4

Most people to whom ideas for peaceful reform of human society are put, sooner or later take refuge in the plea that, even if they themselves agreed, those in control would certainly not: power and money, institutionalised privilege backed by force being facts of life here to stay -- for good or ill. Two points may be made in reply. One is that any alternative scheme to what prevails, must be comprehensive and able to meet all objections -- which is why the present one regards itself as uniquely qualified : in the last resort there is only one alternative to imperfection, and that is perfection, and exactly as the other wonders of our cosmos are just so and not otherwise, so its crowning glory, a natural species endowed in its maturity with understanding and sanity, can only occur the precise way it does and not any other. The second point is that our rulers and leaders owe their entire position to the general consent of the population; the moment , for instance, the armies and police forces plus their opponents and irregulars see the advantage of everyone everywhere pursuing the arts of peace and togetherness rather than those of war and division, then laggards of all conditions will be rendered powerless to stop the change that will divide troubled past from blissful future. That a wide-ranging debate will be needed before all objections are met is , of course, obvious. It is maintained here, however, not only that no objections can withstand the comprehensive good sense of obolworld, but also that it is in accord with both the logic of the cosmos and with the highest aspirations of our species throughout history.