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In Our Hands  -  Our World In Crisis

As many have warned us, the world is in ultimate crisis, Human frailty has placed not only the species at risk but also all other species and the globe itself.We are now extending our destructive activity beyond our own planet into the reaches of outer space. If we cannot halt the destructive drive for dominance which besets our species, then, quite frankly, the larger world would be better off without us. If we continue to adopt and obey a social system in which the strongest violators make the rules, there is no future. As Darwin has demonstrated, the evolution of species is determined by a simple rule: it is the strongest who survive. Our history shows that, for the human species, that has translated into the survival of the most violent. Violence itself has progressed from simple physical dominance to a comprehensive dominance of mind, body, and soul. With this progression has also come an expanding capacity for consciousness raising. With the expansion of consciousness comes the opportunity to turn things around.

Is this likely to happen? Our historical record and our present dire state would suggest not. A global dominant caste commanding vast weaponry, both physical and mental, is now running amok: global hegemony is its goal and extreme violence its method. Societyʼs own institutions are captured and ruthlessly deployed in this enterprise: the brute force of sophisticated military power; the comprehensive control of the global economy; the dismantling of national sovereignty; the manipulation of the population through the systemic denial of access to factual knowledge, the distortion of reality, the dismantling of social cohesion and personal integrity.

Nevertheless, hope is not lost and action is imperative. Change is a strange creature, sometimes
incremental but, and this is where our hope can lie, often sudden, unexpected, a burst of creative energy
which changes the world, a new approach, once discovered seemingly so obvious, so full of power - and all
changes quite quickly. Why not now? The need is urgent.

In respect to Darwinʼs evolutionary insight, his recognition that species survival is determined by the survival
of the fittest, it is now abundantly clear that the violent are no longer the fittest in terms of species survival,
rather their continuing search for dominance is a global hazard bringing the species closer and closer to the
point of extinction. Survival, fitness to survive, now lies with the other great human tendency - the capacity
for rational thought and ethical behaviour. With this capacity as our guiding principle, we can evolve as a
species, we can build better societies and halt the rule of violence in all its many forms.

There is an enormous body of information which documents the increasing risk we face as technology
empowers an anti-democratic ruling elite to strive for world dominance whatever the cost to the rest of
humanity and to the planet itself. More than enough is now known, now documented, regarding what is
wrong and, as a community, we do not need to keep repeating ourselves, our existing body of knowledge is
already enormous and irrefutable. All that those of us who do not yet know but are willing to know now
require is access to this established body of knowledge, this key societal information. Their contribution also
can then empower our progression towards the establishment of a safe and sane world.

Noam Chomsky is widely regarded as perhaps the greatest intellectual and foremost scholar of our times.
For over 50 years, Chomsky has impeccably documented the threat to human and planetary survival which
arose post the second world war and which has now escalated to the point where disaster is imminent. His
“Hegemony or Survival” (2003) urgently brought to the worldʼs attention the short time remaining if we are to
survive as a species and, as its title suggests, makes very clear the change of direction which is required if
we are to have a future.

Chomskyʼs other works, both early and recent, provide ongoing insight into the critical issues we face. His
research includes active and continuous personal contact with the “good examples” of the world, the
successful and innovative efforts to create equitable society. His work also fully documents the need to go
beyond the mainstream media and institutions if one is to understand what is happening in the world and to
learn how others are acting to bring about a better world. Much is already being achieved to bring about
change, good examples abound of countries, people, ideas, actions. This awareness needs to be sought for
as knowledge of it is actively withheld.

Chomsky does not stand alone in identifying the danger we face and the urgent need for reform of our social
system if we are to survive as a species. Other valuable sources of information include many individuals,
many alternate news sites, enterprises, and organisations. The internet, alternate media, and social
interaction are the means for ensuring that as many of us as wish to be aware, as wish to help avert
catastrophe and create a new and better social order have the opportunity to do so. With this will come the
change we need.

A Global Superpower

In 1955, Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell, two of the greatest and most respected minds of the 20th
century, wrote an urgent manifesto seeking to prevent world catastrophe. They involved distinguished
scientists from across the political spectrum in support of their effort, as they believed that the public was not
fully aware of the serious and irreversible threat posed to humanity by the development of nuclear weaponry.
They hoped to achieve a change in the conduct of world affairs and their manifesto contained the following
resolution
We invite this Congress, and through it the scientists of the world and the general public, to subscribe to the
following resolution:
“In view of the fact that in any future world war nuclear weapons will certainly be employed, and that such
weapons threaten the continued existence of mankind, we urge the Governments of the world to realize, and
to acknowledge publicly, that their purpose cannot be furthered by a world war and we urge them,
consequently, to find peaceful means for the settlement of all matters of dispute between them.”

This Manifesto was of critical importance to both men and constitutes a gift to humanity from them. Russell
was already in his mid-eighties yet devoted himself to ensuring that an inaugural Scientific Conference
followed the public release of the document. Einstein also was fully committed and, despite grave illness,
worked on this with Russell right through to the final signing of the document itself. The signing of the final
document, in the week before his death, was Einsteinʼs last public act.

Russell and Einstein understood that the world population needed to be adequately informed as it was only
the world population itself which had the power to turn around the disastrous societal arrangements which
were bringing the species to the point of extinction. They understood that governing elites have the power
but not the will to change course, that they were trapped in a distorted world view and lacked the political will
to change course. They placed their trust in an informed general public.

Russell and Einsteinʼs hopes in relation to the general public have not yet come to fruition. Their manifesto
has really been withheld from the people for whom it was intended, very few of us have even heard of it, let
alone read it, it is not part of the curriculum of any of our schools, it is not part of the general societal
knowledge. As they rightly understood, the public needs to be informed before it can act effectively. Insights
and knowledge which would help us do better with our construction of society are “disappeared”, not
permitted to become part of our understanding of the world in which we live. Much else has also been
withheld.

With the advent of a global society and a global communication system, we now have the opportunity to
access all of this information and more if we so wish. We have the opportunity to establish global solidarity,
to construct a better world together, better even for the global elites who so actively destroy what gives
meaning and purpose to our lives and our universe. In 2003, the power residing in the general world
population became very evident when the worldʼs mightiest nation, its only remaining superpower, declared
its intention of attacking the people of Iraq. The illegality and immorality of this proposal was manifestly
evident as was the bravado and arrogance with which this position was asserted. At the time, global
opposition was so overwhelming and reached such unprecedented levels that “public opinion” was described
by eminent thinkers as the second superpower. Russell and Einsteinʼs trust in the general public was upheld:
when fully aware, the people of the world stand for common sense and decency, for justice and solidarity, for
protection of the core values which sustain an ethical society.

It should then have been easy but it has not been so. Despite overwhelming global opposition, the global
super power proceeded to wage its so-called war against a defenceless people. The unethical rule of force
was on full display with the nature of “democracy” fully exposed. What then is the answer? An undemocratic
ruling elite is seemingly incapable of changing direction, it will ride roughshod over the rest of society, it will
govern in its own perceived self interest. The more power it captures, the less will it heed the principles of an
ethical society.

Since 2003, we have seen this brutal war being waged more and more openly against the people of the
world. The hegemonic nature of the warfare is highly visible: the waging of global war against all who might
threaten hegemonic rule; the ruthless destruction and division of societies in the interests of hegemony, the
use of proxies, false flags, media manipulation, digital imperialism, economic violence, and the enforced
displacement of entire populations. Also Increasingly visible is the global war being waged against the
citizenry of the so-called democracies, against those who seek an equitable and democratic society: the
shameless economic violence masquerading as austerity, the panoptic surveillance of domestic populations,
the dismantling of civil society, the militarisation of police forces trained to view a legitimately protesting
population as the enemy, the unaccountable intelligence agencies devoted to the protection of the interests
of the powerful hegemonic global minority.

What can we learn from this? Where is our voice now? Were we defeated and is there now no hope for a
decent world? One might think that this is the case if one relied upon mass media and government
propaganda. However, it is not the case. We already know with certainty that an informed general public
stands for decency and justice in the conduct of world affairs. We also know with certainty that we have the
capacity as human beings to create truly ethical societies: we have already demonstrated this capacity,
although knowledge of our successes, our “good examples”, has been withheld from us as this knowledge
poses a perceived and actual threat to the continuing rule of the global elite.

Great humanitarians have trusted in the people of the world, trusted in their honour, their good intentions,
their commitment to the establishment of a just society. That is true of some of us, perhaps it was once true
of more, but not yet has it been true of enough. Modern technology in the hands of the perpetrators is used
to fundamentally alter the consciousness of the population: thus, populations as well as individuals can be
rendered dysfunctional, unable to act in their own shared interest, blinded to the reality of their own
oppression, dependent upon their oppressors. Dominance brings compliance, fear of violence brings
psychological change, brute force is not the only means of bringing a population to heel.

Global Solidarity

We are confronted with a system out of control, running amok, providing illusory gain for the few at the real
expense of all. All lose as the gains so eagerly sought by those at the top destroy their own humanity and
render their lives ugly, greedy, and bereft of all dignity. It is more than clear for those who are willing to see
that violence no longer pays, that submission no longer pays, and that a new form of societal organisation is
required if we are to survive, let alone thrive, as a species. Whether or not this is possible, now rests in our
hands. If we are to succeed, we must stop deceiving ourselves, we must resist the lies and propaganda, we
must recognise that our society is a plutocracy not a democracy and that this is the fundamental problem
which places so much in jeopardy.

We do not need to deal directly with the elite caste, the dominating caste, we do not need to know all of their
names, their crimes, their associations. Instead we ourselves, the larger population, simply need to act
differently, to recognise our communal power and use that to cut to the chase and stop the abuse. In doing
this, we most certainly do not need to use the old methods of violence, that would be self-defeating. The
attempt to violently remove the offenders, the perpetrators, simply brings forth a new set of perpetrators who
operate on the same principles of violence and dominance as before.

Rather, we need to recognise our own power. We are the majority, the functioning of society depends upon
our compliance, our consumerism, our labour, our reproduction, our talent, our passivity. We need to do what
each of us can now do and encourage others to do the same. Most importantly, we need to affirm ourselves
as individuals and as a society. So many of us know that things are not right but feel powerless and helpless
- we need to communicate with one another, to reclaim solidarity, to disallow violence, and to act positively
and productively.We have been described as a global superpower, it is essential that we gain our confidence
and follow through on this, that we peacefully build a social system which is a true democracy, a social
system in which justice not dominance is the guiding principle.

We will need to actively maintain our solidarity in this and not succumb to the age-old “divide and conquer”
strategy which for centuries has broken community solidarity and placed the most successful bully in power.
Change becomes possible when we are clear about the need for change and when we act in non-violent
solidarity with one another. That is all that is required. Without our support, the elite caste is no longer able to
maintain its dominance, to carry out its wars, to maximise its profits, to wreak havoc in the world which is the
home of all of us.

With such an approach in place, our soldiers can lay down their arms and work for planet recovery - our
soldiers are people, people like us, all they need is encouragement and solidarity. There is a vast network of
military people who speak against the war and quite probably this is how the majority of our soldiers would
respond if they were free to do so, if they were given the encouragement to do so.

With such an approach, our food providers can again earn an honest living in providing healthy produce, all
they need is our support, our willingness to boycott the rapacious corporations and instead support them. We
need to withdraw our support from all enterprises which are exacting inordinate profits through the abuse of
labour, the abuse of the taxation system, the abuse of global resources and global communities.

We can do all of this and more now. Easily. We need to do it together. We need to encourage one another
and to build community and global solidarity. We need to do all that we can, tokenism is not enough. We will
need to forgo some of our habits, notably our habits of excessive consumption. Also our habit of gullibility,
our habit of forgoing responsibility. This is our planet and we are all responsible for its well being.

The global elite caste simply cannot exercise its power if the world population resists effectively, acts
effectively. Boycotts are effective, we know that, we need to generalise that principle. Organisation and
solidarity are effective, we know that too, we need to reclaim that. We do not need to make a noise about it,
we simply need to do it. Creativity finds new solutions, opens new horizons, we know that too.

Today, in a world rushing towards disaster, visibly tearing itself apart, with human misery everywhere, we can
no longer carry on as though there is no problem, no obligation, no emergency. We can no longer step back
and leave it all to the perpetrators to do as they will, and to the few who struggle to restore decency against
overwhelming odds. In this we would have no excuse, no excuse at all. We have the power to create a better
world. and the responsibility for this is in our hands.

In our name, the global elite is bringing war and destruction, deprivation and death to the many peoples of
the world on a global scale never before experienced. We become complicit if we merely occupy the position
of bystander, choosing to remain uninformed, retreating to the comfort of our own small world, accepting the
lies of our rulers whilst mayhem rages around us. The bystander is not innocent, the bystander is the
enabler.

An Ethical Society

We are a gifted species technologically yet remain a flawed species societally. We could achieve much were
we simply to acknowledge this flaw in our being and thus be in a position to address it in a systematic and
effective manner. Historically, we have organised our human societies around the principle that power and
privilege is to be held by the ruling group of the time. Dominance and hierarchy have been the mechanisms
for the establishment of the prevailing social order. This is a common form of social organisation for many
species but with the state of technological advancement now reached by the human species, it creates a
societal flaw which we need to address.

Societies which are governed by principles of dominance and hierarchy are constitutionally unable to create
conditions of equity and justice, instead being ruled by the principle of self interest. In such societies, self
interest rules both the dominant class and the submissive class. A form of social organisation is required
which does not leave ruling power in the hands of the self-interested, whether this be an actual ruling
minority or a self interested enabling majority. In an advanced technological society, such a form of societal
organisation is not sustainable as the escalation of violence is predictable, demonstrable, and catastrophic.
Good governance can only be achieved where ethics themselves rule in the interest of all, and all are held
subservient to the rule of ethics. Human reason gives us the means to establish this and also shows us the
necessity for it.

We are fortunate that an inherent characteristic of our species, present from the beginning, is a deep
sensitivity and commitment to the concept of justice. We share this awareness in its primitive form with other
species also, the knowledge of what is fair and what is not fair. It is this characteristic which now needs to be
established as the basis for a social order which does not threaten us with life extinction as does a
technologically advanced society in which the social order is based upon dominance and hierarchy, upon self
interest rather than the common good. Our sense of justice provides us with the basis for a developed
understanding of the preeminence which needs to be given to ethics, of what it means to lead an ethical life
and to establish an ethical society.

Many of our early thinkers were following this path of thought, although expressing it through the concepts of
their time. Thus, Plato came to the conclusion that society should be governed by its philosophers as their
particular skill was the study of ethics and their lifestyle could be such as to remove the deleterious
temptations of self-interest. A society which is governed by ethical principles is, by definition, a just society in
which equity and opportunity have replaced dominance and hierarchy. An ethical society is a sustainable
society, a society no longer at risk of self-annihilation. As with our technological development, advances in
our societal development will only occur over time as we become more proficient in the skill of basing our
social order on the principle of equity rather than that of self-interest, on the rule of ethics rather than the rule
of dominance and hierarchy.

Like Plato. we may conclude that our mechanism for social organisation, for now at least, needs to be the
continuance of rule by an elite minority, a minority which would achieve and hold its position by virtue of its
capacity for ethical rule, for ensuring that justice and equity provide the basis for social order and governing
power is wielded only in the interest of the common good. An informed democracy might well choose this
path as the most efficient means of assuring the desired outcome. In this event, an informed democracy
would need to ensure that government was participatory, democratic, and concerned with the advancement
of the common good. A manipulated and uninformed “democracy” would simply continue to permit an
undemocratic elite to rule in its own self interest.

Is the desired change possible? Seemingly, there is nothing to stop us but our own nature, and that nature
is not an implacable given. Nature is important but environment also counts. Unfortunately our oppressors
know this and have efficiently created a social environment which supports the system of dominance and
submission, the rule of self interest and its associated abrogation of conscience and consciousness. We can
turn this around. We are the majority, and we too can consciously create a social environment of our
choosing. We now have the means and the opportunity to do just that, to act in solidarity and together
establish a sustainable global society where ethics rule in the interest of all, where ethics is established as
the governing force in the minds of the majority of us and in the actuality of our lives.

The examples are already there for us, their success hidden from our sight. Many successful societies
following principles of justice and equity have been established by inspired movements, ethical elites and
leaders, and have flourished unless brought down by the violent forces of those seeking to preserve a social
order which perpetuates wrongful privilege and power. Oppressive power elites greatly fear the”domino
effect” which such societies provide as an example and encouragement to the people of the world. Global
solidarity is the means we have for ensuring that we are able to protect these successful societies. When the
global elite no longer has our support, our cooperation, it is not able to bring its destructive force to bear on
our societies.

With the rule of ethics established as the governing force in our minds and our societies, global solidarity will
ensure that we continue to evolve as a sustainable society, that our efforts cannot be derailed by self
interested minorities. We can each contribute and each enjoy the contribution of others and the progress of
society as a whole. So long as we remain informed and ethical, conscious of our individual and shared
responsibility, we will be able to live in the society towards which we have striven for so long.

Cultural Change

We in the West need to unlearn a great deal of what has been imposed on us. For us, more than for others,
it is a struggle to see the reality of the world in which we live. Our western propaganda system is immensely
powerful and has been part of our socialisation from the beginning of our lives. We need to unlearn much of
what we have been inculcated with. Just as children, despite all evidence to the contrary, will continue to
believe in the goodness and wisdom of their abusive parents, so too citizens of the west have generally
believed in the goodness, even the superiority, of their social system.

Yet, it is we in the west whose governments have followed an imperialistic, exploitative, and murderous
global agenda. The Anglo Empire in particular has been a continuous force for world dominance and has
brought us to the critical point we now face. Technology has empowered it, together with its associates, to
threaten us all with extinction at the worst and slavery at the best. As westerners, many of us now recognise
that it has been in our name that the forces of imperialism and hegemony have for so long brought so much
suffering and tragedy to the world. More of us are now aware of our particular responsibility, our shared
responsibility, and are actively working to overcome the tyranny we have endured for so long. We are part of
the very broad global efforts to restore balance and humanity to the world in which we live.

Our western efforts are essential in this, as it is we who have the responsibility and the capacity to ensure
that our governments no longer act as the vassals of those seeking hegemonic power. The activities of this
antidemocratic minority are increasingly spinning further and further out of control and becoming more and
more dangerous as they do so. We may now have reached the critical point which will determine whether we
progress as a global society or whether we fail. In the face of this possibility, we are fortunate that the global
opposition to the drive for hegemony which is threatening us all, has at last been taken up, almost
simultaneously, by powerful and diverse leaders from across the globe.

These leaders are unanimous in calling out the perpetrators of the threat to our survival and are insistent
upon the need for our global society to now be established on ethical principles in the interest of all. This
change in the dynamics of global power has occurred suddenly and has been surprising in many ways. Most
of all it has been uplifting.

Speaking to the world, both in person and by papal encyclical, the current Pope has mounted an impressive
and effective campaign for the protection of the earth and for justice for its people. He has not held back from
naming the problem. We could not have anticipated that we would be so fortunate as to have a Pope who
would speak and act so strongly against the excesses of capitalism.

Even more surprisingly, at least for many in the western world, we find Russia, historically the demonised
enemy of both the church and the western world, also leading the way in the effort to return sanity to the
world. A powerful address by the Russian President to the United Nations named the hegemonic problem
with its associated rise of terrorism, and recommended a cooperative global response under international
law to what is now an increasing and very dangerous global problem.

A number of other global “leaders”, many again unexpected, are challenging the rogue drive for hegemony
and speaking up for global ethics in society. We can continue to expect that some but not all of the ruling
elite will join this effort to reverse direction and establish good sense and ethics in society. The European
Union has recently offered its support to Edward Snowden, recommending that he be offered political asylum
by member states.The American president is now campaigning strongly for the protection of the environment
and for global action on climate change. The Chinese president has made major commitments towards the
protection of the environment and the prevention of global warming. Iranʼs prime minister continues to be a
strong voice for peace and diplomacy and is a strong advocate for the establishment of a nuclear free zone
in the Middle East.

In Britain, we have a newly elected opposition leader opposing war, decrying the exploitations of capitalism,
and demanding social justice. The Scottish National Party, a strong parliamentary voice in Britain, also
speaks up strongly for social justice and in opposition to the continuation of the very dangerous Trident
nuclear weaponry program. The newly elected government of Canada has a very strong popular mandate for
a change of direction, and upon election immediately withdrew its forces from the destructive Middle East
military enterprise. The Australian public has obliged its neoconservative government to replace its
reactionary Prime Minister with a more moderate leader.

South America has perhaps taken the lead, and for some time now, in establishing its societies on ethical
principles. Their successful embrace of social justice and continental solidarity has allowed them to protect
one another from the more vicious onslaughts of the hegemonic enterprise, whilst also extending their voices
in the interests of global solidarity. In South America, we have seen a rise in living standards as the well
being of all is supported and nations offer fraternal support to one another.

Importantly, we are at last seeing global recognition of the leadership and example provided to us by the
indigenous peoples of the world. Bolivia, for example, has a strong indigenous community from whose
courage and wisdom it has greatly benefited. Despite its small size and impoverished status, it yet stared
down the global corporations in their attempts to privatise the nationʼs water supply. Ecuador, drawing on the
long held understandings of its indigenous population, became the first nation in the world to incorporate the
rights of nature into its constitution.

Australia too is now drawing on the knowledge and wisdom of its indigenous people. Only recently has it
been documented that the pleasing pastoral landscape which was so admired by the newly arriving
Europeans in 1788 was a product of the indigenous people whose advanced land management skills
developed in harmony with the environment over some 40,000 years. Contemporary efforts are now being
directed towards applying this knowledge to the land management of modern Australia and it is to be hoped
that leadership in this will be vested in the indigenous community itself where some of the traditional
knowledge and sensitivities are still held.

In the west, we are also drawing on the wisdom of our own earlier understandings. We are remembering the
primary and essential importance of our connection with nature, our at-oneness with nature, and seeking to
restore balance to ourselves and to the world in which we live. We are remembering the historical place of
ʻthe commons” in our early societies and developing cultural awareness and legislative protection for
ourselves, for future generations, and for nature in relation to this fundamental principle. We are also now
able to draw on our own important contemporary research which establishes unequivocally that the more
equitable a society is the better it does on all measures of social wellbeing, and conversely, that the less
equitable a society, the greater the social dysfunction on all measures. Much will change as we consolidate
these understandings.

Far-reaching acts of creative leadership are increasingly being provided by ethical individual across the
globe. In Australia, the courage and decency of Adam Goodes,an indigenous footballer, has led to a
successful national campaign against the racist and bullying behaviour of sections of the football following
public. Of note was the very positive public response to this campaign when the institutional voices of the
football industry and the mainstream media chose to speak up strongly, if belatedly, showing their capacity to
both identify racism and bullying and to call them out. Similarly, again in Australia, the strong voice of a few
individuals opposing domestic violence, together with institutional support, has at last led to broad public
identification of the dynamic involved in such violence.

The opportunity is now there for a comprehensive change in the direction of the conduct of world affairs. The
role of the general public will be paramount, An informed and ethical general public will be able to ensure
that the opportunity to establish a new direction is brought to fruition and that those who seek world
dominance will no longer be able to manipulate the public into supporting such an enterprise. As we progress
from being a society of leaders and followers, let us learn to follow only those “leaders” who demonstrate a
capacity to oppose dominance and affirm ethics as the guiding principle of our societies. Let us concurrently
also be sure to recognise, endorse and support all other acts of ethical leadership wherever they may arise.
And let us ourselves also contribute positive leadership in the establishment of ethical society.
November 2015

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