AAKM-UNIVERSALITY-OF-ATATURKS-PHILOSOPHY

Reproduced by Australian Atatürk Cultural Centre Inc. 2 Introduction Atatürk was educated at military schools and the Staff College where the technological and socio-cultural impact of the Western world on the Ottoman Empire was greatest. He made a thorough study of government, a subject which attracted the attention of all Ottoman and Western thinkers of his time. His studies led him to the conclusion that freedom of the individual and national independence are the comer- stones of social administration. From this he derived the principles of solidarity and the interdependence of one man on another. He envisaged independence as stemming from the freedom of the human mind. He was opposed to the constraining of this freedom as much by religion as by Communist, Nazi or Fascist dogma. No way of thinking which enslaves the human mind should gain any influence in the Republic of Turkey. This was to be ensured by the secular basis of the Republic. The implementation of Atatürk's reforms in Turkey coincided with the enforcement of Marxist doctrine in Russia, something which deprived individuals of their liberties and national groups of their independence. The same post World War I era witnessed the advent of Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany, both of which likewise deprived people of their freedom and jeopardised the independence of neighbouring countries. There is no difference between the communist theory which advocates the building of a happy, democratic world through armed revolution and the practices of Nazi or Fascist governments. Their promises of peace, order and prosperity are all deceptive. And if we recall that the world has had less than 300 days of peace since the beginning of history1 , the failure over past centuries of different forms of government to bring about man's happiness will become apparent. Under theocratic or doctrinaire government it will be observed that the way people think becomes conditioned by religion or doctrine and as a result they lose their freedom. Thus the human mind is enslaved. In the nineteenth century, some people in the West had taken the initiative of founding clubs with the object of giving effect to their humanitarian ideals. The fact that they advocated brotherhood among peoples irrespective of differences in colour, race, language or religion provides a clue as to why Atatürk sought solutions to the socio-cultural questions of his time. Atatürk was of the opinion that his vision, which envisaged human happiness as stemming from solidarity and interdependence, could only become a reality if all nations of the world were educated in the same spirit. It follows that the ultimate goal of Atatürk's thinking is to establish universal peace, happiness and prosperity. He wants the nations of the world to live in freedom and equality within their own boundaries. Starting from this basis, he asks that the 1 LEON, F. Saul; Emotional Maturity, the Development and Dynamics of Personality, second edition, Pennsylvania Univ. Press. 1960. p. 122

AAKM-UNIVERSALITY-OF-ATATURKS-PHILOSOPHY

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