Identifying Four Sources of Hope for A Deeply Troubled World

With wars and conflicts reaching record levels, continuing for too long and threatening to blow up into wider confrontations, our deeply troubled world has been staggering from one crisis to another. While the recent focus has been mostly on Ukraine-Russia war and the Middle East, several serious humanitarian crises, again often related closely to conflicts, are not even getting the due attention.

So distressing has been the march of many wars and destruction of several countries that the world barely appears to recover from one big crisis before another one erupts. What is more, a number of factors have combined together in recent times to increase the risks of the Third World War and a nuclear war. This is happening at a time when the world has enough nuclear weapons to destroy almost all lifeNuclear WinterA severe and prolonged global climatic cooling effect hypothesized to occur after widespread firestorms following a nuclear war, threatening all life. on our planet.

Meanwhile, in a world increasingly divided and distracted by wars and civil wars, nearly a dozen serious environmental problems continue their relentless march towards a situation when these can disrupt the basic life-nurturing conditions of the planet. The world’s leaders and people who should be all working together to resolve these problems are instead engulfed in the worries of a conflict-ridden world.

What is more, mobilizing the creativity of people for the most urgent tasks is further hampered by increasing inequalities. These inequalities increase the distress of a majority of people, keeping them forever struggling for daily needs. Meanwhile, a small minority hoard wealth and power to serve mostly their selfish, futile concerns of maintaining their privileges in the middle of increasing dangers to the entire world.

While all well-intentioned efforts, even small efforts to reduce any of these problems and provide even a little relief are welcome, it must be clear by now that with all the inequalities, violence, ecological ruin, pursuit of narrow and self-centered objectives of the present system, the world cannot survive, let alone find peace and prosperity, on the present path. An existential crisis looms, whereby nuclear war, environmental ruin, related disasters and some other factors can destroy or badly disrupt essential life-nurturing conditions of the planet.

Hence to protect life and to ensure a safe future to the coming generations, a different path is needed which is based on combining the precepts of peace and non-violence, justice and equality, protection of environment and all forms of life in mutually consistent ways and the most appropriate ways for various situations and people. In particular, I would like to emphasize four important aspects of the new path.

1. New governance systems which can assure peace, disarmament, safety and resolving of most serious environmental problems at world level, within a framework of justice, are needed. The need for new governance systems appeared the day Hiroshima was bombed, but not much has been achieved so far. In my book ‘Earth without BordersGlobal Governance SystemsProposed frameworks for international cooperation that transcend nation-states, aiming to address global crises like climate change and nuclear disarmament collectively.’ I have discussed the possibility offered by three different new systems. Learned scholars can no doubt suggest much more of great potential.
2. Very high priority should be given to working with continuity for creating new value systems based on justice and equality, non-violence and peace, protection of environment and all forms of life at the level of families and communities, schools and colleges, spiritual and social institutions and organizations. Over a period of about half a decade of such sincere and dedicated efforts, hopefully we can create value systems that are suitable for a truly protective world.
3. Millions of people world-wide must come forward in activist roles in people’s movements for peace, justice and protection of environment, with unity and close cooperation. This must include a significant number of people in core groups who decide to devote their entire life for these causes, and means of ensuring essential support for these full-time activists must be found.
4. A lot of a different form of research and thoughtful discourse is needed for finding the right path and taking corrective steps. As we go further on the new path, inevitably stumbling and losing our way from time to time, we must develop the corrective capacities to recover and remain together on the right path. This research and discourse of the new path should be very different from present day research which is often narrow, biased and more often than not serves the interests of the powerful elites.

How such worldwide efforts can be launched and coordinated, how can these be sustained, how can these be protected from the almost inevitable disruption and sabotage tactics that are likely to arrive soon? These questions are not easy, but if millions of sincere and honest people are determined to change the world to make it safer, happier and better in every way, nothing can stop them.