Can Unity Ever Come From This World?

COULD the dream of world unity ever be realized by this world’s efforts? Is it possible that one of the leading elements in world affairs might direct mankind toward that goal?

This world has had thousands of years to experiment with different governments, as well as economic and social systems. Has any one of them ever been a force for unity? Could any of them now reverse the tragically disunited state in which the human family finds itself? If not, what could?

The Political Record

A powerful force in human affairs is political leadership. But, sadly, history clearly shows that this has not been a force for uniting people. On the contrary, after thousands of years of trying every possible political ideology, the world is more divided than ever. There are now more independent nations and different types of political systems than at any other time in history.

If human government could be a force for world unity, surely it should have demonstrated this by now. Instead, every century has been stained with the blood of one war after another​—thousands of them. And far from any gradual progress toward unity in modern times, our 20th century has proved to be the most disastrously divided of all. Two horrendous world wars have been fought, with about 70 million lives cut short. As if that were not enough, the recent book War in Peace declares that since World War II some 130 military conflicts in over a hundred countries have killed about 35 million people. Imagine that! In a time of so-called peace!

A basic reason for this deplorable condition is mankind’s adherence to political and national loyalties. These have kept the human family utterly divided and working at cross-purposes. That is why historian Arnold Toynbee said that nationalism “has been in truth the master religion,” since many people give worshipful obedience to it. Toynbee stated that this worship of sovereign states sets their respective members against one another “because this religion is an expression of self-centredness.” And he felt that this “self-centredness is the source of all strife.”

Political divisions are far more disastrous now because mankind is well into the nuclear age. Nuclear war is feared in every nation, especially considering the capacity of nuclear weapons today. In The Fate of the Earth, Jonathan Schell writes: “What happened at Hiroshima was less than a millionth part of a holocaust at present levels of world nuclear armament.”

Schell added: “Politics, accordingly, is fully stuck with the glaring absurdity that with one hand it builds for a future that with the other hand it prepares to destroy. Each time a politician raises his voice to speak of making a better world for our children and grandchildren . . . the peril of extinction is there to gainsay him with the crushing rebuttal: But there may be no children or grandchildren.”

Foretelling this very situation for our day are the prophetic words of Jesus Christ at Luke 21:25, 26: “On the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” What an apt description of mankind’s present divided state!

With such fearsome prospects in view, the question may be asked: Since no one political system can unite the human family, could the United Nations do so? The answer must be no. Why? Because, in reality, the UN is just a reflection of our strife-torn world. The UN secretary-general acknowledged: “Certainly we have strayed far from the U.N. Charter.” He noted that the body’s resolutions “are increasingly defied or ignored by those who feel themselves strong enough to do so.” As a result, he concluded: “We are perilously near to a new international anarchy.” Thus, based on its record, the credibility of the UN as a unifier of mankind is doubted even by its own officials.

If we face the facts honestly, we must admit that the historical record shows that no political system of imperfect humans is capable of uniting mankind, however sincere the leaders. Appropriately, at Psalm 146:3 God’s inspired Word counsels: “Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs.”

Economic Disarray

Could we look to any economic system of this world as a unifying force, so that the entire human family could benefit from the earth’s ability to produce bountifully? Again, the record of history answers no. Not one of man’s economic systems has ever produced a model for a unified approach so that all mankind’s best interests are served. Every economic system has brought great dissatisfaction and hardship to millions.

In recent years there has been one crisis after another in the global economy. The debts of underdeveloped lands have risen enormously, but their ability to pay has not. Even the debts of most developed nations have grown astronomically. Poverty is rampant. Millions are unemployed. Every year other millions continue to die from hunger or disease brought on by malnutrition. For masses of poor people throughout the earth, the truth of God’s prophetic word at Revelation 6:6 is verified: “A whole day’s wage for a quart of flour.” (The New English Bible) Yes, in many places a day’s wage barely buys just a loaf of bread.

Regardless of temporary improvements after recessions or depressions, the economic picture continues to be much as that reported by The New York Times: “The world economy is facing the most serious threat to its cohesion and prosperity in the postwar period. Inflation, recession, high unemployment and extraordinary trade and financial pressures are placing the principles and institutions of international economic cooperation under enormous stress.” And French newspaper editor André Fontaine declared: “I see no Government in the world today which appears capable of coping with the major economic problems of our time. That is because they are really world problems, and no country can resolve them singlehandedly.”

That is at the heart of the matter. The world’s economic problems require united, global action. But too many different selfish interests are involved for there to be any lasting solution by this world’s leaders.

Social Problems Mount

Social problems also reflect mankind’s growing disunity. Hatred and prejudice, crime and violence, terrorism and armed conflict​—on all continents—​are symptoms of a sick world. Life in many big cities has become especially dangerous. Thus, when a police officer in Italy tried to encourage a prisoner by telling him that he might be released soon, the prisoner’s surprising reaction was, as reported by La Nazione: “I couldn’t care less about getting out. These are difficult times. I prefer to stay in prison. It is too easy to get killed outside.”

There are also human weaknesses that divide families and undermine the quality of life in every type of political system. Divorces are on the increase nearly everywhere; in some places nearly half of all new marriages end that way. Escapism, too, in the form of excessive drinking affects both the Eastern and the Western world. One result is that each day people driving automobiles under the influence of alcohol add victims to a world slaughter that numbers some 300,000 deaths annually.

The plague of drug addiction has brought grief to millions. Rampant sexual permissiveness is resulting in an enormous harvest of dreaded venereal diseases, some now resistant to treatment. And accompanying that is a tidal wave of unwanted pregnancies and abortions.

The situation is just what Bible prophecy foretold for this age when it said: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.” This prophecy catalogues conditions that sound like a reading from your daily newspaper. It noted that people would be ‘lovers of themselves, lovers of money, haughty, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, without self-control, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.’​—2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Social problems are made worse by the 800 billion dollars a year now spent on armaments. That is over two billion dollars a day! Yet, millions of children die of malnutrition every year, as do many adults. Thus, we cannot escape the truth on this matter: Social problems and inequalities are increasing. Hundreds of millions of disappointed and oppressed people find themselves without hope. And no social system of this world can solve these problems since there is no united approach to them.

Surely, it is evident by now that no political, economic or social system of this world can serve as a uniting force for mankind. But what about this world’s religions? Can we look to them as a unifying factor? Indeed, just what can we look to as a force for uniting this pitifully divided human family? The next two articles will consider these questions.

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Mankind now has the capacity to destroy all life on earth

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Hundreds of millions are hungry