In Search of a New World Order
“THERE are no maps to lead us where we are going, to this new world of our own making. As the world looks back to nine decades of war, of strife, of suspicion, let us also look forward—to a new century, and a new millennium, of peace, freedom and prosperity.”
U.S. president George Bush made those comments on January 1, 1990. In a similar message, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev then proposed cooperation in the 1990’s to rid “the world of fears and mistrust, of unnecessary weapons, of outdated political concepts and military doctrines, and artificial barriers between people and states.” So reported Japan’s Mainichi Daily News of January 3, 1990.
Obviously, hopes were running high. They still were a year later. In the State of the Union message on January 29, 1991, President Bush alluded to warfare in the Persian Gulf and said: “What is at stake is more than one small country [Kuwait], it is a big idea—a new world order where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom and the rule of law.”
Not a Trouble-Free Quest
Many problems hinder man in his quest for a new world order. Armed conflicts surely stand in the way. Referring to hostilities then under way in Iraq and Kuwait, Time magazine of January 28, 1991, said: “As the bombs fell and missiles flew, hopes for a new world order gave way to familiar disorder.” The journal added: “No one should be under any illusion that the much vaunted new world order is in place or even at hand.”
International cooperation has never been achieved, and this hampers man’s efforts to establish a new world order. In a report appearing in the publication The World & I (January 1991), scholars examined “the emerging foreign policies of the superpowers and their likely impact on the new world order.” The editor concluded: “History suggests that the line between war and peace is a fine one at the best of times. International cooperation, particularly between the major powers, is crucial to the successful transition from the Cold War to a new world order.”
Environmental problems also stand in the way of the new world order that many envision. In State of the World 1991 (a Worldwatch Institute report), Lester R. Brown said: “No one can say with certainty what the new order will look like. But if we are to fashion a promising future for the next generation, then the enormous effort required to reverse the environmental degradation of the planet will dominate world affairs for decades to come.” The report noted that air pollution had “reached health-threatening levels in hundreds of cities and crop-damaging levels in scores of countries.” It added: “As the number of humans inhabiting the planet rises, the number of plant and animal species drops. Habitat destruction and pollution are reducing the earth’s biological diversity. Rising temperatures and ozone layer depletion could add to losses.”
Clearly, then, man’s search for a new world order is fraught with problems. Will the quest prove successful? Can it be said that a new world is at hand? If so, how will it be brought about?