Social science expert from the National University of Singapore, Prof. Kishore Mahbubani, said that social science based on Western concepts and norms is no longer relevant in the current era. In the 21st Century that he calls the Asian Century, Asian social scientists must have a new way of thinking to understand the rapidly changing times.
“The world has fundamentally changed. But the problem is that the mind maps we have are primarily Western mind maps from the 19th and 20th centuries that can’t guide us in the 21st century”, he said.
He conveyed this in the Symposium on Social Science 2020: Rethinking the Social World in the 21st Century, which was held online by the Center for Southeast Asia Social Studies UGM from Monday (24/8) to Tuesday (25/8).
Mahbubani, a researcher who has written various works that bring Asian perspectives to the international arena, said that the map of world powers has shifted from European and American countries to Asia.
China, India, and Japan have become economically superior countries, while Indonesia is predicted to become a significant economic power in the next few years.
“Indonesia will benefit significantly from the changes that occur. In 2030 Indonesia will be in the 9th largest economy globally, and in 2050 Indonesia will be in the fourth position, even bigger than Japan”, he explained.
Amid this potential, he said there would be dangers if Asian countries continued to rely on western thinking to understand the Asian Century. Social scientists, in his opinion, must fundamentally challenge Western social science because current perspectives are still driven by values that are no longer relevant to Asia.
“We in Asia have to get into our minds and see what we need to change to understand the 21st century”, he said.
This year’s Symposium on Social Science raised the issue of change that information technology brings to society, which redefines the way individuals interact with one another and changes the nature of power in the community.
During this change, social science faces severe challenges, which if it is not responded to by adjusting the understanding of the world at hand, social science will face a bleak future.
“Amid the ongoing pandemic, which is an extraordinary challenge, it is very crucial to raise the spirit of scientific criticism and find solutions to problems that are plaguing modern and post-modern societies today”, explained the Head of PSSAT UGM, Prof. Dr.phil. Hermin Indah Wahyuni, M.Si.
On the same occasion, UGM Rector, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng., D.Eng, IPU, ASEAN Eng., Revealed that social scientists, in their various disciplines, must continue to strive to understand, reflect, rethink, and critically analyze the social world.
It is especially relevant amid a global pandemic situation that has been and will still present uncertainty to the community.
“Life in the 21st Century has been and will continue to be filled with new and different situations. In a post-pandemic world, where we will exist side by side with Covid-19, we will continue to be affected by uncertainties on a local and global scale”, said UGM Rector.
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/19936-konsep-ilmu-sosial-barat-tidak-relevan-di-abad-ke-21
