[governance] CS Participation in the High-Level Leaders Meeting

[Norbert Bollow]

Wolfgang Kleinwächter <wolfgang.kleinwaechter at medienkomm.uni-halle.de>:

> would it make sense to discuss before the meeting what the IGC
> position is on "harmony in cyberspace"? 
> I personally would not subscribe any understanding of "harmony" which
> delegates some decision making power to a (Governmental?
> Non-Governmental?) "referee" who would tell users what is in harmony
> and what is against harmony. Ethical issues are difficult to define
> and it is nearly impossible to reach consensus among different
> cultures.

+1

Furthermore, it is not clear that large-scale “harmony” serves any
useful purpose besides suppression of dissent is pseudo-democracies
like China.

(My concern here is specifically about attempts at *large-scale*
harmony. I have no objection against harmony in small groups which are
somehow self-selected on the basis of agreeing about something.)

But maybe what they mean with “harmony” is something that differs
from what the word means in English? This word “harmony” may have
come to us as translation of a Chinese word with a set of meanings
which differs from the set of meanings of the English word.

If what they mean is something like “disagreements should not lead
to insults, nor to suppression of dissent, but to civilized discourse”,
then I'd agree with the intended meaning, and I'd just insist that
words must be used which actually express what is meant.

Greetings,
Norbert

-- 
Recommendations for effective and constructive participation in IGC:
1. Respond to the content of assertions and arguments, not to the person
2. Be conservative in what you send, be liberal in what you accept

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