Editorial                                 

The articles in this issue address some of the ideological openings and closures of contemporary societies, inspired by the zeitgeist or by the oldest religious doctrines.

Marc Luyckx projects himself  into a future which, after the COVID crisis, will challenge human societies and their political leaders with possible economic and financial crises and will force them to opt for new economic, monetary, social and cultural systems.

Haider A. Khan discusses both the achievements and failures of global capitalism in the context of pandemics, global warming and other impending crises, assuming a truly sustainable and just world economic order. In particular, he examines the responsibility of the institutions managing the global economy, the existing (multi)regional institutions or to those to be created, and he asks how the IMF should be reformed to ensure the well-being of people, especially in BRICS countries, after the failures and crises of the 21st century.

Based on the North American populist movements, Nicole Morgan looks at the new global powers, beyond the right and the left, which are creating new fractures, in particular with the “super predators” as well as a mosaic of states harbouring populist ideas of all kinds focused on extending the common good to the whole planet.

Daniele Archibugi returns to Europe to describe the nationalist movements fostered by the arrival of refugees, even though they do not constitute a “crisis”, and even if EU institutions are unable to manage the flow of refugees as asylum seekers, many of whom are forced to escape from the conflicts generated or unresolved by the EU’s own member countries.

It is also in the European context that Pierre Calame wonders whether the 21st century will be able to inherit the Enlightenment of the past, and to propose to the world answers to the challenges that will arise, particularly for the next generations, beyond the exercise of exclusive sovereignty and in line with the only geopolitical innovation of the 20th century.

Marcel Comby places himself in the perspective of Teilhard de Chardin, independently of conventional religious dogmas, to take up a conception of the « eternal feminine » that would situate a reality of an ontological order allowing the human being to place himself in a state of receptivity rather than in a state of perpetual conquest to flee the instability of an illusive and superficial present.

Raphaël Sandoz uses the history of scientific disciplines and theit evolving modes of interaction to interpret the flood of data accumulated by knowledge and the failures caused by hyperspecialisation. He questions the articulation of disciplines in this context and the significance of their boundaries in the pursuit of scientific research.

Andrea Caniato, on the other hand, examines the difficult adaptation of contemporary techniques, and describes the acoustic problems of simultaneous interpreting in teleconferencing, due to the lack of sound frequencies and the concentration of spectral energy, which are contrary to the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The “Documents and debates” and “Writings” sections include commentaries on current issues. Marcel Comby discusses the fate of the biosphere, Sami Aldeeb looks at the possibility or impossibility of creating two states in the Israeli-Palestinian context and Yves Beigbeder comments on the multiple implications of recent geopolitical events.

Paul Ghils