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virtua lly unchecked. and the plun–
der of the riches of the deep in–
tensifies.
At times. it appears as if nothing
can ha lt mankind's lemmi ng- like
dive toward disaster.
Two Choices:
lnterdependence or Anarchy
It should be obvious to thinking
people that something is fundamen–
ta lly wrong with the structure of
human society. Virtually every dip–
lomat today, and many polit ical sci–
entisrs and philosophers as well,
acknowledge the growing inter–
dependence of individual nation–
states. They stress that only through
international coopera tion can any
headway be made toward solving
the major issues confronting man–
kind as a whole.
On the other hand, very few
world leaders are willing to sacrifice
sho rt-term national self-interests for
the sake of longe r-term inter–
national well-being.
The world, in short. is in a state of
anarchy .
Years ago. l heard Norman Cous–
ins. editor of
Saturday Re–
viewl World
make an interes ting
observation in a speech in Los An–
geles. He compared the world to a
neighborhood of 130 or 140 individ–
ual citizens each doing their own
thing - with no central govern–
mental authority, no enforceable
laws, and no police or other regu–
latory agencies to guide ínter–
personal relations.
What better description of the
world today. And o ne other obser–
vation might be made too: the
Un ited Nations - which sorne vi–
sionaries had hoped at one tin1e
would be the nucleus of a world
government - is in no position to
regulate the affairs of the "world
neighborhood." Instead. during
1974 cracks deve loped in the U.N.'s
flimsy house-of-cards structu re that
may be impossible to repair.
ro–
tended to be a world clearing-house
for the discussion of all points of
view. the U.N. and one ofits related
agencies instead, during the past
PLAIN TRUTH January 1975
J
think ofmy se!fas a historian more than
a statesman. As a historian, you have
lo be conscious of the Jact that every
civilization that has ever existed has
u/timately failed. History is a tale of
efforts thac failed, of aspirations that
weren
't
realized, of wishes rhat were
fu({tlled and rhen turned out to be
dif.ferent from what are expected. So,
as a historian, one has to !ive wilh a sense
of the inevitabi!ity of tragedy. As a states–
man, one has to act on the assumption
that problems can be so/ved
- Henry K1ssinger m a conversat1on
with
New York Times
column1st
James Reston. Oct.
13
year, excommunicated two member
sta tes. South Africa and Israe l. from
two of its forums. Compounding the
lragedy. a representative of a terror–
ist organization was accorded vir–
tual head-of-state honors.
The expulsion of South Africa
from the General Assembly not
only was illegal according to the
U.N.'s own rules. but highly une thi–
cal and hypocritical.
New
York
Times
columnisl C.
L.
Sulzberger
put the action in words that cannot
be improved upon:
"Right now, the black state of
Uganda [which sits
in
the Assembly]
is involved in one of the weirdest,
most crue l patterns of government
brutality. Chopping up opponents
and feeding them to crocodiles is
not a lesser sin than South African
segregation. And Chad (which also
voted) sometimes buries Christians
alive in anth ills.
"When Stalin st ill ruled Russia.
millions of its people were in prison
camps or execution cellars.... But
Russia remained a pillar of the
U.N.....
" l f an internacional organizarían
intends to practice fair play - a ba–
sic objective of the U.N. - it should
do so toward a ll ... it was not only
illogical to oust the Pretoria Gov–
ernment at a moment when it is
showing serious signs of refo rm but
blatantly unjust in terms of all other
transgressors. past and present. who
have smilingly kept and still keep
their seats in so-called respectabil–
ity's greatest club."
The same decay and paralysis
which sunk the Old League of Na–
tions is sett ling in on its modero day
counterpart.
Needed: Something New
On October 14. 1974 Dr. Aurelio
Peccei. execu ti ve committee spokes–
man of the Club o f Rome warned in
West Berlín that only a new
"humanist philosophy" can avert
the danger of worldwide social and
política! chaos.
Speaking a t the opening of the
Club's four-day conference on prob–
lems of world developmcnt, Dr.
Peccei said the world's politica l and
socia l structure was cracking under
overpopulation. insufficien t food
production and economic devel–
opment. a downward drifting world
economy. and growing inequality
between the rich and the poor.
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