worldpeace.org

World Peace is inevitable - but here's some notes on speeding it up

Let's get some simplicities out of the way first:

Nature (which really runs this planet, not the humans on it) is built on two principles, among several
1) Abundance
2) Freedom

People (humans) who understand these principles tend to prosper more than people who do not. Nations who forward these principles tend to prosper over those which do not.

Consider that America (for all its faults) has produced more global prosperity than any other nation in history. And of course, it owes much to its success on the historically prosperous nations and movements which preceded it - England and the UK, as well as religious movements of Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam (not including extremists in any of these, either historically or modern).

All of these hold in common that people have rights to their own property (ref: Magna Carta), which really means that people have the right to their own pursuit of abundance and the means to do this for themselves.

The rich and prosperous understand these natural laws and so continue to become more prosperous as they follow them. In "The Secret" DVD, some of these natural laws have been spelled out ("The Law of Attraction"). Other books this video based on go into more detail and various descriptions. Anyone can become rich these days. The richest have built their success by empowering others to also get rich (McDonald's, Microsoft and Wal-Mart, despite their detractors, are Western examples of this.)

The biggest argument in Western Politics is whether the government can make people abundant by forcing redistribution of wealth. Historically, this doesn't work. The poor don't understand the natural principles of prosperity and so go through any temporary abundance like water thrown through a screen door - and so wind up just as poor and now wanting more handouts. Handouts just mean continuing poverty - like Rome's "corn and games" policy and the old "welfare" system of Western countries.

However, teaching people how to be abundant has worked through the centuries (as Jesus tried to show people through his parables, "...teach a person to fish..."). Education has been the most successful way of helping humankind to become more successful, more independent, more prosperous.

(But it also can't be free education, which would be just another handout. One of the best ideas recently was a two-year college education on a loan-based scenario, such that the recipient would pay back this loan by working in the industry they were trained for over five years - in this case the government is investing funds in training and receiving the increased production (abundance) in return. Just like using tax dollars to build roads. Colleges, however, do best when financially independent of government handouts, for the same reason above.)

Now, as a nation becomes more prosperous, it affords more "rights" to its peoples. America is the continuing great experiment in this regard, since those few who sought their personal freedoms through their own risk of life then founded a nation based on the two rights of personal prosperity and personal freedom. All of its struggles have been to resolve conflicts which limit any of the personal freedoms and personal prosperity of its peoples (slavery, FDR's Great Depression policies, Women's Suffrage, anti-trust legislation). America's greatest successes have been from empowering others' prosperity and freedoms (Green Revolution, Internet).

Prosperity naturally results in World Peace. Because people can "make more money" in peaceful times. The Great Silk Road was the historical example of this (as well as the Great Wall) - where disruptions to the peace and trade of a nation were limited, prosperity and peace ensued.

It is arguable that the sole two reasons governments exist are to reduce disruptions in 1) international and personal trade, and 2) international and personal property rights.

Does this mean equal prosperity and property ownership? No. Doesn't exist in Nature. All the great failed -ism's (Communism, Fascism, Socialism) were based (in lie) on the equal distribution of wealth - which didn't happen. Every government which has and does use these principles still has and tries to keep the wealth in the hands of a few. The difference between the prosperity of North and South Korea is a stark example of this. China, as it moves away from Communism, has seen a marked rise in the success of it's burgeoning middle class. And so the individuals in it are asking for more. They like these ideas of abundance and freedom.

The one (mostly) successful -ism, Capitalism, is not government-based, but individual-based.

And it's said of the U.S. government that it does best when it stays off the back of the individual and the businesses they set up - even though it has the highest corporate taxes of any nation. (I never said it was a great example, only that for reasons outlined above, it has been the most successful experiment in government so far.)

Back to World Peace - and how we can see it in our lifetimes.

Peace begets peace and prosperity, strong-arming and taxes have limited benefits. Wars are seldom useful, although the rebuilding afterwards has brought some apparent increases in global prosperity (although expensive and inefficient).

This is the reason peaceful means (like economic sanctions - carrot-and-stick) are more effective (and popular) than force. The former USSR is still recovering from the force of totalitarian Soviet influence - where a handful imposed their will on the vast majority. Meanwhile, their progress has been influenced by the rampant success of America's (mostly) free enterprise and (mostly) free trade. Coke, Gap jeans, Television, Internet, Dell computers - these things have encouraged more people to wear suits and attend dull business meetings than any other government program in history. But those Suits and their meetings have accomplished more for this planet in terms of peace than any number of government programs (including the sum total of United Nations bureaucratic bumblings combined).

Because these individuals pushing mutual prosperity are using natural principles. Individuals who use force (personal or governmental) to deprive others of their prosperity or property for their own benefit will ultimately fail.

Movements which work to get people to recognize the "rights" of prosperity and personal property (doesn't include infringing on these "rights" in others) have succeeded wildly in this. Great movements (like the three religious ones above) have expanded across the planet because of their underlying natural principles. Failures they experienced were in violations of these principles. (As the failure of extremist-inspired terrorism, which denies people both prosperity and property - and is ultimately rejected by all sane peoples. These terrorists, unfortunately require some force to get their education straightened out - the expense of safeguarding the prosperity and property of others, and this falls to government heads to take the brunt of criticism for acting.)

The road to peace

One simple statement of it:

Be prosperous and help others around you to prosper.

You can see in the above how this has incredible ramifications. And also that education and advice are more valuable and effective than forcing someone to change their views. As well, getting government involved is inefficient compared to individual action - and takes a lot longer to achieve less results. [Response to the Katrina disaster by the government (except the Coast Guard and National Guard) was inept at best - at all levels. The most successful recovery efforts have been accomplished through individual and corporate initiatives. Period.]

If you don't know the natural rules, laws, principles, etc. of how to be prosperous - then crack some of these old books. Even Shakespeare could tell you how to do it, but these "secrets" are in all the great religious texts, but a paltry few of our modern textbooks. "The Secret" might be a bit over the top for you, but if you read the books it was based on, you can see the same principles coming up over and over. Earl Nightingale's works (particularly his "Strangest Secret" and its references) give incredible clues on how to accomplish this. Look up the continuing bestsellers (Bible, Shakespeare, Napoleon Hill) and you'll see the same principles reported and discussed over and over.

As you pursue your own prosperity and make sure those around you learn how to become prosperous and do so - this will forward world peace like we've never seen.

The great long march of humankind has been toward and with greater and greater peace. But it's also been an evolving process.

Do your part. Be prosperous.

And let's see complete world peace in our lifetime.