Resolving the crisis: from turmoil to new practice

Abstract

The main focus of this study is the current crisis that rocks our civilization and poses a threat to its survival. It is a very broad phenomenon that has many aspects; and one study is not enough to cover it. For this reason, this study has chosen to focus on one segment of this broad phenomenon—the turmoil on student campuses in America. The student unrest is an integral component of the broader crisis. It is a microcosm of the general crisis and shares many features with it. An examination of the student unrest will help understand the broader turmoil that has engulfed America and the world. The study explores the main aspects of the student unrest and its development. It pays particular attention to the illiberal turn that this unrest has taken and offers its explanation of the reason for the rise of illiberalism in American educational institutions. The study also explores principal theoretical perspectives on this development and the solutions proposed to address the unrest. The study sees the principal source of the unrest in the problem of difference. The current liberal social practice cannot solve this problem that originates in exclusion and inequality that remain persistent features of our civilization. The study proposes a new approach in resolving the current crisis. In contrast to the liberal practice, this approach uses the universal process of creation as its main organizing principle. Unlike the liberal approach that uses selective inclusion, the approach proposed by this study practices universal inclusion and equality. The use of universal inclusion and equality will eliminate exclusion and inequality and thus contribute to the resolution of the current crisis. The study also discusses the main aspects and features of the new social practice that it proposes.