For millennia, Asian and Western cultures and religions recognized the interdependence and interaction of all forms of life; educators and rulers called for support of health and happiness not only of individuals but also of families, communities and natural and cultural biotopes. Fritz Jahr defined the Bioethical Imperative -'Respect every living being as an end in itself and treat it, if possible, as such' - as an orientational tool for compassionate and competent human life and culture in healthy natural and social biotopes. This paper reviews visions and rules in the ethics and politics of bios across cultures and stresses the importance of bioethics and biopolitics for the 21th century.
