As to the question of disarmament, all nations must disarm at the same time. It will not do at all, and it is not proposed, that some nations shall lay down their arms while others, their neighbours, remain armed. The peace of the world must be brought about by international agreement. All nations must agree to disarm simultaneously... No nation can follow a peace policy while its neighbour remains warlike. There is no justice in that. Nobody would dream of suggesting that the peace of the world could be brought about by any such line of action. It is to be brought about by a general and comprehensive international agreement, and in no other way... Simultaneous action, he went on, is necessary in any scheme of disarmament. All the governments of the world must transform their battleships and warcraft into merchant vessels. But no one nation can by itself start in upon such a policy and it would be folly should one power attempt to do so ... it would simply invite destruction.... ... Are there any signs that the permanent peace of the world will be established in anything like a reasonable period? ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was asked. It will be established in this century, he answered. It will be universal in the twentieth century. All nations will be forced into it. ... Economic pressure will tell? Yes: the nations will be forced to come to peace and to agree to the abolition of war. The awful burdens of taxation for war purposes will get beyond human endurance... No, said ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in conclusion, I repeat, no nation can disarm under these circumstances. Disarmament is surely coming, but it must come, and it will come, by the universal consent of the civilized nations of the earth. By international agreement they will lay down their arms and the great era of peace will be ushered in. In this and no other way can peace be established upon the earth. (Extracts from interview with newspaper reporter, quoted in “‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Canada” (Thornhill: Bahá’í Canada Publications, 1987), pp. 34–35) [42] 43: Once the Parliament of Man is established and its constituent parts...