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Libya
Third Universal Theory
In the early 1970s, Qadhafi began to synthesize and expand his
ideas of Arab unity, independence, economic egalitarianism, and
cultural authenticity into the Third Universal Theory. The importance
of this new theory to the regime was shown by the creation of
the Higher Council for National Guidance on September 10, 1972.
The council comprised the RCC chairman; the ASU secretary general;
the minister of education; the minister of information and culture;
the minister of youth and social affairs; the minister of planning,
the University of Libya's president; the administrative chairmen
of religious endowments; the Muslim Call Society chairman, and
the ASU secretary of thought and culture.
The Higher Council for National Guidance was created to disseminate
and implement Qadhafi's Third Universal Theory (also seen as the
Third International Theory or simply the Third Theory). The Third
Universal Theory was predicated on the belief that the two dominant
socio-politico-economic ideologies--capitalism and communism--had
been proved invalid. According to the theory, capitalism placed
the good of a few individuals ahead of that of the community as
a whole; communism so emphasized the community that individual
development was stifled. Nations constituting what is commonly
referred to as the Third World were caught between proponents
of the two ideologies: the United States and the Soviet Union,
both of which, according to Qadhafi, were "imperialist states
which seek to achieve their ambitions by extending their zones
of influence."
Qadhafi proclaimed that the Third Universal Theory, because it
was based on the Quran, predated capitalism and communism. Furthermore,
it offered an alternative. It rejected the class exploitation
of capitalism and the class warfare of communism, finding that,
in practice at least, systems based on both ideologies were dominated
by a small elite. According to the Third Universal Theory, classes
were an artificial colonial import. Far from building a system
that rested on some form of class relations, the theory sought
to eliminate class differences. It embodied the Islamic principle
of consultation (shura), by which community or even national
affairs would be conducted through mutual consultation in which
the views of all citizens were exchanged. This principle was manifested
later in Libya in the creation of people's committees and popular
congresses (see Subnational Government and Administration , this
ch.).
The Third Universal Theory was an attempt to establish a philosophical
grounding, based on Islam, for positive neutrality on the part
of Third World nations. Under the theory, Third World states could
coexist with the United States and the Soviet Union, and they
could enter into agreements with them for their own purposes.
But Third World states in general and Arab states in particular
should not fall under the dominance of either of the two ideological,
imperialist superpowers. In dividing the world between the two
superpowers and their supposed prey, the Third Universaal Theory
anticipated much of what has come to be called the North-South
interpretation of international relations, whereby the world is
divided into natural-resource-consuming nations (the industrialized
North) and the natural-resource-producing nations (the underdeveloped
South). Indeed, Qadhafi has championed this interpretation of
international relations (see Foreign Relations , this ch.). Guided
by this viewpoint, Libya has been a strong supporter of national
liberation movements against colonial regimes, even though the
terrorist tactics used by some groups have tarnished Libya's international
reputation and led to economic sanctions and to military attacks
in mid-1986.
Central to the Third Universal Theory are the concepts of religion
and nationalism as embodied in Islam. Qadhafi believes that religion
and nationalism have been the "two paramount drives that moved
forward the evolutionary process. They constitute man's history
as they have formed nations, peoples, wars." In short, Qadhafi
believes that religion determines human actions and interactions.
The atheism of the communists is another reason Qadhafi finds
their ideology invalid. According to Qadhafi, communists cannot
be trusted because they fear no ultimate judgment and thus may
break their word if they consider it beneficial in any particular
case. Islam, as the essence of monotheism, is the true religion
that encompasses Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all of whom followed
God's prophets. The differences among these religions exist not
because of the prophets' teachings but because of differences
among their followers.
According to Qadhafi, if religion is basic to the individual,
nationalism is basic to the society. The Quran refers to tribes
and nations that are inherent in the universe. A person belongs
to a nationality upon birth. Only later does he or she become
a conscious member of a religion. Thus, Qadhafi faults those who
deny the validity of nationality. His concept of nationality,
therefore, relates to his concept of Arab unity.
In this regard, Qadhafi adheres to the traditional, secularly
based view of Arab nationalism propounded by such thinkers as
Michel Aflaq, a founder and key political philosopher of the Baath
Party, and Nasser. For Qadhafi, nationalism takes precedence over
religion. In a wide-ranging speech before the GPC meeting in Sabha
on March 2, 1987, Qadhafi denounced Islamic fundamentalism as
"nonsense" and stated that "no banner should be hoisted over the
Arab homeland except the banner of pan-Arabism."
Data as of 1987
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