The three modes of conflict suggest three approaches to peace research, the systemic, the strategic and the ideological. If peace research is to contribute to the hope of establishing a durable peace on this planet, all three directions must be synthesized into a science of peace.
Reconciliation and Resistance: Two Sides of a Coin (c. 1991)
Let poverty, disease, injustice, tyranny play the role of the common enemy of humankind. And of course the institution of war can play the star part.
Moratorium Day – October 15, 1969
Our ancestors used to say that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Americans, in their comfort, their pursuit of individual advantages, in their worship of the bitch goddess of success, forgot to pay the instalments, and their liberties were re-possessed.
Can Humanity Eliminate War?
Put in this way, the question suggests that humanity is an actor endowed with intentions and a range of capabilities for carrying these intentions out. The question is similar to questions like "Can John stop drinking?" or "Can Tokyo reduce traffic accidents?" These questions can be answered by "yes" or "no," because both John and… Continue reading Can Humanity Eliminate War?
Open Letter to Lt. Calley
Reflections on morality occasioned by a rare American war crimes trial.
The Relevance of the Systemic Outlook to our Present Predicament
Humane values are inherent in science, viewed not primarily as a source of know-how in manipulating things or people but rather as a source of wisdom, a spiritually inspired human enterprise which has transcended its purely instrumental origins.
Threat, Trade, and Love
The problem, as I see it, is that of inducing integration in concentric circles, as it were, from self to family to community to a culture to humanity, inducing a realization that loyalty to one of these need not clash with loyalty to another.
My Commitment to Peace
I have children, and I do not want them to writhe in agony or to turn into automata or to repeat the atrocious lies amid which they live. Therefore, I am engaged in a struggle, which I often feel to be a hopeless one, but which I have no choice but to wage.
Prisoner’s Dilemma
What does it take to act in a collectively rational manner? The main trouble lies in the mistaken belief that "rational" choices are those that seem to be in one's own interest.
Universal Values in the Light of System Science
The often assumed dimensions of values are "the True," "the Good" and "the Beautiful (or the Delightful)." We shall ask two questions regarding each of these dimensions. (1) Can universality be attained? (2) Must it be attained in the foreseeable future to avoid extinction?