I have devoted only limited attention on my blog to the subject of LGBTQ+ rights. This is neither an oversight nor an attempt to distance myself from the respect owed to every human being. It is a deliberate methodological choice. The articles addressing this topic are not among the 333 essays that will remain permanently available because I consider the issue to be closely linked to the historical evolution of a particular civilization and, above all, to the geopolitical transformations of the twenty-first century.
Contemporary debate often presents civil rights as the natural destination of history. Yet history teaches us that no political idea emerges in a vacuum. Every right, every institution, and every concept of freedom develops within a specific cultural, religious, and philosophical context.
The contemporary understanding of LGBTQ+ rights has largely developed within the Western world as part of a broader historical process that gradually placed the individual at the center of the legal and political order. Greek philosophy, Roman law, Christianity, Humanism, the Enlightenment, and modern constitutionalism all contributed—each in its own way—to the formation of a culture in which the individual came to be regarded as the holder of rights capable of limiting the power of the state.
Within this historical framework came the decriminalization of homosexuality, its removal from psychiatric classifications, and, more recently, the recognition of civil unions and, in several countries, same-sex marriage.
This does not mean, however, that the same historical development is interpreted in the same way by every civilization.
In many societies, the relationship between the individual and the community follows different principles. Family, religion, tradition, authority, or social cohesion may be regarded as values that take precedence over individual autonomy. This is not necessarily a question of being more or less advanced. Rather, it reflects different conceptions of the human person and of the individual's place within society.
For this reason, I believe the most important question is not whether LGBTQ+ rights are right or wrong. Such a question inevitably leads to ideological confrontation. A more meaningful question is whether these rights should be regarded as universal principles or whether they represent one possible expression of Western modernity.
This question becomes even more relevant in an era marked by the gradual redistribution of global power. For several centuries, the West exercised sufficient political, economic, and cultural influence to spread not only its technologies and institutions but also its understanding of liberty and individual rights.
Today, that predominance appears far less certain. The rise of new economic and political powers, the emergence of a more multipolar international system, and the growing autonomy of many regions suggest that the twenty-first century may be characterized by the coexistence of different cultural models, none of which is likely to establish unquestioned global dominance.
It is precisely in this context that the most significant question arises.
What would happen if the West were no longer the dominant civilization? What if its cultural narrative became merely one among many—or even a subordinate one within the international order? Would the civil rights developed throughout Western history continue to be regarded as universal, or would they gradually be reinterpreted through different conceptions of society?
This question also concerns the future of Western democracies themselves. Rights do not exist independently of history. They depend on institutions, public consensus, and political and cultural balances. If these balances change profoundly, it is reasonable to ask whether the hierarchy of values may also evolve.
This is neither a prediction nor a wish. It is simply a historical question. No civilization has remained dominant forever. No international order has proved permanent. Every major shift in the balance of power has also transformed the language of rights, freedoms, duties, and political legitimacy.
Perhaps the defining question of the twenty-first century will not be which values should prevail, but whether humanity will succeed in establishing a minimal set of shared principles or whether the future will be shaped by the coexistence of different civilizations, each preserving its own understanding of freedom, dignity, community, and justice.
Rather than offering definitive answers, this reflection invites us to acknowledge the complexity of the age in which we live. And complexity, more than certainty, is the proper starting point for any serious historical and philosophical inquiry.
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