Yes, peace on Earth is possible. It is also desirable. The real question ought not be "Is peace on Earth possible?," but "Why doesn't peace on Earth exist?" I explain more about this below.
With all the violence that takes place on Earth, many think it is unrealistic to expect peace to ever occur. But, can you imagine what this world would be like if there were no wars or violent conflicts? Persons would live longer, since deaths due to violence would cease. We would enjoy a higher standard of living because the time, money, material resources, and energy spent on wars could be used in more constructive ways. Persons would be happier and less fearful, since we would not need to worry about being attacked by others.
Indeed, given all the benefits from peace, it seems ludricous that we humans have not already figured out a way to resolve our differences peacefully and fairly to avoid all the problems of war. Unfortunately, greed, laziness, jealousy, etc., lead to conflicts.
The key to achieving world peace is to teach persons from childhood the importance of working honestly for their needs, not to be greedy, lazy, or jealous. And to help others in need.
Children (and adults) can learn ways to resolve conflicts fairly and peacefully. Taking time to think about the other person's point of view and to listen to the other person express how they feel, can go a long way toward understanding them and how best to resolve a situation fairly.
Some Reasons for International Conflicts
At the international level, conflicts can arise because some nations are blessed in ways others are not. For example, some nations are blessed with a wonderful climate and soil that enables the growing of huge quantities of food. Certain nations are blessed with a huge supply of valuable natural resources such as oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and so on.
Often those in poorer nations are jealous of those in wealthier ones. This leads to conflicts and potentially wars. Indeed, nations such as the United States that are blessed with an abundance of resources often devote a substantial part of their resources toward a military budget to prevent being attacked by other nations.
A great tragedy is that many nations that already have abundant resources (such as the United States and Russia) use their economic and military power to intimidate other nations into granting them favorable terms on resources. For example, the United States has used various forms of intimidation to ensure getting abundant oil from Middle Eastern nations at relatively cheap prices.
Small nations with limited resources are often basically at the mercy of larger more prosperous nations. The United States has invaded countries in Central and South America several times for various reasons.
Small nations with limited resources can seek help from other nations to build a coalition. And the United Nations is one resource that various nations turn to in an effort to resolve conflicts. But nations such as the United States with vast military and economic resources often act unilaterally--or build their own multilateral coalitions.
Alhough I've used the United States repeatedly as an example of a powerful nation abusing its power, there are other powerful nations that have done the same. Germany under Hitler in World War II, Russia and the Soviet Union during the last century, and European powers that colonized Africa and America are other examples.
An Optimistic Perspective for the Future
But, I optimistically think that over the long term peace will come to be. As travel internationally becomes cheaper and easier, it enables persons from various countries to travel more easily to visit other nations. They can learn from one another and potentially understand one another better.
Advances in communications such as cheaper telephone service and the Internet make international communication far easier now than even a generation ago. Cell phone videos and pictures, Facebook, Twitter, etc., enable atrocities to be broadcast internationally as they occur or soon afterward in many cases. These advances, as well as organizations like the UN and NATO, permit actions that weren't feasible a century ago. These make the establishment of world peace more likely in this generation than any other in centuries. Indeed, while definitive data on deaths from war and violent conflicts are not readily available, the website OurWorldIndata.org offers indications that the trend may be toward decreases in deaths from conflicts in the 21st century compared to past centuries.
Maybe peace on Earth will occur before the end of the 21st century, and we will hear bells tolling peace on Earth in various locations around the world, including a tolling of peace of the World Peace Bell in Newport, Kentucky, which is pictured below.
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| This World Peace Bell in Newport, Kentucky serves as a nice symbol. I would love to hear it ringing in honor of world peace some day. The bell "is the world's largest swinging bell" according to free information sheets about the bell that were located near it during my visit to see it in 2017. |
I hope the world will never endure another catastrophic war such as World War II or another genocide like Rwanda. And I believe much progress has been made and is being made. But we still have a long way to go.
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