Peace Is Possible

Introduction

The 21st of September will be International Day of Peace. It may seem a little premature to declare that world peace is due to break out by the end this month. I do not deny that the amount of killing and death and war and torture and death and coercion and abuse and death all over everywhere can be overwhelming. Nor do I deny that considering this it is a natural assumption to believe people are sinners, destined for extinction. However, I do argue that compassion is as much a part of human nature as cruelty.

There is evidence that humankind did not always live violent lives. In fact, I assume most people reading this article are not habitually violent, and do not desire to watch someone suffer. All animals have the capacity to enrich the lives of others. We have the capacity to be both selfish and kind. What matters is which quality we chose to focus on; bringing that quality into focus within ourselves, the world, and our children.

Here I have collected an array of research demonstrating that there is a positive potential within each social group and person. I argue that humans can learn to build societies which are not founded on the expectation of organised violence. Here are seven reasons why world peace is possible. You won’t believe your own strength of belief: There is at least some hope.

National Peace Academy’s Peace Spheres

Experimental prototypes

Following World War I citizens in the USA successfully campaigned for a pact which renounced the use of war as an instrument of national policy. It remains on the statutes and was signed by several other countries. This commitment may not have lasted, but inspiration can be found elsewhere. For example, the states of Costa Rica and Panama have no official armies and the town of Marinaleda, Spain, has no police.

Dennis Morgan of The Centre for Global Nonkilling comments that smaller pockets of resistance to killing narratives exist in organic farming or permaculture...