Scientific and technological change has been outstripping the ability of social institutions to cope with it, often -- as in the case of climate change and the nuclear arms race -- resulting in extremely perilous situations. The real question is whether people and nations can muster the political will to reshape their behavior and social institutions to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Published Articles by Lawrence Wittner
In response to an article published in The Nation about reviving the peace movement, six leading peace proponents (including me) were asked to provide short commentaries on that subject. Here are their commentaries, published in a forum that appeared in thenation.com.
The accession of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency brings us face-to-face with a question that many have tried to avoid since 1945: Should anyone have the right to plunge the world into a nuclear holocaust?
Although decades of effort in developing and deploying a national missile defense system (a revision of the "Star Wars" program once championed by Ronald Reagan) have cost U.S. taxpayers well over $180 billion, it still doesn't work. Aren't there better uses for America's resources?
If the new U.S. administration was interested, it could do a number of things to promote world peace. These include improving U.S. relations with Russia and China, moving forward with nuclear arms control and disarmament, and drawing upon the United Nations to handle international conflicts. Although, given the militarist inclinations of the new administration, little of this seems likely to become U.S. public policy, progress along these lines could be made if enough people demanded it.
The financial security of corporate CEOs is far, far greater than the financial security of most Americans. Indeed, 100 corporate CEOs possess company retirement funds equivalent to the entire pension savings of 41 percent of U.S. families The vast and growing gap in retirement pay reflects the deline in union strength, corporate attacks on worker pension funds, and government action to serve the interests of the wealthy.
Many commentators have expressed surprise at the romance between the incoming Trump administration and the hate-filled ranks of racial, religious, and nativist bigots. But, in fact, the phenomenon of scapegoating has been fundmanetal to advancing the fortunes of the political Right throughout modern history. It serves as a mask for privilege.
Two fierce labor struggles are currently raging in New York's capital district: a lockout of unionized workers at the Honeywell plant in Green Island and a strike by the unionized workers at the Momentive plant in Waterford. Each results from the efforts of wealthy and powerful corporations to maximize their substantial profits by forcing concessionary contracts on their employees. This article, located on pages 5-6 of the newsletter of the Albany chapter of United University Professions, provides the background.
Although nuclear disarmament seems to have ground to a halt, the world's 15,500 nuclear weapons remain exceptionally dangerous, enormously costly, and a spur to the development of nuclear weapons by other nations. Unilateral action to reduce nuclear arsenals has been taken numerous times in the past by nations, including the United States, with no adverse consequences. With even the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in favor of such action, why not try it again?
There is certainly plenty of waste in U.S. government spending. But it is found in the military sector, which already absorbs 54 percent of the federal government's discretionary spending and will increase to 63 percent in the event that Donald Trump reaches the White House.