Chapter 26
Peace is Good Business
“The real and lasting victories are those of peace,
and not of war.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Peace makes good sense. It is good for everybody, and it is good for business. A healthy world economy would be stronger and more efficient than the sum of our individual national economies. The economic savings that many nations would enjoy resulting from reduced defense spending could be redeployed to more productive uses. A global government could focus on the global economy and helping developing nations build healthy economies.
© The New Yorker Collection 1988 Joseph Mirachi from cartoonbank.com.
All Rights Reserved
Abraham Maslow’s widely accepted hierarchy of human needs describes the order in which they are typically satisfied: 1st) physiological: to satisfy hunger and thirst, and have bodily comforts, 2nd) for safety and security: to be out of danger, 3rd) to belong and love: to affiliate with others, and be accepted, 4th) for esteem: to achieve, be competent, gain approval and recognition, and 5th) to “self actualize”: to find self-fulfillment and realize one’s potential.
By merely having a place to go to work each morning, people have an opportunity to satisfy their physiological needs. Just as important, people with jobs will not likely tolerate terrorists who want to destroy their sources of income. An enforceable international law makes people feel safe and secure in home and workplace, which allows them to be active participants in the world marketplace, thereby creating healthier economies and greater economic opportunities for everyone. Educational and economic opportunities reduce feelings of rage and despair that bring people to the point where they no longer care whether they live or die. They are less inclined to hang around street corners, angrily shouting epithets, waving weapons and plotting retaliation against those they feel are responsible for their misery. As globalization brings our world together economically and politically, increased socialization fosters a sense of global affiliation. Helping people become productive members of society and feel secure could reduce warfare and terrorism.
Globalization and a global democracy with limited authority can help facilitate each of these needs.
