#43 A Global Peace System (April 2016)

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Imagine a Star Trek Future. In the TV show's first year we were never on Earth. But what we knew about the Starship Enterprise's crew was that on their home world there was no money, no poverty, and no war.  They were clearly using their resources to invent and do fabulous things, like mounting starships to explore the galaxy.
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​Is this positive vision for us completely out of the question? Is our future fated by genetics or stupidity or cultural inertia to be forever blighted by war?
 
Research by anthropologist Douglas P. Fry and historian Kent Shifferd provides hope that, in fact, with sufficient will it is entirely possible for our species to establish a global peace system. Such a system is, arguably, the mechanism by which we can end war and establish an enduring peace. The focus of this AFWW newsletter is to introduce their work.
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The Fry article and Shifferd video should be considered ESSENTIAL resource materials for anyone working to end war. They describe:
  1. what characteristics a peace system must have, global or not, in order to be maintained (Dr. Fry's paper), and,
  2. what is our current status with respect to building a global peace system (Dr. Shifferd's video)?
PictureDouglas P. Fry Ph.D.
Shared Characteristics of Peace Systems

​In a May 2012 issue of Science, anthropologist Douglas Fry presented, in a paper entitled, "Life Without War," the shared characteristics of groups who consciously created "active peace systems" designed to prevent wars between them.
 
For close comparison he picked three radically different cultures. Finding commonalities among very different cultures allows the investigator to ferret out features likely to be key to success of any peace system, large or small. The three alliances he focused on were ten tribes of the Upper Xingu River Basin in Brazil, the Iroquois Confederacy in what is now the United States, and the European Union.
 
The following six characteristics were shared by all three alliances. That these six characteristics exist in all three strongly suggests that they are essentials for maintaining ANY peace system, including a global one.
 
   An overarching sense of shared identity - they expand the "us."
   Interdependence among subgroups.
   Intergroup social ties.
   Symbolism and ceremonies that reinforce peace.
   Values for peace.
   Superordinate institutions for conflict management.
 
The article provides numerous additional examples of societies that live without war plus detailed discussion and examples illustrating these six shared characteristics, explaining how and why they are essential to maintaining the peace.

You can view an abstract of the paper here.

The article itself can be found here. Scroll down to find the article's beginning.
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This blog essay by Dr. Judith Hand,"Peace Systems and Enduring Peace" also explores Fry's essentials for an enduring global peace system. In it she compares Fry's essentials to the nine cornerstones for creating a future without war that she has outlined in her writings, including her book Shift: The Beginning of War, The Ending of War, which is available as a paperback or Kindle download.
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​The Evolution of a Global Peace System

While groups here and there have created a peace system, the big question is whether we could establish a GLOBAL PEACE SYSTEM.  That would effectively be the end of war.
 
It would not end human violence. For example, murder and revenge killings will not be eliminated any time soon as archeology and anthropology indicate that these behaviors have been with us for a long time, probably before we became humans. War, however, is a very recent addition to our behavioral repertoire, likely introduced roughly 12,000 to 15,000 YA. Contrary to much common wisdom, it is not a genetic inevitability. [See the blog essay by Judith Hand, "The Myth of Savage Savages Needs Debunking." 
 
We would still need to vigilantly contain anyone threatening the peace, policing any outbreak of violence that could spill over into war.
 
But groups taking up arms to indiscriminately kill people in another group could become a relict of an unfortunate past.
 
What progress have we made in setting up a global peace?  Have we made any progress at all?
 
Historian Kent Shifferd wrote From War to Peace and put its basics into a superb 18- minute YouTube video called "The Evolution of a Global Peace System."  The video covers 26 significant changes within the last 100 years in global collaboration and orientation that already are moving us toward a global peace.
 
For example, the Establishment of Superordinate Institutions to regulate disputes, like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court. A global proliferation of Institutions Teaching Nonviolent Conflict Resolution. The flowering of Environmental Sustainability Projects and Concerns. A trend within established religions toward Using Religion to Foster a Sense of Human Oneness and Peace rather than using religion as a tool to foster war.
 
This video of 26 total trends puts our current status into realistic perspective. The overwhelming output of global media bombards us with news of dictators starting wars, threats of terrorism, the possibility of a mid-east nuclear war...a vision of perpetual war. But this is not the whole story of what is happening in the world.
 
Those who want a war-free future are not starting from ground zero. This video helps viewers to see clearly how much we have already done and are doing to secure an enduring global peace.
 
As much as we have forces working to create a future of perpetual war -- there's a lot of money to be made in perpetual war - and as gloomy a picture of world events as the media feeds us, the video makes clear that forces are also at work that reflect a striving to free ourselves from war so we leave to the children of the future a world of great positive potential.
 
The video is found on YouTube. 
Quotable Quote 
  
"Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr
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A Good Book

War, Peace, and Human Nature.
Edited by
Douglas P. Fry
Chapters by a variety of experts present the most recent evidence indicating when we began to make war, why we make war, the role of women as it relates to war, and the potential to end war by establishing a global peace system. 
  
 
A Good Movie
  
 "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951).
Starring Michael Rennie as a peace-keeper come to Earth from a Galactic alliance accompanied by his powerful robot "policeman," Gort. The message the peace-keeper brings is that this peace alliance does not permit the existence of any species/planet capable of spaceflight that engages in war. They don't allow the spread of war into the galaxy. If the Earthlings don't find a way to end war, the robot will destroy the planet. The question the film poses for us is, will we only end war on Earth if an external existential threat forces us to do so, or will we band together as a global family and end war of our own free will? ​
A Future Without War
Believe in it.
Envision it.
Work for it.
And we will achieve it.
QuickLinks
These three quick links are to Dr. Hand's core articles on paradigm shift:
To Abolish War
Shaping the Future
Paradigm Shift: Swift and Enduring

More Links:
How Long Ending War Would Take
Why Women Are the Key to Security
The Nine Cornerstones
AFWW Newsletter Archives
PictureEric Colville
​The End of War - Eric Colville

If you are looking to enjoy a good ending-of-war song, you might want to check out: "The End of War" by Eric Colville.
Learn more at EricColville.com or watch a video performance. 
His website gives the lyrics. Here are the first two verses:
 
The End of War
We used to believe it was all human nature
and there wasn't too much you could do
"war is inevitable" that's what they said
and everyone thought it was true
 
So we blasted away with our bombs and our guns
till the smoke finally cleared and the fighting was done
only to find out that no one had won
way back in the days before - the end of war
A Future Without War
About A Future Without War

We want to provide newsletter readers with a reminder about our extensive website,  www.afww.org. The materials can be a reference for personal use, something to share with friends or colleagues who doubt that it would ever be possible to abolish war, and as thought pieces to stimulate discussions, for example, by your students, a book group, or peace activist organizations. You will find on the site:
  • A Mission Statement
  • An Action Plan
  • Keynote Speech - Åbo University, Vaasa, Finland 2014 - "War is Not Inevitable"
  • Capstone Essay: "To Abolish War"
  • "Overview" Essays - 7 essays explaining the core rationale for why it is reasonable to believe we could abolish war if we make it a priority.
  • "Cornerstone" Essays - 9 essays explaining each of the broad categories of "good works" that we need to attend to simultaneously in any campaign to abolish war and maintain that state into the future.
  • "The Books" - a Table of Contents, reviews, and FREE download of Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace, links to purchase that book and also A Future Without War: the Strategy of a Warfare Transition"
  • A Link to the AFWW Blog
  • A Map of Nonviolent Cultures
  • A Video of Dr. Hand
  • Several Movie and Book Reviews
  • Archives of AFWW Newsletters
  • Links to over 150 Organizations involved in some aspect of the campaign to abolish war
  • Miscellaneous AFWW Essays
These are titles of and links to current Miscellaneous AFWW Essays 
A Future Without War ​