I agree that a peaceful world would be a wonderful place to live, and the absence of war would make it much easier for people to live happy, profitable, fulfilling lives. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how realistic this dream is.
Whenever there is unequal distribution of resources, there's the potential for war. Some will have what others need, or feel that others have what is rightfully theirs, and convince themselves that armed conflict is the only way to secure those resources for themselves. Trying to fairly divide the world's resources among an ever-growing human population with diverse needs and wants is a truly monumental task.
The way I see it, there are two prerequisites to world peace:
1. Equal distribution of resources between all the world's inhabitants 2. A universal standard of fairness
The first is theoretically possible, though easier with a smaller population than a large one. The second is where a number of difficult questions arise. Is it more fair to give everyone an equal share regardless of birth and occupation, or to reward people commensurately for their contributions to society? How do we appease those who feel that they deserve more than they are receiving? Should a smaller country be given the more resources than a larger one if the smaller country is more heavily populated? And how will we convince the world's citizens - especially its most affluent ones - to embrace this new ideology? I seriously doubt that those who have accumulated vast amounts of wealth through their own hard work or wise investments would be overly enthusiastic about having it redistributed to those who are less fortunate.
If we want to change the world, we have to change people's minds. Welcome as this change would be, I fear it is too great to effect.
Whenever there is unequal distribution of resources, there's the potential for war. Some will have what others need, or feel that others have what is rightfully theirs, and convince themselves that armed conflict is the only way to secure those resources for themselves. Trying to fairly divide the world's resources among an ever-growing human population with diverse needs and wants is a truly monumental task.
The way I see it, there are two prerequisites to world peace:
1. Equal distribution of resources between all the world's inhabitants
2. A universal standard of fairness
The first is theoretically possible, though easier with a smaller population than a large one. The second is where a number of difficult questions arise. Is it more fair to give everyone an equal share regardless of birth and occupation, or to reward people commensurately for their contributions to society? How do we appease those who feel that they deserve more than they are receiving? Should a smaller country be given the more resources than a larger one if the smaller country is more heavily populated? And how will we convince the world's citizens - especially its most affluent ones - to embrace this new ideology? I seriously doubt that those who have accumulated vast amounts of wealth through their own hard work or wise investments would be overly enthusiastic about having it redistributed to those who are less fortunate.
If we want to change the world, we have to change people's minds. Welcome as this change would be, I fear it is too great to effect.
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