Opinion: Humanity fumbles its way toward a world without war
By Joshua S. Goldstein
“Peace on Earth.” It is each year’s Christmas wish and indeed the great wish of the world’s religions across history.Of course, any realist or cynic can tell you that this wish is an empty hope that will never come true.
Oddly, the idealists who march in the streets for peace seem to agree: Peace on earth seems further away than ever.
Except, actually, it isn’t. While TV images will always show us the most horrible parts of the human experience, the big picture has changed dramatically in our lifetimes. Worldwide, wars today are fewer, smaller, and more localized than at any time in living memory.
Start with the bloodiest form of violence in history — wars between the world’s regular national armies, head-to- head with tanks, artillery, airplanes, missiles, and currently 20 million soldiers worldwide. For centuries, these armies fought regularly, several times a year on average, and the worst of these wars killed millions at a time.
Today, nowhere in the world are these armies fighting each other — a historic development that has received almost no notice. Countries are still armed to the teeth and still have conflicts, but they don’t go to war to solve them, mostly because it’s insanely expensive and doesn’t work very well. Exhibit A is the recently ended U.S. war in Iraq.
In Europe, where major interstate wars followed one after another for centuries, a continent has become a Union where (despite monetary troubles) fighting is unthinkable. China, wracked by wars and revolutions throughout history, has not fought a battle in 25 years. Its leadership derives legitimacy from trade-based prosperity, and follows a “peaceful rise” strategy in the world system. The U.S.-Soviet rivalry no longer exists, and the world’s arsenals of nuclear weapons have shrunk by three-quarters in the past 30 years, again with no hoopla.
Goldstein is professor emeritus of international relations at American University and author of “Winning the War on War: The Decline of Armed Conflict Worldwide”.
War is a way of life,religion part of it, the real wars are “info wars” that control the mind set.
It’s a live very well and there’s no cure for what it seeks.
It dwells in all minds and can be controlled my certain kinds of feed back self hypnosis,through media brain washing and you pay to watch it, listen to it,live my it.
They know who you are, what you buy, where you go, and all your medical problems,weakness,monetary assets without any protection for your privacy.
You are nothing but a number in a data file of numerologist profiling.
The new war sits on your desk top or in your privacy mobile wireless Devices that track your where abouts.
Santa was seen getting down with another good looking female 10 Claus last night in Prague under the bridge.
ho-ho-ho…..HOE!
War will never end,part the human dna.
True that.
I completely disagree with the comment above that “war will never end, part of the human dna.”
The author of the article you commented on made the point, which I pasted below, that over the generations people have left behind cannibalism, human sacrifice, slavery, etc. When those practices were common, people at the time like also said “it’s part of human nature.”
Solving conflicts through violence, including war, is a choice, it is not “part of our dna”. We are programmed for caring and compassion, not killing — war is socially programmed to serve narrow interests at the expense of the many.
Just as it is not socially acceptable to use violence to solve a conflict with one’s immediate or extended family, by extension humanity will one day realize that it’s not acceptable to kill anyone in the human family to solve a problem.
Here are the author’s concluding comments:
“To be sure, one war anywhere is one too many. Our work is not done. But to greet progress toward peace on earth with “Bah, humbug!” is to deny humanity’s ability to grow. Generation by generation, people have left behind cannibalism, human sacrifice, legal slavery, and public spectacles of sadistic torture and execution such as crucifixion. War could be next.
If we open our eyes to the new realities and stop living in the past, we can give our children the greatest gift of all, a more peaceful world.”
Tahoe Dad.
Just for you!
The US : The Recession Returns with a Vengeance
The US economy will suffer the consequences of its ballooning fiscal deficit and will not be able to spend its way out of the world recession of 2012. Nor can it count on ‘exporting’ its way out of negative growth by turning to previously dynamic Asia, as China, India and the rest of Asia are losing economic steam. China will grow far below its 9% moving average. India will decline from 8% to 5% or lower. Moreover, the Obama regime’s military policy of ‘encirclement’, its economic policy of exclusion and protectionism will preclude any new stimulus from China .
Militarism Exacerbates the Economic Downturn
The US and England will be the biggest losers from the Iraqi post war economic reconstruction. Of $186 billion dollars in infrastructure projects, US and UK corporations will gain less than 5% (Financial Times, 12/16/11, p 1 and 3). A similar outcome is likely in Libya and elsewhere. US imperial militarism destroys an adversary, plunging into debt to do so, and non-belligerents reap the lucrative post-war economic reconstruction contracts.
The US economy will fall into recession in 2012 and the “jobless recovery of 2011” will be replaced by a steep increase of unemployment in 2012. In fact, the entire labor force will shrink as people losing their unemployment benefits will fail to register.
Labor exploitation (“productivity”) will intensify as capitalists force workers to produce more, for less pay, thus widening the income gap between wages and profits.
The economic downturn and growth of unemployment will be accompanied by savage cuts in social programs to subsidize financially troubled banks and industries. The debates among the parties will be over how large the cuts to workers and retirees will be to secure the ‘confidence’ of the bondholders. Faced with equally limited political choices, the electorate will react by voting out incumbents, abstaining and via spontaneous and organized mass movements, such as the “occupy Wall Street” protest. Dissatisfaction, hostility and frustration will pervade the culture. Democratic Party demagogues will scapegoat China ; the Republican Party demagogues will blame the immigrants. Both will fulminate against “the Islamo-fascists” and especially against Iran .
New Wars in the Midst of Crises: Zionists Pull the Trigger
The ‘52 Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations’ and their “Israel First” followers in the US Congress, State Department, Treasury and the Pentagon will push for war with Iran . If they are successful it will result in a regional conflagration and world depression. Given the extremist Israeli regime’s success in securing blind obedience to its war policies from the US Congress and White House, any doubts about the real possibility of a major catastrophic outcome can be set aside.
China: Compensatory Mechanisms in 2012
China will face the global recession of 2012 with several possibilities of ameliorating its impact. Beijing can shift toward producing goods and services for the 700 million domestic consumers currently out of the economic loop. By increasing wages, social services and environmental safety, China can compensate for the loss of overseas markets. China ’s economic growth, which is largely dependent on real estate speculation, will be adversely affected when the bubble is burst. A sharp downturn will result, leading to job losses, municipal bankruptcies and increased social and class conflicts. This can result in either greater repression or gradual democratization. The outcome will profoundly affect China ’s market – state relations. The economic crisis will likely strengthen state control over the market.
Russia Faces the Crises
Russia ’s election of President Putin will lead to less collaboration in backing US promoted uprisings and sanctions against Russian allies and trading partners. Putin will turn toward greater ties with China and will benefit from the break-up of the EU and the weakening of NATO.
The western media backed opposition will use its financial clout to erode Putin’s image and encourage investment boycotts though they will lose the Presidential elections by a big margin. The world recession will weaken the Russian economy and will force it to choose between greater public ownership or greater dependency on state funds to bail out prominent oligarchs.
The Transition 2011 – 2012: From Regional Stagnation and Recession to World Crises
The year 2011 laid the groundwork for the breakdown of the European Union. The crises began with the demise of the Euro, stagnation in the US and the outbreak of mass protests against the obscene inequalities on a world scale. The events of 2011 were a dress rehearsal for a new year of full scale trade wars between major powers, sharpening inter-imperialist struggles and the likelihood of popular rebellions turning into revolutions. Moreover, the escalation of Zionist orchestrated war fever against Iran in 2011 promises the biggest regional war since the US-Indo-Chinese conflict. The electoral campaigns and outcomes of Presidential elections in the US , Russia and France will deepen the global conflicts and economic crises.
During 2011 the Obama regime announced a policy of military confrontation with Russia and China and policies designed to undermine and degrade China ’s rise as a world economic power. In the face of a deepening economic recession and with the decline of overseas markets, especially in Europe , a major trade war will unfold. Washington will aggressively pursue policies limiting Chinese exports and investments. The White House will escalate its efforts to disrupt China ’s trade and investments in Asia, Africa and elsewhere. We can expect greater US efforts to exploit China ’s internal ethnic and popular conflicts and to increase its military presence off China ’s coastline. A major provocation or fabricated incident in this context is not to be excluded. The result in 2012 could lead to rabid chauvinist calls for a costly new ‘Cold War’. Obama has provided the framework and justification for a large-scale, long-term confrontation with China . This will be seen as a desperate effort to prop up US influence and strategic positions in Asia . The US military “quadrangle of power” – US-Japan-Australia-South Korea – with satellite support from the Philippines , will pit China ’s market ties against Washington ’s military build-up.
Europe: Deeper Austerity and Intensified Class Struggle
The austerity programs imposed in Europe, from England to Latvia to southern Europe will really take hold in 2012. Massive public sector firings and reduced private sector salaries and job opportunities will lead to a year of permanent class warfare and regime challenges. The ‘austerity policies’ in the South, will be accompanied by debt defaults resulting in bank failures in France and Germany . England ’s financial ruling class, isolated from Europe, but dominant in England , will insist that the Conservatives ‘repress’ labor and popular unrest. A new tough neo-Thatcherite style of autocratic rule will emerge; the Labor-trade union opposition will issue empty protests and tighten the leash on the rebellious populace. In a word, the regressive socio-economic policies put in place in 2011 have set the stage for new police-state regimes and more acute and possibly bloody confrontations with workers and unemployed youth with no future.
The Coming Wars that Ends America “As We Know It”
Within the US , Obama has laid the groundwork for a new and bigger war in the Middle East by relocating troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and concentrating them against Iran . To undermine Iran , Washington is expanding clandestine military and civilian operations against Iranian allies in Syria , Pakistan , Venezuela and China . The key to the US and Israeli bellicose strategy toward Iran is a series of wars in neighboring states, world- wide economic sanctions , cyber-attacks aimed at disabling vital industries and clandestine terrorist assassinations of scientists and military officials. The entire push, planning and execution of the US policies leading up to war with Iran can be empirically and without a doubt attributed to the Zionist power configuration occupying strategic positions in the US Administration, mass media and ‘civil society’.
A systematic analysis of American policymakers designing and implementing economic sanctions policy in Congress finds prominent roles for such mega-Zionists (Israel-Firsters) as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Howard Berman; in the White House, Dennis Ross in the White House, Jeffrey Feltman in the State Department, and Stuart Levy, and his replacement David Cohen, in the Treasury. The White House is totally beholden to Zionist fund raisers and takes its cue from the ‘52 Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organization. The Israeli-Zionist strategy is to encircle Iran , weaken it economically and attack its military. The Iraq invasion was the US ’s first war for Israel ; the Libyan war the second; the current proxy war against Syria is the third. These wars have destroyed Israel ’s adversaries or are in the process of doing so.
During 2011, economic sanctions, which were designed to create domestic discontent in Iran , were the principle weapon of choice. The global sanctions campaign engaged the entire energies of the major Jewish-Zionist lobbies. They have faced no opposition from the mass media, Congress or the White Office. The Zionist Power Configuration (ZPC) has been virtually exempt from criticism by any of the progressive, leftist and socialist journals, movements or grouplets – with a few notable exceptions. The past year’s re-positioning of US troops from Iraq to the borders of Iran , the sanctions and the rising Big Push from Israel ’s Fifth Column in the US means expanded war in the Middle East . This likely means a “surprise” aerial and maritime missile attack by US forces. This will be based on a concocted pretext of an “imminent nuclear attack” concocted by Israeli Mossad and faithfully transmitted by the ZPC to their lackeys US Congress and White House for consumption and transmission to the world. It will be a destructive, bloody, prolonged war for Israel ; the US will bear the direct military cost by itself and the rest of the world will pay a dear economic price. The Zionist-promoted US war will convert the recession of early 2012 into a major depression by the end of the year and probably provoke mass upheavals.
Conclusion
All indications point to 2012 being a turning point year of unrelenting economic crisis spreading outward from Europe and the US to Asia and its dependencies in Africa and Latin America . The crisis will be truly global. Inter-imperial confrontations and colonial wars will undermine any efforts to ameliorate this crisis. In response, mass movements will emerge moving over time from protests and rebellions, and hopefully to social revolutions and political power.
Man by nature does not strive to fight, it’s those in power that fight each other, and manipulate the message to convince the average person that it is a valiant and noble cause to fight.
There was an episode from the original Star Trek Series entitled “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” Season 3, Episode 70.
The story involves the only 2 remaining human like men from a now destroyed planet. One was a law enforcement person, the other the “criminal” being pursued throughout the galaxy for the last 500-years. Both men were black on one half of their body, and white on the other half. The rift that remained unsettled between them and which also destroyed their entire civilization and planet was that one man was white on the right side and black on the left, the other man’s colors were reversed.
The message that Gene Roddenberry was trying to convey was that as long as there are 2 men, 2 viewpoints, 2 religions, 2 whatever (you choose the criteria), there will never be peace.
Sadly, I agree with the brilliance of Gene Roddenberry and think the only way there can be a world without war would be a world without thinking beings; at present on this planet, mankind.
One could suppose that utopia could exist for a time such as in H. G. Wells, “The Time Machine.” The Eloi enjoyed a life without struggle, strife, or war until they were summoned by the Morlocks to be their dinner.
Funny how fantasy and reality are so intricately intertwined.
World peace would make a great story. It is truly a fantasy.
There also was the movie “Enemy Mine” where two sworn enemies, abandoned on the same planet, learned to live together and became good friends.
Peace is possible, but not likely. Just as Communism, in theory, makes sense but, in practice, does not work.
lIVE EVERY DAY LIKE IT’S THE LAST DAY YOUR LIFE.
You never know when you are called upon to exit the big show we call Life.
Death not that bad, it’s just leaving behind the ones you love that make it so grim.
America in large part became a society of lazy selfish ignorant (chic-a-fied as Limbaugh calls it) people that have let the country fall into the state it is.
Hang ups… wrote some very interesting points above – the thing is Americans have allowed themselves to be fooled and by progressive liberals who have over-run our government structure. We have a very liberal government and main stream media system (State Media ish) that helped create a society that supports people that don’t want to work more than it supports free enterprise.
It has happened to successful societies throughout human history. The government class and the education class think they know better than everyone else and take away free enterprise.
RESTORE AMERICA ?
If you want to change America back, people have to stop listening to and following the wrong people.
There is an old adage,
Those who can do, those who can’t, teach. Those who can’t teach work for the government.
In my experience that is true more often than it is an exception.
In liberal extremist states like California ‘doers’ are getting the shaft and the bill.
I left the State, … did you know that Oregon has no sales tax? That is a nice feature when looking for a state to do business in.