We extend our sympathy to France and all who suffer because of the Paris massacres promulgated by the Islamic State on 14 November 2015.

The horrendous events in Paris dictate that this week’s “Coastal Outlook” must consider security and peace. Is there anything we can do about global conflicts and violence? We all try to make sense of the “big picture”. It is a challenge because everything relates to everything else.

What can we do?
I think there are two things we can do right now to contribute to world peace: we could invest more in education and raise our consciousness about peace. The humanities disciplines in our universities might yet prove to be more important than the hard sciences. WITT could integrate peace studies into all its courses. The Parihaka Centre to be built soon will be an important contribution.

Christians and Muslims fought with swords, but now they use high explosives, drones and Kalashnikov rifles. Pope Urban II in 1095, during his sermon at Clermont, France, called for the religious military journeys which came to be known as the Crusades. 

Simplistic ideas
Let us begin with a statement that must be wrong but which has truth within: There are two fundamental drivers of global violence: religion and poverty.  This is a sociological/economic argument, but it will not make the sociologists or the economists happy. Historians will cringe at the simplification. Psychologists will say I should consider human nature. Philosophers will say I must improve my knowledge of ethics. Religious people may be offended.  But we have to start somewhere, so let us consider religion and poverty.

Religion
Reports from Paris say the terrorists yelled “This is for Syria” and “Allahu Akbar” (“Allah is greater”, or “God is great”). The violence that we saw in Paris last week – characterised as Moslem versus Christian – has a history of over 1,000 years. Sometimes the Christians won, sometimes the Moslems. It is clear from the rhetoric of John Kerry that the Christians do not intend to love their enemies or turn the other cheek. We will find them and kill them, he says.

Moslem-Christian Conflict
President Obama upset many when he said the Christians should not get on their “high horse” because they are just as guilty of atrocities as the warriors of Islam. It is a bit like a bitter divorce where each accuses the other of the greater crime.

Muslim scholars argue that the conflict began with Pope Urban II around 1095. He demonized Islam and Muslims, and he began the military expeditions (eventually called The Crusades) into foreign lands. The Christian scholars say the Pope responded to the incursions of the Muslims. All this offends those who believe in scholarship.

Change
If the Christian-Moslem conflict has been going on over a thousand years, why is it so awful now? Perhaps it was always awful. What has changed is the resource base of those involved, management and organisation, and technology. One guy with the resources, organisational skills and the technology can kill and maim thousands.

Drones
The West now uses satellites and drones to kill “targets”. We, the citizens of the West, accept this without protest. Drones change everything. They are the ultimate weapon if you do not mind incidental casualties (sanitised in the term “collateral damage”). Drones alter the very nature of war because the warriors are not on the front line. Drones appeal to the politicians because they are low-cost and the operators’ country has no casualties.

Our turn
When the drones attack your loved ones – your children or your grand-children – remember where it all began. Remember what you did to turn the tide of history, remember your contribution. Today is the day that you must act for peace.

Our best hope
The United Nations remains the best hope for world security and peace. Unfortunately, it is a dysfunctional institution. The decision-making structures decided after the Second World War are unfair and lack credibility. They undermine the commitment which the UN requires from member countries.

The history of the UN appears in the Ken Follett novel “Winter of the World”. It is a great book if you want some insights into the UN. You might like to join the New Zealand United Nations Association, but it does not have a branch in Taranaki!

Ken Follett’s historical novels are great reading. They tell us about the lives of our ancestor. “Winter of the World” describes the origins of the United Nations.

UN Development Goals
A few months ago the nations of the United Nations unveiled their “17 Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs). These aim to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality.

Any serious attempt to eliminate poverty must modify capitalism. Half the wealth of the world is owned by 1% of the people. This is the outcome of capitalism. Wealth inequality has been increasing steadily since 2008, according to the latest report from Credit Suisse.

UN lacks power
The United Nations cannot make laws. It cannot enforce its decisions. All it can do is move motions to condemn or applaud actions taken by nations or groups. The strength of the UN is that all countries are involved; the weakness is that they cannot do anything much together.

Fierce capitalism
In the academic jargon fierce capitalism is known as “neoliberalism” (new-liberalism). The theory says competition is good, individual profit is the good, and open markets are great. With my beginning Chinese students I call it the “American way of doing business”. This is the theory of the TPP. Is this an approach that will contribute to justice and world peace?

TPP & peace
New Zealand’s focus in the TPP negotiations has been on how the agreement can increase the income of our important industry sectors. These were the specific and immediate goals of our negotiators.

There are other TPP goals which are not about identified industries – these should concern us. It is these things that will undermine the security of your children and your grandchildren. They are the peripherals of fierce capitalism.

SDG conflicts with TPP
The UN world development goals are in conflict with the goals of the TPP. Oh well, we might say, governments often try to do contradictory things. Unfortunately, it is more serious in this case. The SDGs are important for our future security.

Robert Shaw
robert@porirua.net