New Year's 2000 Address by Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic

My dear fellow citizens,

Today at midnight we entered a year that marks a great turn of ages.
At moments such as this, people have traditionally felt challenged to
engage in a more fundamental reflection about themselves; about the
world; and, about the meaning of all things. I believe that there are
strong reasons why we, the citizens of the Czech Republic, should make
the coming year a time of renewed thought about our life together; about
the character of our society, our system and our state; about its
position and its direction; as well as about our concept of our own
existence. And I would deem it marvelous if, as a result of such
thought, the new year brought also an actual major change for the
better.

If I were to most succinctly characterize the situation of the world, of
which we are today-willingly or unwillingly - an inseparable component,
I would describe it as a true warning.

Some estimates foresee as many as forty billion people living on the
Earth toward the end of the coming century and expect that such a number
can constitute a serious threat to the very existence of life on this
planet. Various non-renewable resources, whether it be fuel or other
raw materials, are being consumed at an ever faster pace; entire species
are dying out; and, humankind is knowingly depriving itself of such a
vital substance as oxygen. At the same time, globalization is
progressing at an almost dizzying speed, which means that our planet
finds itself - probably for the first time in its history -increasingly
covered by a coat of one single civilization. It is becoming a
unified and electronically interconnected information, communication,
finance and business environment, in which not only news but also
billions of dollars, cultural values, or pseudo-values, beneficial as
well as harmful properties, and sound as well as ill-advised attitudes
toward life travel at the velocity of light. An extremely dangerous
phenomenon consists in the fact that the uniformizing pressure which the
increasingly globalized civilization brings to bear on the rapidly
growing population generates many new social antagonisms. The
endeavor of various communities to defend their identity and uniqueness
under these conditions multiplies conflicts among cultures, ethnic
groups and traditions of civilization. The gigantic urban
agglomerations, into which the progress of civilization inevitably
compresses the human race, destroy natural, easily surveyable human
communities, and thus also natural tools of moral societal self-control,
which logically leads to a further growth of the crime rate. Along
with global trade, and with an increasingly sophisticated technology,
possibilities arise also for an unprecedented advancement of organized
crime and terrorism.

At the same time, the current character of global market economy and its
institutions facilitates various types of economic injustice,
short-sighted egoism, and parasitism. The integrating giant
supranational corporations have an ever greater influence on the
politics of states as well as of international organizations and
jeopardize free economic competition. Wealthy states with advanced
economies make an effort in order that the markets of poor countries are
open to them in the greatest possible measure, while they close their
own markets to others. It is probably not a sign of a good trend
when the property of the three richest people in the world exceeds in
worth the combined gross national products of a group of developing
countries with a total of six hundred million inhabitants, many of whom
suffer from famine. The world economy is flourishing in an amazing
manner, and yet, there are eighty countries where the average income of
the people is much lower now than it was ten years ago. The volume of
computer-aided money laundering has already reached five percent of the
economic output of the whole humanity, and drug trafficking now
represents eight percent of world trade - more than the trade in cars or
steel. Management of transfers of money, capital or ownership rights
brings much higher profits than generation of real values. I am
afraid that it is much more lucrative in this country to do business in
the sphere of the various PR agencies, consultancy firms, or
intermediary services than, for example, to build fine houses for
medium-income people or to cultivate the increasingly neglected forests.

The concept of human rights and the endeavor to build and consolidate
democratic institutions is successfully spreading across the world, but
the same is unfortunately true also of the numerous modern vices, such
as the dictatorship of advertisement and consumerism, a brainless
commercial culture, violence on television, or the growing domination of
media manipulators and sloganeers over thoughtful politicians.

But this is not everything; perhaps this is not the main thing at
all. The fatal dangers threatening our civilization also include the
growing risks associated with modern research and technology, whether it
be the dangers of computer piracy, or directly of terrorism; possible
abuses of genetic engineering; or, even the risk of losing all control
over the arsenals, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

All these and other threats to our civilization are well known to
humanity - they are being dealt with by special disciplines of science,
at many global conferences as well as in many books addressing the issue
at both expert and popular levels.

Nevertheless, the world is lacking in real determination to reverse
unfavorable trends. As if, through some sort of inertia and against
the call of common sense, the prevalent concept was that of "apres nous
le déluge" - that is, immediate interests taking precedence over
long-term ones. In my opinion, this is so because the humanity of
today - without being properly aware of it - is losing the age-old
humility before the secret of the origin, the order, and the intentions
of Being, that is, before that which reaches far beyond us;
consequently, people are also losing a sense of responsibility for the
world as a whole, and of responsibility before the eyes of
eternity. Globalization in the fields of information and business
is not accompanied by a growing sense of global responsibility.
Conscience appears to be limping behind science, research, and
technology, or behind that type of human knowledge which determines
their main direction today.

It is true that millions of people still go to their churches or
shrines, pray to their gods, some, allegedly in their gods' names, even
wage battles against other people. In reality, however, humanity
behaves as if there was nothing above us, as if-notwithstanding the
transient nature of our existence, and the limitations of our ability to
understand the meaning of things-we were the makers, the masters, and
the owners of the universe.

To sum up: At the turn of the third millennium after Christ, the human
world appears to be more interconnected, and also more imperiled, than
it ever was in its previous history.

What should we conclude from all this?

One thing of fundamental importance: We should perceive-much more
intensively than before-that we are not only members of our family,
employees, or owners of our company, inhabitants of our village or town,
representatives of our profession, members of our association or party
and individuals belonging to a nation, but also inhabitants of this
Earth. We should be aware that the fate of every one of us is
affected by the fate of the entire human race more than it was ever
before and, at the same time, that every one of us is now more
co-responsible for the fate of the globe than we were in any previous
period.

I know how unpopular it sounds, but I cannot help telling you this: We
shall hurt ourselves most if we care about nothing but ourselves.
We must not be indifferent to what happens around us; or to the face of
our country, of its landscape, of our towns and villages; we must not
think only about having a fine house and garage of our own, but also
about that which surrounds them; we cannot defend solely the interests
of our own company or our profession, we must also pay regard to the
interests of others; we cannot think that there is nothing but the Czech
Republic, we must know that there is also Kosovo, Chechnya, Somalia,
Rwanda, East Timor, as well as Tibet, Burma, Cuba, North Korea, and the
now severely tried Venezuela; we must recognize and respect the quality
of life, and the multiplicity of colors in it, and we must properly
appreciate the worth of human togetherness; of solidarity; and, of a
shared creative commitment, as values ranking much higher than mere
profits. It is, of course, no disgrace to have money or
possessions. On the contrary: Such wealth can, and should, be a sign
of success in generating values that improve the overall level of
life. On the other hand, it is disgraceful to amass money or
possessions in ways that are detrimental to other people's right to
human dignity and to living in a fair society and a law-ruled state; to
the overall quality of life and of the environment; to the beauty of a
country's landscape and of its settlements; to the future. The law
of supply and demand cannot completely explain the world; it cannot
explain even such natural things as helping a fellow being in need;
longing for a child and taking care of one's children; desiring to live
in harmony with a healthy nature and to be part of a community united by
mutual trust, goodwill, and good cheer; nor can it explain why many
regard freedom - including freedom in business - as something that is
worth sacrificing a part of their lives, risking their lives, or even
dying for, as it was proved by those of our fellow citizens who joined
in active resistance against dictatorships and occupations.

My dear fellow citizens, I am afraid that politics and everyday life are
becoming alarmingly estranged in this country in the past few years and
months. At the same time, a special kind of animosity, ill will,
egoism, disrespect for both legal and moral rules, greed, skepticism,
maybe even cynicism, has been on the rise in both public life and
economy. Many people cease to trust one another, and many begin to
see their primary concern in not being robbed, or-worse still-in how
best to take someone else in. It sometimes seems to me that we have
taken over from today's global market economy, in the first instance,
all the worst things - those which others have already begun to
systematically combat.

Let us make the year 2000 - the year at the turn of ages - also a year
of change. Let us seek a change in our political culture, in the
culture of our public life, in the order of precedence of our values, in
the direction we pursue as individuals, in the importance we attach to
civic association, as well as in our concept of the role and purpose of
the state. Let us try to do more for the wider communities - be it
the civic communities to which we belong or the entire contemporary
humankind. Let us try to finally give our country a clear,
long-term, universally understandable program that will meet the
requirements of the coming era. It is true that every one of us
lives in a world of his or her own, which is different from other
people's worlds. Let all of us try to look beyond the borders of
our small worlds, to see farther in both time and space. Fairly
little is needed for a start: We could, for instance, give much more
support to all the organizations that help suffering people in various
parts of the world. By global standards, we belong to the more
advanced countries. Why, therefore, could we not be more generous
in this round number year in excusing the debts of some of the poorest
nations? Such a gesture alone will not save the world. But it
will show that we feel co-responsible for its future.

The new concept of humanity's mission on this Earth can best be promoted
by force of example. Why could we not begin to live a little bit
more modestly, in the general interest, which is our own interest as
well? Why could we not exert a much more energetic effort in order
that all our companies have truly wise management and that they produce,
at a low cost, high-quality articles for which there is demand, and
which do not harm the world? It is appalling to see how our banks
lose dozens, if not hundreds, of billions of crowns and, at the same
time, to know that there are companies which do not pay their employees
for their work. It is sad that our most influential political
parties are suspected of dark dealings, possession of mysterious
accounts and tax evasions, or that a person responsible for a loss of
billions or a propagator of racism remains unpunished, while many of
those who were political prisoners in the 1950s have not yet been
granted even so much as decent pensions. But one thing is still
worse than all this: the fact that we are so little surprised to see
this happen. I think it will do no harm at all if we occasionally
feel more surprised at the bad things around us, because feeling
surprised is the first step toward probing into their true causes, and
toward speedy remedial action.

It is not true that all is bad and all is lost, or that everything must
be swept away by some windstorm. Just the opposite: This society
possesses a huge potential of goodwill, creativity, industry, kindness,
and yearning for a better human environment. The matter is to
release this potential, to encourage it, to give it more latitude.
This is a task for politicians, but not only for them. It is a
task for all people involved in public activities; for all those holding
responsible positions; and, actually, for all of us - citizens of the
Czech Republic who mean well for this country.

There is hope for us. I am more certain of it now than I was ever
before. But we cannot simply wait for this hope to be
fulfilled. We have to fulfil it ourselves. Perhaps, among other
things, by shaking up all those who possess influence, but slumber
instead of acting.

Dear friends, I do not know whether I have the right to thank you for
all the good deeds that you have performed in your various fields,
because you have not done these things for me, but for us all. But I
know what I have the right to do: I can - even though some may dismiss
it as a mere moralizing a hundred times over - share with you my opinion
as to how we all, without distinction, could and should enrich our
behavior, add more depth to it, or change our conduct in this coming
year.

This is all the more relevant in light of the fact that the coming turn
of ages can indeed be a moment of crucial importance to us - a moment
that will clearly show what options we have chosen: Whether we shall
shut ourselves in our own world, suicidally cutting ourselves off from
the world around us; or, whether we shall join the others in taking upon
our shoulders the burden of deciding about the future of our
civilization; whether we shall be a modern and open civil society; or -
though situated in the center of Europe -merely an uninteresting
marginal state, bogged down in some local quarrels that even its own
citizens find hard to understand.

Finally, if there is something for which I should like to thank you on
this very day, ten years after the change of regime and ten years after
my first election to this office, it is primarily this: I thank you for
having so unequivocally opted for a good direction ten years ago; for
persevering, even though so many of your expectations still remain
unfulfilled; and, for bearing for so long with all of us whom the
revolutionary times once elevated to political offices.

I wish for us all the best at the turn of ages in the year 2000!

I wish for us all a great return of hope - for our personal lives; for
the life of our country; as well as for the life of the entire
humankind!

Happy New Year!

Vaclav Havel