Against the wars of the 21st century,
how can peace be built between peoples?

Memo presenting the problem

A new historic challenge: How can the warriors of the 21st century be confronted without arms?
At the beginning of the 21st century, civil society and citizens are faced with a historic challenge: will they be able to avoid or stop the wars in progress and those that are kindling in different parts of the world? The 20th century saw two world wars and hundreds of other wars and genocides; the 21st century is beginning under even direr auspices than the previous century. The societies of the 21st century are now finding themselves at a crucial turning point once again. Impeded by the logic of war, we must face the challenge of not only stopping existing wars and preventing those in gestation, we must do so unarmed.

New forms of war, silent wars, social wars
The problem is not only present in the belligerent plans of the American government or in the armed actions of clandestine factions; injustice and violence are infiltrating daily life, locally, within families, in districts and cities, in vast regions, and between countries. It is not the "official" warriors or those that appear as such in the media that cause violence. This is just as present in everyday relations as it is in the Mafia networks that infiltrate districts, regions and whole countries, eventually becoming a transcontinental phenomenon. "Social wars" kill more people than wars between armies and they bring the problem of people's security to the fore. Can we, as social organizations and community networks, build a united society that respects human dignity?

The myriad roots of wars
The wars that confront us have different causes: economic inequalities, social conflicts, religious sectarianism, territorial disputes, and control over basic resources such as water and land. All these causes express a crisis of values and a major difficulty in finding meaning, individually and collectively, in our lives and our societies.
How can we face these wars and conflicts? Will the social economy be capable of opposing new-liberal capitalism and ensuring a more fulfilling life for millions of human beings? Will the United Nations succeed in neutralizing the expansionist ambitions of the new colonists of this century? Will education for peace be capable of soothing souls? Can human beings change at the same time as social structures and political systems?

Law, Force and Democracy
Is it right to constitute an independent military force obeying international law and capable of intervening in the conflicts that accumulate? If this force has to be founded on law, what should be done to ensure that this law is genuinely democratic? Is it possible for it to operate at global level? Is it possible to set up a parliament of peoples that legitimate the will of majorities?
Is it possible to reform political systems and the institutions of local, national, international and world governments so that they reflect the democratic will of the world's peoples?

The wars of today will trigger the wars of tomorrow
Projects of colonization continue in the 21st century. The successive expansionist governments of Israel pursue their plans of occupation and extermination of the Palestinian people. The governments of the United States of America persist in imposing its laws on the rest of the world as well as its interests and its force. The expansionist plans of religious fundamentalists are still active, seeking to control governments, communication resources and networks of influence. The wars that simmer or propagate today in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America and the latent conflicts that are developing in Europe and North America augur an era where not only every corner of the world will be affected, but the whole of humanity will reach the limits of its own existence.

Social Economy, Democracy, Justice and Peace
Without a social economy, genuine democracy will be impossible. The reverse is also true: without really participatory democracy, a new economy will not be viable. If law is not profoundly democratic, there can be no justice. And without justice peace will be but an idle dream.

How can we achieve a worthy economy, an open democracy, legitimate law and full justice simultaneously? Each component is linked to the others, but it is the whole that counts.

The challenges that confront us at the beginning of the 21st century are enormous. Only if we build peaceful paths in our thousands and millions can we confront and disarm the warriors, whoever and wherever they are.