Towards an enduring peace : $b A symposium of peace proposals and programs 1914-1916
History
Towards an enduring peace : $b A symposium of peace proposals and programs 1914-1916
Peace; World War, 1914-1918 -- Peace
These propositions mean that, under present conditions, permanent
world peace can be produced only if in the organizer-force and in the
organizer-reward nations the organizer is less interested in personal
fame than in the welfare of the whole organization, if the organizing
class does not seek aggrandizement or if the organizing class is
willing to permit a peaceful transition within the nation to the
democratic-control-expert-executive form of organization rather than to
seek perpetuation of its own control through foreign war. They mean also
that such peace can be maintained only if democratic nations can be kept
free from that trooping of emotion which sometimes suddenly sweeps vast
bodies of men into unreasoning demand for aggressive action, and if the
interests of such nations lead them to desire international peace....
_Let there be produced sufficient likeness among the peoples of the
world, and harmonious organization based on sympathy will follow of
itself._ If there be created a sufficient likeness among all peoples in
ideals of progress, in the desire for the betterment of the entire human
race, and in other equally important mental and moral respects, then
world harmony, based on sympathy, will ultimately develop in the same
way that the present harmony within homogeneous nations has resulted, in
large part, from a sympathy spontaneously created by resemblance in race,
language, religion and customs.
That final permanent international peace can come, however, only on the
basis of world-wide like-mindedness is the chief contention of this
essay. If this contention is correct, advocates of international peace
must not only adopt policies calculated to produce like-mindedness,
but must not shrink from the endeavor to produce the central executive
organization—the natural result of like-mindedness, and in itself, if
established, a creator of like-mindedness.
From the standpoint of producing like-mindedness it is of comparatively
small moment what one of a number of possible projects is used for the
initial attempt. It is of supreme importance only that the project chosen
should be the one most likely to succeed in evolving common response and
cooperation.
[Sidenote: Action be taken towards securing this like-mindedness.]
The practical suggestions which follow, therefore, are based on these
two notions: first, the desirability of creating like-mindedness among
the peoples of the world on a plane above race, religion, language and
customs; and second, the desirability of creating a central executive
organization, so far as possible responsible to the peoples behind each
national government, rather than responsible to constituent governments.
They suggest action on the basis of combining the two most stable forms
of harmonious organization, namely, the sympathy form growing out of
like-mindedness, and the democratic-control-expert-executive form of the
utility type.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account