Peace and world unity : an outline of important problems with possible solutions

Abstract

The widespread desire for peace, and mankind's inability to achieve it, have been prominent subjects of study by thinkers in past generations. That the elimination of large-scale warfare is a pressing problem, is indicated by the spate of literature being published today on this subject. There is a search for generalisations that will reveal the forces operating in human relationships, and that will provide a harmonious pattern into which the behaviour of individuals and nations may fit. In a recent book, PSYCHOLOGY AND WORLD ORDER, Ranyard West concludes that wars must be overcome by world order, which requires a world force to maintain it, a world executive to administer it, a world court to judge disputes, a world legislature to make the laws, and a world charter of agreed principles on which the law would be based. West, R., PSYCHOLOGY AND WORLD ORDER, p.113. If the conclusions of Doctor West are accepted, they still raise the problem of how such institutions may be established and become effective. Since his manuscript went to press in 1945, the United Nations Organisation has been established, but an analysis of this institution shows it to be, as yet, ineffective.