MODUS VIVENDI: CONCEPT OF COEXISTENCE IN PLURALIST GLOBAL SOCIETY

Modus vivendi is Gray's political concept which he links to Hobbes' political theory whose purpose is to temporarily establish the coexistence of intransigent sides i.e ways of life. In other words, modus vivendi is a solution aimed at limiting the scope of political insecurity in plural societies by providing the minimal content of coexistence. Since this is offered as a potential solution for contemporary societies marked by value-pluralist conflicts, the author looks into the probability of the successfulness of the modus vivendi concept of coexistence. The fact is that the modus vivendi has been criticized to be a concept that generates problems it does not provide answers to, such as the issue of stability and morality/justice. In Hobess' traditional interpretation which Gray adopted, these are not the questions that the pluralist modus vivendi approach should provide answers for. The author, however, has adopted the argument according to which Hobbes and Rawls insist on an immediate political goal i.e. stability (peace) and justice. Gray's modus vivendi follows Hobbes' blueprint of the state of commodious life. The best example of common institutions created on assumption of modus vivendi toleration is European Union.