Our already deeply troubled world has recently entered a new phase of disruption and instability. Some influential people who were happy with earlier times blame only the recent disruptions and forget the serious flaws and high risks of the earlier system, forget its increasing inequalities and injustices, its highly destructive although avoidable wars, the highly corrupted and destructive military-industrial complex, and they forget also that the life-nurturing conditions of the planet were already threatened before the advent of the present day disruptions.

Hence important changes in the world ‘order’ (or rather ‘disorder’ ) were clearly needed, but recent changes are certainly not in the direction of what was urgently needed to reduce distress and to make the world more just and safe. Instead in many ways the world has become, and is becoming, even more uncertain and insecure than before.

As the world drifts in times of increasing uncertainty, some precautions need to be taken to avoid certain worst possible scenarios, including very big and destructive war, or wars involving great powers, or wars involving those who possess a lot of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction.

In these times there is certainly a contest for world supremacy, as the US position at the top is widely stated to be threatened by China. In our opinion this is more a matter of perception, as there is no reason why China and the USA cannot co-exist in peace. In our perception, the aim of US reforms and policy should be to improve the socio-economic conditions of its own people, to improve relationship with other countries and to keep its self-defense in a strong state. The USA should seek to achieve this in overall conditions of world peace and stability, in which there are higher chances of protecting environment. To achieve these objectives it is not at all necessary to enter into war with China or anyone else.

At the same time, China can also best pursue the welfare of its people in conditions of world peace and stability, while striving to maintain good relations with all countries and avoiding war.

This would be the ideal situation, but then there are issues like not just maintaining the dollar as world reserve currency but also using this extraordinary privilege in aggressive and weapon-like ways, or there are the issues of trade and tariffs and of minerals of great importance, or there are the issues related to Taiwan or other territorial issues. Some issues are framed by the USA in more aggressive ways, some are framed by China in more aggressive ways. This need not be so, and if there is a real commitment to peace, then war over all such issues can be avoided.

Unfortunately, however, there are powerful forces which do not have such a peace-based perception of reality at all. These forces are often linked in various ways to those who have benefited from highly corrupted use of finance, investment, procurement, technology, politics, military and various illegalities to acquire enormous wealth and power and use this to influence the drift of world policy and events in very self-centered, distorted and aggressive ways that they think will benefit them further and perpetuate or enhance their enormously privileged position. 

In various parts of the world, most of the issues over which nearly 50 wars and conflicts are being fought, or else have been off and on for a long time, are not the kind of issues that cannot be resolved peacefully. From the point of view of the suffering people certainly these wars and conflicts should stop as early as possible. However those who hold power somehow feel that ongoing fighting and wars are helpful to them for holding on to their power, and there are allied forces that profit from war and plunder.

Some of these wars involving smaller world powers and countries may not have the high risks of weapons of mass destruction, but nevertheless these can be very violent and cruel and can lead to huge loss of human lives, often mostly civilians, including a large number of women and children, who are inflicted even more cruelties and indignities, apart from displacing a very large number of people. Urgent steps to stop all these wars are needed.

However potential wars involving great powers can be much more destructive beyond all this. Since the great powers have a large number of nuclear weapons, any direct confrontation involving them can lead to the use of nuclear weapons. If only about 10% or even 5% of the world stock of nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are used, then by direct and indirect impacts, most life on earth can be destroyed.

Hence as the world drifts towards times of greater uncertainty, instability and turbulence, there is very urgent need for greater efforts to ensure that whatever the other consequences, at least highly destructive wars need to be avoided.

Unfortunately the United Nations has been increasingly marginalized but it must assert itself to ensure that the worst can be avoided. Senior statesman and diplomats should come out of retirement to form policy and advocacy groups to ensure any that any drift towards disaster can be checked before it is too late. Non-partisan peace movements and anti-war movements should be strengthened with greater support from an increasing number of people.

*

Click the share button below to email/forward this article. Follow us on Instagram and X and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost Global Research articles with proper attribution.

Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, A Day in 2071 and Man over Machine—A Path to Peace. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image source     

Global Research is a reader-funded media. We do not accept any funding from corporations or governments. Help us stay afloat. Click the image below to make a one-time or recurring donation.

Source link