Identification with the human species: A challenge for the twenty-first century

The unanticipated proliferation of ethnic conflicts, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern European satellites, poses a perplexing question: Can human beings develop an identification with more inclusive social units than ethnic/racial groupings and nation-states? A concentric circle model is presented of multiple identities, from the self to the human species. Achieving an identification with the human species-a substantial challenge for the twenty-first century-would have profound implications for the incidence and resolution of interethnic and international conflicts.