World Unity—Will It Ever Be a Reality?

“IF WE should succeed over the next few generations in transforming the world of independent states in which we live into some sort of genuine international community, . . . then we shall effectively have abolished the ancient institution of warfare as well . . . If we should fail, however, there probably will be . . . no civilization.” So says military historian Gwynne Dyer in his book entitled War.

History’s pages, says Dyer, are littered with accounts of nations and other powerful groups who resorted to war to settle their differences. Their disunity devastated the lives of millions of victims. King Solomon’s description of how this affected people in his day is still apt today. He wrote: “I myself returned that I might see all the acts of oppression that are being done under the sun, and, look! the tears of those being oppressed, but they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, so that they had no comforter.”—Ecclesiastes 4:1.

Nowadays, as the above historian points out, besides compassion for “the tears of those being oppressed,” there is an added reason for finding some way to transform the world of independent states into some sort of genuine international community: The very survival of civilization is at stake! Modern warfare promises to destroy every nation that resorts to it and will leave no victors.

World Unity in Sight?

What are the prospects for world unity? Can human society overcome the divisive forces that threaten earth’s survival? Some think so. Defense editor of Britain’s Daily Telegraph, John Keegan, writes: “Despite confusion and uncertainty, it seems just possible to glimpse the emerging outline of a world without war.”

What gives him this optimistic outlook? Why do many seem hopeful despite mankind’s long history of warfare and man’s seeming inability to govern himself successfully? (Jeremiah 10:23) ‘Mankind is moving forward. History shows a pattern of continuing progress,’ some at one time argued. Even today, many believe that somehow man’s innate goodness will triumph over evil. Is that a realistic hope? Or is it simply a delusion that will lead to more disappointment? In his book Shorter History of the World, historian J. M. Roberts realistically wrote: “The world’s future could hardly be said to look assured. Nor is any end to human suffering now in sight, or any ground for believing it should be.”

Are there genuine reasons for believing that peoples and nations really will overcome their mutual distrust and divisive differences? Or is something more than human endeavors required? The next article will consider these questions.

World Unity—How Will It Come About?

LIKE a run-down building that has been badly vandalized by uncaring tenants, the present world system is fit for only one thing—demolition and replacement. This is not just another cynical doom-and-gloom scenario. According to the Bible, it is the only realistic view. Why?

The foundations of the present world order are unsafe. The whole structure is riddled with termites and dry rot. The steel frame is rusting. Supporting walls are weakened. The roof is sagging. The plumbing leaks. The power system is faulty and dangerous. The occupants fight incessantly and maliciously cause damage throughout the building. The whole property and its surroundings are vermin-infested and dangerous to life and limb.

“Dancing on the Edge of the Grave”

Because of incessant political conflicts, greed, aggression, and deep-rooted tribal and ethnic animosities, “the whole human race is,” as Gwynne Dyer put it, “dancing on the edge of the grave.” All over the world, determined minorities—pressure groups, freedom fighters, criminal gangs, international terrorists, and others—pursue their own selfish agendas and seem able to wreck any possibilities for peace in the world almost at will. Like disruptive tenants, they can make life miserable for everyone else.

According to many commentators, however, dissident groups or unruly individuals are not alone in preventing world unity. The biggest barrier is the nation-state itself. Independent nations, says writer on warfare S. B. Payne, Jr., exist in “a state of international anarchy.” They do whatever serves their national interests best, with little or no regard for others. As a result, throughout history “man has dominated man to his injury.”—Ecclesiastes 8:9.

True, some national governments have had a measure of success in fighting injustice and oppression within their territorial borders and, to some extent, on an international scale. They have established a measure of international unity from time to time. But even when some have united to act against an aggressor nation, the suspicion often lingers that they acted out of self-interest rather than genuine altruism. The reality is that human governments have no comprehensive, lasting solution to world disunity. Gwynne Dyer points out: “The idea that all the nations of the world will band together to deter or punish aggression by some maverick country is fine in principle, but who defines the aggressor, and who pays the cost in money and lives that may be needed to make him stop?”

Of course, aggression by any one nation against another is only possible when the majority of its citizens do not oppose that aggression. History repeatedly shows that it is not simply in some “maverick country” that citizens have supported their leaders, right or wrong. In fact, the majority of earth’s tenants have done this. They have blindly followed “lies, demagoguery and propaganda,” as Time magazine put it, from a stream of political and religious leaders.

Nationalism has inflamed the passions of otherwise reasonable and compassionate people and has caused them to commit atrocious crimes against men, women, and children of another nationality. With reference to World War I, for example, historian J. M. Roberts comments: “One of the paradoxes of 1914 is that in every country huge numbers of people, of all parties, creeds and blood, seem, surprisingly, to have gone willingly and happily to war.” Have people learned their lesson since then? No! The beast of “blinkered nationalism,” as journalist Rod Usher called it, continues to wreck any chance of world unity.

Outside Forces at Work

There is, however, a greater barrier to world unity. The Bible reveals that outside forces are at work. These are identified as Satan the Devil and his henchmen, the demons. According to the Bible, Satan is “the god of this system of things [who] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,” so that “the glorious good news about the Christ” makes no impression on them.—2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9.

This does not absolve individuals of responsibility for their own actions, of course. But it does explain why human governments can never establish a truly united world. As long as Satan the Devil continues to exist, he will influence men and women to cultivate what the Bible calls “the works of the flesh,” including ‘enmities, strife, contentions, and divisions.’—Galatians 5:19-21.

World Government

What, then, is the solution? Some seven hundred years ago, the well-known Italian poet and philosopher Dante pointed to the answer. He argued that only world government could ensure the peace and unity of mankind. To many people the hope of any form of world government is simply a delusion, not something in which to place real confidence. “World government,” concludes aforementioned author Payne, “is out of the question at this stage in history.” Why? Because any successful world government would have to guarantee two things that seem to be totally beyond man’s ability, namely that “a world government will put an end to war and that a world government will not be a global tyranny.”

It is certain that no human government will ever measure up to this. God’s Kingdom in the hands of Jesus Christ, however, can and will remove war. (Psalm 46:9, 10; Matthew 6:10) Indeed, it will remove all warmongers. The prophet Daniel indicates that at the end of God’s appointed time for human rule of the earth, human rulership would “prove to be divided” like “iron mixed with moist clay.” (Daniel 2:41-43) This would result in political fragmentation and inevitable conflict. Yet, Daniel says that God’s Kingdom “will crush and put an end to all these [nationalistic and disunited] kingdoms,” or governments, replacing them with his long-awaited Kingdom in the hands of Jesus Christ.—Daniel 2:44.