Is world peace possible?
The eternal peace of the World in the 21st Century could be possible due to fading war-mongering ideologies and the introduction of Cyber-Warfare technology which had changed the paradigm of military wars and now the world is more conscious to wage a war.
Concept of violence, wars, and crimes are not inherited in human nature but are executed due to other goals.
Domination, Sadism, and Ideology in history played a role to perpetuate wars and violence in the world.
World peace is possible if humans understand the moral sense and reason over sadism and ideology.
Philosopher Peter Singer in his book “The Expanding Circle” argues that a sense of empathy and an ability to rationalize the dependence on one’s own life through others have extended in the last centuries which caused the decline in violence and wars.
The rising value of human life and circle of empathetic instincts can control the impetus of war in the 21st Century.
The computational theory of mind in the arena of neurological evolution also asserts that the perception of human beings about war and violence has shifted in the last 200 years which is a clear manifestation that war is not more a profitable agency for humans to rationalize their interests.
The reasons for war have changed from rivalry to competition.The neoliberal economy has created a sense of competition and cooperation to advance the global society in the era of Globalization.
The connected ambitions and interdependence establish the reasons to ensure peace and abolish the grounds for envy.
Russia has invaded Ukraine with hegemonic motives. USA and EU refused to send their troops directly into the Ukrainian favor which is obvious that the inevitability of War among Great Powers or War among multiple states has reduced.
Now the war is equal to organized crime. The traditional concept of War has declined and the eventual process of peace for global progress is paved in the 21st Century.
The irenic forces like enlightened progressive values of liberty and life are more revered than the conflicts and clashes.
Democracy established peace because the democratic leaders don’t make moves because of their “malignant narcissism” and the general will prevails.
The people are rational enough to comprehend the war consequences so they never favor the war in general.
The establishment of democratic governance is the check over the War favoring sentiments.
Apart from democracy, progressive values like mutual growth and global reciprocity also curtailed the sentiments of war in global arenas.
Yuval Noah Hariri argued that Cyber-Warfare technology in the 21st Century hampered the chances of Wars.
In the past, if London planned to capture New Delhi there was no threat to London for their people.
In the 21st Century if Israel initiates an attack on Iran the cyber retaliation of Iran can destroy Tel Aviv with the same intensity.
So cyber-warfare gadgets have minimized the threats of mutual wars for the collective interests of the states.
The rising environmental deterioration has created social discontent in various states, the matrix of misinformation has also created malfunctioning rhetoric’s among states and both former and latter have the potential to wage a global war again.
The rising climatic destruction can create a social deficit of trust among nations.
The use of social ventures against the harmony and sovereignty of states can cause a potent threat to new wars.
It is now on the global community to continue the continuum of established peace or initiate a new variant of war sentiments.
World Peace is possible with sincere effort from the global community to prefer humanitarian values over materialistic aspects.
The rising global inequalities shift of powers, and natural calamities are ready to plague world peace but humans are rational to decide again that it is peace and advancement that can embark the world on the journey of progress.
Human nature can be tamed through positive enforcement and democratic processes.
The liberal order needs to reconsider its roots and revitalize the structure of economic struggle in an ethical way to combat all the variants that can disturb the harmony of the world.
The world is again at the stage of evolution and decisive struggle to ensure world peace. We should prefer the interests of humankind rather than the interests of our nations and ethnicities for the overall and generalized goodwill of mankind and humanity.
World peace is possible if we discount human stupidity with forces of pacifism and progressive liberal order.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore
