Several folks here are fans of David Korten's writings.
I thought many of you would be interested in his latest essay on developing a just foreign policy, the theme of YES! Magazine's Summer 2008 issue, "Superpower? Get Over It."
In "Smart Security and the End of War" he describes an emergent global movement where international representatives are calling upon parliaments of the world to adopt national equivalents of the historic Article 9, which was added to the Japanese Constitution following WWII:
ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.
Several folks here are fans of David Korten's writings.
I thought many of you would be interested in his latest essay on developing a just foreign policy, the theme of YES! Magazine's Summer 2008 issue, "Superpower? Get Over It."
In "Smart Security and the End of War" he describes an emergent global movement where international representatives are calling upon parliaments of the world to adopt national equivalents of the historic Article 9, which was added to the Japanese Constitution following WWII:
ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.
From David's article:
"We humans have arrived at a defining moment. We must bring ourselves into balance with one another and Earth or suffer the consequences of social and environmental collapse. It creates a unique opportunity for bold action to end war as an instrument of foreign policy, convert to a peace economy, and create a world that works for all."
Also ..
The experience of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrates the folly of responding to terrorism with conventional military force and affirms the validity of Article 9. Public awareness of the costly failure of these misadventures has created a moment of opportunity for the U.S. peace movement to build popular political support for a Smart Security policy that renounces war as an instrument of foreign policy and sets forth a plan to:
1. Dismantle the obsolete machinery of war that is depleting our national treasure,
2. Convert our war economy of the past to a green economy of the future,
3. Mobilize our human and materials resources to address the real threats to our security, and
4. Work with the other nations of the world to do the same.
It is an opportunity to at once increase our security, improve the quality of our lives, and regain a position of principled global leadership.