for the needs of the poor.
The integration of these four dimensions in one concept implies a holistic approach which links this first basic concept of the Law of the Sea Convention to the second one:
