Symposium on Humanist Manifesto II: beyond Humanist Manifesto II - has the manifesto become meaningless 25 years after creation

Humanist, Sept-Oct, 1998 by Paul Kurtz

This issue of the Humanist marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Humanist Manifesto II. It was within these pages a quarter of a century ago that the document was first published in its entirety, complete with a list of internationally prominent signatories. Since that time, thousands of people from all walks of life have added their names to the list--responding with enthusiasm to what is often considered the statement of the humanist philosophy. Humanist Manifesto II, together with its predecessor Humanist Manifesto I, is perhaps the most widely circulated and quoted expression of humanism ever published, having been reprinted frequently over the years and made freely available in pamphlet form and through the Internet from a wide and growing variety of sources all over the world.

As the Humanist prepared to commemorate this silver anniversary, the original 1973 signers of Humanist Manifesto II were sought out and asked to comment on the manifesto's relevance for today. They were also encouraged to join in a symposium to recommend ideas for a possible third manifesto. A special invitation was extended to Paul Kurtz, who originally drafted Humanist Manifesto II, to write at length on these subjects and thus formally launch the symposium in this publication. His article appears first, followed by "Reflections" from eleven more of the original signers. In the next issue of the Humanist, this symposium will continue with analyses by additional signers as well as nonsigners.

I was editor of the Humanist from 1967 to 1978. In the twenty years since, this is the first time I have written for the magazine. I am pleased to accept its invitation to present my thoughts about the creation of Humanist Manifesto II, which I drafted twenty-five years ago, and to offer suggestions about what should be included in a third humanist manifesto.

Reflecting the Times

It is not possible to write a permanent manifesto as a guideline for the future of humankind, given the rapidity of social change. What is important today, in my judgment, is the need to defend a set of basic humanist principles and values and relate them to the present global situation.

Humanist Manifesto I was written in 1933, reflecting the social conditions at the depth of the great economic depression that then enveloped the world. Thus it reflected a communitarian and socialist outlook, arguing for economic and political planning on a national scale. Drafted by philosopher Roy Wood Sellars of the University of Michigan, completed by Raymond Bragg, a Unitarian minister, and a panel of others, and endorsed by thirty-four people, primarily Unitarian ministers, it expressed a religious humanist outlook. John Dewey, the most distinguished signer, endorsed it but had nothing to say about its content.

I drafted Humanist Manifesto II in 1973, forty years later. The fascism that had risen to ascendancy in Europe in the 1930s, challenging the basic values of democratic humanism, had since been defeated after a protracted world war. In the early 1970s, the world faced a new threat: Leninism-Stalinism had by then emerged as a major force to contend with, and totalitarian ism seemed to be expanding its controlling influence everywhere. Moreover, the new left student movement embroiled the campuses of America in conflicts, proclaiming a new agenda for transforming societies.

Humanist Manifesto II was unique in that it defended human rights on a global scale, arguing, for example, for the right to travel beyond national frontiers at a time when people behind the Iron Curtain were prohibited from doing so. Many Marxist humanists in Eastern Europe had attacked totalitarian statism and welcomed a defense of democracy and human rights. Humanist Manifesto II no longer defended a planned economy but left the question open to alternative economic systems. Thus it was endorsed by both liberals and economic libertarians who defended a free market, as well as democratic socialists who believed that the government should have some role to play in a welfare society. It sought to democratize economic systems and test them by whether or not they increased economic well-being for all individuals and groups.

Humanist Manifesto II was written in the wake of Vatican II, which had attempted to liberalize Roman Catholicism, and at a time when a new moral revolution seemed upon us. The manifesto defended the right to privacy, sexual freedom between consenting adults, abortion, and euthanasia, as well as the rights of minorities, women, the aged, abused children, and the disadvantaged. It advocated tolerance of alternative life-styles and the peaceful negotiation of differences. It deplored racial, religious, and class antagonisms and called for an end to terror and hatred. It left room for both naturalistic humanism and liberal religious humanism and was optimistic about the prospects for humankind. It pointed to the positive benefits of science and technology for human good and prophesied that the twenty-first century could become the humanist century.