Jeffrey Sachs: Ancient wisdom helps us find common values

QUFU, China, Oct. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a report from the Shandong Office of Hong Kong Business Daily. On September 27th, the 9th Nishan World Civilization Forum was held in Qufu, the hometown of Confucius. More than 1600 Chinese and foreign guests discussed the integration and mutual learning of civilizations, and worked together to address global challenges. Jeffrey Sachs, President of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Professor of Economics at Columbia University, delivered a keynote speech on "Introduction to Ancient Wisdom - Aristotle, Buddha, Confucius, and Contemporary Global Ethics." He believed that ancient wisdom can enable us to find common values for the 21st century.

He said that China's Global Civilization Initiative and the Nishan Forum are a unique place in the world, helping to establish the common values and communities we urgently need to solve these tensions, overcome world crises, and seek peace and harmony among countries around the world.

Nowadays, due to China's outstanding development and progress in many regions of the world, we have entered a multipolar world, and we have not formed a common understanding or shared values towards this new multipolar world. We are also facing unprecedented global challenges, with a series of environmental disasters happening in the world and even weapons to end humanity itself.

After years of exploration, I believe that ancient wisdom can help us heal our own society, help us understand each other, and make us remember history. We need to improve ourselves to improve society, and we need moral leaders to help cultivate the virtues of citizens. This is the common view of Aristotle, Shakyamuni, and Confucius.

Sixty years ago, President Kennedy's peace speech attempted to find a path towards peace with the Soviet Union through shared values. Like Kennedy, Confucius said that within the four seas, all are brothers. Today's Nishan Forum makes it possible for us to push the world towards a just and lasting peace.