Unleash the Doves? Or Use Them as Clay Pigeons?
In many ways, I find that current world events are aligning in such a way that civilization is nearing a tipping point. A most striking example from history that jumps out at me are the years surrounding and encompassing World War I. The world was beginning to evolve rapidly and many political ideologies were changing with the rapid technological revolution that was unfolding at the time. Nations were running out of colonies to claim and those under colonial rule were becoming a bit militant against their oppressors. Great dynasties were losing their powerful holds on the world, so new alliances were being forged to compete in the age of oil.
It is of no doubt that the political web of alliances were spun intricately throughout Europe prior to the outbreak of the Great War and the tense atmosphere provided plenty of flames to ignite some type of military conflict among nations. But with these complicated alliances, the war spread throughout Europe, Africa, and even Asia with a speed that would astonish the world.The non-intervention policies of the United States kept the nation from choosing sides; America was to build weapons and provide financing and that was that. Well, until another alliance proposal between Germany and Mexico was brilliantly intercepted by UK intelligence and provided it to the US. That was that and America brought war against Germany and the Central Powers.
But after this gruesome war was unleashed across Europe and Africa and Asia, and the trenches and mustard gas decimated an entire generation of humanity, the victorious nations met to decide the fate of the defeated at the Paris Peace Conference and eventually signed the Treaty of Versailles, bringing an official end to the war in Europe. Empires of old were carved up or wiped away as the Allied Powers redrew the maps of their conquered enemies and divided the colonies amongst themselves. Germany would assume full responsibility for the war as the terms for their surrender, which planted the seeds for the national socialist movement and the Nazi regime that would lead the world into another great war, World War II.
However, the “war to end all wars” is very perplexing because there is much dispute about the true causes of the war ( and even who to blame for it). History tells us that is was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that catapulted the nations of Europe to arm themselves; but is it truly plausible that the assassination of the heir to the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty was the only hot match on the powder keg? Famous names like Morgan and duPont were not mentioned as potential conspirators of war until long after the dust of battle had settled and they were only accused of thrusting the US into the war. It is also true that these Merchants of Death were identified and investigated by the US Congress for their influences over the United States’ decision to enter the war, but what of Vickers and Schneider and Zaharoff? These names go rather unnoticed or even unmentioned in mainstream history books, but arming for the war started long before shots were fired in Serbia.
The great advances in technology and the new global stage presented manufacturers of weapons with a very financially prosperous opportunity; corporations would soon become the new kings of the world and great nations had the greatest corporate backing. With fears of militarily “keeping up with the Joneses”, nations began to buy these weapons of war and if you have bigger and badder weapons, your enemy will not dare to use theirs against you. Unfortunately, the weapons sold to the various nations across the world were eventually used at the peril of millions of people, but can we blame these manufacturers for making them? Can we or should we blame them for selling so many of these weapons? And if we don’t blame tham, who should we blame? Or should dismiss blame altogether and perhaps we take this lesson from history and apply it to how we should operate in the world today and in the world of the future?
Today, we have the unique opportunity to communicate across borders at lightning speed and we can educate and inform billions of people with the click of a mouse. Global supply chain has committed more nations to peace and collaboration than men from a century earlier could have ever imagined. This intricate web of economic allegiance between nations has fostered a new tangle for our world leaders to resolve and already there are indications that the intricate web of economic allegiance is beginning to unravel. Blockchain technology is challenging the banking industry and generating much conversation on the major stock exchanges; fracking and sustainable fuel sources are crushing the oil price, sending OPEC nations into a mild state of financial alarm (a greater state of alarm for others); and the divide in political ideologies in the United States, France, and Britain (just to name a few) places further strain on global political stability.
These opportunities that we face today are very similar to the challenges that we, as people of human civilization, have faced before and I hope that we will be able to look to our past for improved solutions to our present. Many fears plague the world today and I wonder if it will be North Korea’s missile launches, Russia’s numerous border disputes, China’s claims to seemingly endless island territories, the political instability in Venezuela, or even the quick late night tweet from an American president that will send ripples across the globe to ignite a war.
Has Zaharoff and Vickers and Schneider been replaced by the likes of Boeing and Lockheed and Raytheon? Will the Archduke assassination be replaced by another act of terrorism? Time will only tell what will happen.
So, what do you think may happen? Will we unleash the doves as a symbol of peace or use them as clay pigeons?
Further reading and sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26048324
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/merchants_of_death.htm
https://mises.org/library/merchant-death-basil-zaharoff
Boghardt, Thomas. The Zimmermann Telegram: Intelligence, Diplomacy, and America's Entry into World War I