The experience and lessons of the 20th Century

　　1. Making great strides in the development of science and technology. From mechanical kinetics to the Internet, from improvements in various surgical techniques to outer space landings and embryo cloning, the development of science and technology in the 20th Century has progressed at a pace beyond imagination, especially in the last forty to fifty years. Breakthroughs in medical science and the invention of computers have transformed and extended human life.

　　Many developments in science and technology have resulted in an improvement in people's lives. But just as much technology is given to enhancing and improving the destructive capabilities of weapons, resulting in the Earth constantly living under the threat of “instant destruction”。

　　There are almost infinite possibilities in the application of the Internet, but the long-standing values and laws which humankind has held dear are undergoing tough challenges. It is certain that human beings will continue its association with technology and will become more reliant upon it. The pros and cons of technology will continue to follow us into the next century.

　　2. The appearance of a global village. The development of the modes of transportation and the emergence of the electronic media resulted in more rapid transmission of information. As the ability to mutually influence one another becomes greater in the world, the distances between people and between nations are becoming shorter. Exchanges in value and cultural systems become more rapid and it is difficult to put a stop to them. But rational communication between human societies has not increased correspondingly.

　　The minute division of labour in the production process, and increasing interdependency in trade and economy is evident in the financial crisis afflicting us at the end of this century. Economic activity is no longer purely a matter of production, trade and barter. It is a means to satisfy human desires of every kind. Within it, there is an element of unequal relationship between the strong and the weak. Faced with a stronger power, the weaker party has no avenues of escape, because “development” has become a fact of life that all political leaders must accept.

　　3. The lessons from the two world wars - mass destruction of lives, collapse of the world economy, disaster of a global scale. As military maps are being redrawn in the world, the United States has emerged as the sole superpower at the end of the 20th Century. However, some Americans lack the ability to reflect on the unilateral export of their culture. The cultural hegemony of the hawkish elements in political circles and the media makes it impossible to soften the impact of the clash between different ideologies.

　　One of the lessons that can be learned from the Second World War is the issues of race, religion and economy must be monitored and controlled. （The Europeans' appeasement policy towards irrational regimes would only aggravate the hidden dangers.） However, to monitor and control them, a strong and effective system of international coordination must be in place. We should not curb violence with violence. Actually, the most effective way is to raise the intellect of the people. An enlightened populace would be able to prevent internal armed conflicts and irrational actions. Then, they would be able to solve their own problems and monitor the government's actions.

　　4. The disaster caused by the antagonism between ideologies. Ideology is no longer a philosophical debate, but a tool employed by ambitious politicians and armchair idealists. Ideology remains a scourge today, but it is often disguised under various names and theories, and therefore hardly discernible. In this aspect, there is a similar need for the raising of the people's intellect and a perfect balance between politics and the law.

　　On the other hand, “idealism”, at the end of the century, is on the decline because of the end of the Cold War and the rise of hedonism. Instant material culture and electronic entertainment are causing the quick disappearance of the arts, literature and philosophy, like the “rain forest”。 But the behaviours and conditions which are borne out of the emptiness of the human spirit are getting worse by the day. The “fin de siecle” has become a shallow excuse.

　　5. The great division of the Chinese nation. The fall of the feudal dynasty and the ideological stalemate that followed resulted in the Chinese nation being divided for more than half a century. A hundred years of weakness, with the improvements in transportation and the increase in worldwide exchanges, set off a century of immigration, which has not stopped to this day. “Where there is sea water, there are Chinese” has become an ironic adage. To this day, the feudal political absolutism has not disappeared.

　　6. The widening gap between the rich and the poor, the developed and the undeveloped. The development of technology, medicine and trade has not made human society more equal, but instead, it has created bigger differences, to the extent that the weaker ones become the tidbits of the strong. This of course has a lot to do with the policies pursued by the poor countries, which is also caused by ignorance, selfishness, greed and so on. Probably the only way to gradually improve in the future is by having proper and adequate education. The emphasis is on education, and it is an education that places emphasis on both technology and the humanities. Only with adequate education in the humanities can a person clearly see the direction in which the country and the world is heading, and not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

　　Van Loon, a philosopher in the early 20th Century, left the legacy of “tolerance” to future generations. Humanity today possesses more wisdom and awareness than its forebears a century ago. Have we achieved the broad-mindedness to treat people who are different from us, and who hold different views, with tolerance？ Can we nurture a human spirit which is superior to the generation before, and with our warm hearts, hand it down to future generations？

　　二十世纪的经验和教训

　　再过几个月就进入公元2000年,新的世纪就在眼前,回首过去一百年,人类世界可说精彩绝伦,但也惊心动魄。有缘同生在当世的人,是不是可以在共同回首之际,冷静而虚心的放下成见,吸取教训,为子孙创造更美好的将来？

　　一、科技的长足发展——从机械动力到电脑网络,从各种内科手术的改进到登陆外星球和胚胎复制,20世纪的科技发展早已不止一日千里,特别是近四五十年来,医学上的突破和电脑的发明,让人类生活为之改观,寿命大为延长。

　　许多科技固然发挥了利民安生的正面效果,但也有不少用在加强和改良武器杀伤力方面的技术,让地球始终脱离不了“一举毁灭”的阴影。电脑网络应用领域几乎没有穷尽的开发,也不断让人类许多维持良久的价值观和法律基础受到严峻的挑战。可以肯定,人类在未来仍将与科技为伍,并且会愈来愈依赖它,科技之利与弊仍将伴随我们进入下一世纪。

　　二、地球村的出现——交通工具的发展和电子传媒的出现,信息传递加速,国际间相互影响力扩大,人与人、国与国的距离大大缩小,价值观与文化交流加速乃至难以隔绝,相对的是人类社会之间的理性沟通却未相应增加和提升。

　　而生产分工精细化,贸易与经济依存度提升的结果,从世纪末的金融风暴中可以看得一清二楚,经济活动不再是单纯的生产和交易、或互补有无的事情,而是人类满足各种欲望的手段,其中包含强权与弱者之间的不平等关系。弱者面对强权,甚至已经无所逃于天地间,因为“发展”已经是所有政治领袖都必须接受的现实。

　　三,两次大战的教训——生灵涂炭,经济崩溃,全球受灾。正当军事版图改写,美国得了渔翁之利,成为20世纪末的强权,但是部分美国人对文化的单向输出问题缺乏反省能力,政坛和舆论界鹰派人物对文化的霸权心态,让意识形态的对立仍无法在世纪末缓和。

　　两次大战的教训之一是,民族、宗教和经济问题必须受监控（欧洲国家对非理性政权的绥靖政策,只会让潜在危机恶化）,但是监控有赖强有力的国际协调,而非以暴制暴。其实的方式,应该是民智的提升,只有开明的百姓,才能避免内部的武力冲突和非理性行为,进而解决自己的问题,并监察政府的行为。

　　四,意识形态对立引起的灾难——意识形态不再只是哲学的思辩,而成为政治野心分子和空头理想主义者的工具,至今仍是祸害,但往往在各种名义和理论包装下,难以分辨。这一方面,同样有赖民智的提升与政治和法律上完美的制衡。

　　另一方面,“理想主义”到世纪末因冷战结束,享乐主义盛行而趋于没落。速食式的物质文化与电子化的休闲方式,让艺术、文学和哲学走向“热带雨林化”,迅速消失。但是人们因心灵空虚而出现的行为与现象,却日渐严重,“世纪末”成了浮浅的借口。

　　五,中华民族大分裂——封建王朝的覆灭与意识形态的僵持,让中华民族出现超过半个世纪的对峙。百年的积弱和交通的进步、世界的交流,则让中华民族掀起长达一个世纪的移民潮,至今未绝,“有海水的地方就有中国人”竟是一句反讽的话。而封建式的专断政治形态,至今也还没有结束。

　　六,贫富差距,先进与落后差距日大——科技、医疗、贸易的发展,并没有让人类社会变得更平均,反而是拉大彼此的差距,甚至让弱者成为强者的点心。这当然和穷国的政策有密切关系,但其实也就是愚昧、自私、贪婪等等问题使然。大概唯有正确而充分的教育,才能在未来的世代中逐步改善。重点就是教育,而且是技术与人文并重的教育,只有充分的人文教育才能让人看清楚国家和世界的走向,不再重蹈覆辙。

　　二十世纪初的哲学家凡龙（Van Loon）以“宽容”为遗产留给后世,今天的人类在经历一百年的波折之后,是不是比一个世纪前的祖先具备更多的智慧和意识,有没有锻¤出同样的胸襟,以宽容的心去对待“异己”,去接纳“异见”,并且培养出比上一代更优秀的心灵,以温暖的掌心传给下一代？

　　（作者是文化工作者）