Historically, war has seemed natural for humans. It is everywhere. However, at its core, conflict always comes down to a choice. When making these decisions, we need to understand the right tools to respond to all conflict levels, from neighborly disputes to global warfare.
With the help of expert John Reuwer, we learn the value of settling wars with nonviolence and civil resistance. John is the treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors at World BEYOND War (WBW), a global movement that aims to abolish the institution of war. The organization currently has signatories to their two-sentence peace pledge in 194 countries. John has had many firsthand experiences with violent conflict as a retired emergency physician and has spent decades examining the benefits of nonviolence.
In this episode, we discuss ways to manage conflict on a global scale, including the enforcement of gradual disarmament, incentivization for countries, reallocation of military budgets, and the removal of nuclear weaponry. The dangers of war continue to grow with the advancement of artificial technology; this means that humans have the power to regulate our systems and weaponry to redesign our world for a better and more peaceful future.
#betterfuture #hopeforhumanity #abolishwar #civilresistance #nonviolence #worldpeace #peacepledge #globalconflict #grassroots #globalsecurity #conflictresolution
-----
The Human Survival Podcast, hosted by Shelby Mertes.
This show is offered by The Human Survival Project, a global grassroots organization pushing for a redesigned and much stronger United Nations, so humanity has the global tools to manage its global existential threats. We’re working to protect the future of humanity and create a world we can be proud of.
Connect and learn more at: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/
Sign up for our email newsletter, or send Shelby a message with any questions or suggestions: https://www.thehumansurvivalproject.org/connect
This show is also an audio-only podcast, at Google/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many other podcast services.
Please subscribe and tell your friends about the show.
RESOURCES:
World BEYOND War’s Website
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Introduction.
4:26 - What is World BEYOND War? How does it work? What are its goals?
8:28 - War is not inevitable or “natural” for humans.
10:51 - Nonviolence and the Golden Rule.
13:49 - War/violence mainly keeps the powerful in control.
16:40 - Manipulation of citizens’ and soldiers’ perspectives in the Russia-Ukraine war.
19:45 - What would happen if we didn’t fight? Civil resistance.
28:03 - Enforcing nonviolent approaches.
32:35 - Redesigning the United Nations.
38:38 - Cultural violence to empower the people.
40:39 - Humanity making decisions for humanity.
41:14 - Making war illegal and gradually disarming everyone.
44:37 - Difficulties of having a representative voice in government.
45:50 - Disarmament in peace policies.
47:33 - Redirecting the military budget to non-military purposes.
48:59 - How do we help countries feel safe enough to disarm?
52:47 - Transparency in policies is a choice.
55:03 - Nuclear weapons and incentivization for disarmament.
1:00:08 - International courts.
1:02:37 - To what extent is warfare economic?
1:05:05 - Humans built nuclear weapons. Humans can take them apart.
1:08:26 - World BEYOND War’s peace pledge.