European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

66 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND SOCIETYand development which may be aroused in man, rather than simplyrelying on his innate goodness. The history of Humanism provides us withplenty of opportunities to believe in what Hegel (1770-1831) called thecleverness of reason (der List der Vernunft), a doctrine which can serve tostrike a blow against the inexorable changes in power relations, howeverunequal these may be in terms of oppression. When considering theHumanities as European cultural heritage, it is false to say that we havereached The end of history (Fukuyama), since the future is still open. Theend of history is what happened, for instance, in 14th century Italy, whena handful of men felt compelled to bring the Ancient World back to life,trusting in their ability to create a world according to their requirements.This reluctance to accept a deterministic view of man or of history, andthe postulation that free men can overcome adversity and shape thefuture, is what the Humanist tradition has represented for the last sevenhundred years. For all those who refuse to accept the Smithian-Hobbesianvision that the future of mankind is characterized by the desire forunlimited profiteering, need, illness, exploitation, precariousness, violenceand fear, Humanism holds a spiritually uplifting promise. This is clearlynot enough for those who crave security and guarantees; however, forthose who decide to face up to adversity in order to be in control of theirdestiny, and for those who use their faith to confront power relationshipswhich subjugate mankind, Humanism is still a highly attractiveproposition.In any case, the relevance of the Humanist tradition lies more firmlyin its capacity to help us to find solutions to new problems than in thevalues with which our societies have been bequeathed. Let us teachfrom a new perspective: let us present history, literature and the finearts as questioning current power relationships and hegemonic thought,and as the response of practical reasoning to the needs and questionsof today’s youth, rather than considering their past greatness. In thefinal analysis, this was the role played by the discovery of the AncientWorld during the Renaissance, providing young people with an excitingheritage to explore, one through which they were able to work towardsfinding responses to the conflicts surrounding them and the questionsthey asked themselves. The Humanist tradition, which is not confined tothe Ancient World but which spans twenty-five centuries of history, isthe only one which can provide children’s and young people’sexperiences with some sort of meaning. The protests in Seattle, inDecember 1999, Porto Alegre, in 2001, and even a few weeks ago inWashington, have still advanced no further than mere protests, sincethose involved have been incapable of coming up with an alternative tocurrent power relationships and hegemonic thought. The organizers of