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Abstract
Taking into account potentially irreversible processes, it is our common responsibility to bear in mind "the ethics of time". We should act in a way that will prevent us from taking a path that allows no return. We have to specifically take into account next generations: our legacy cannot condemn them to have the worst standard of living and prevent them from fully exercising their distinctive capacities. The past has already been written. It must now be accurately described. We must learn from the lessons of the past to be able to invent the future. To be able to provide all required rights to each and every human being so we can all have a dignified life. The time has come to raise our voices with both serenity and resolution. The time has come for the emancipation of citizenship, for "We, the peoples...", as stated in the UN Charter. We need peace within each human being, peace at home, peace in the villages, in the cities... worldwide peace. Therefore, the time has come for a great mobilization at the global scale so that peoples at last take control of their own common destiny. Words are our only "mass construction weapons". Enough! The time has now come to "rescue" the citizens and, to that end, we must make a quick and courageous shift from an economy of war to an economy of global and sustainable development. The time has come for action!
"Tomorrow might be too late".
1.Introduction
Human beings are the sole species who are able to anticipate, to use knowledge to foresee, to use foresight to prevent. Today, at the dawn of the 21st century and the beginning of the third millennium, this prospective capacity has become more relevant than ever because, for the first time in history, mankind must face global challenges that could lead to points of no-return if they are not dealt with in due time. All inhabitants of the Earth must be held responsible for this potential irreversibility. Scientists, academicians, artists and intellectuals should, in particular, place themselves at the forefront of an overall mobilization against big powers that are exclusively driven by short term interests, and remain blind and ignorant when faced with a situation that puts...