Cadmus

Abstract

The primary objections raised against total elimination of nuclear weapons are built around a few arguments mostly of non-technical nature.

The argument that the world will be unsafe without nuclear weapons is only meant to further the narrow self-interest of the nuclear weapon states and their allies.
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Abstract
Deployment of nuclear forces as an international security mechanism for prevention of major war is far removed from the world envisaged by the United Nations Charter in which threat or use of force is the exception, not the rule. Reliance on nuclear weapons has also distorted the development of major instruments of international humanitarian law and international criminal law, the 1977 Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Awareness is deepening of the inherent incompatibility of reliance on nuclear weapons with an ever more entrenched normative framework stressing states’ responsibilities to protect their populations against atrocities and to comply with international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute. International humanitarian law is a solid foundation for the emerging norm of non-use of nuclear weapons and for building a legal framework of a nuclear-weapons-free world that is universal in its approach. Read More

Abstract
Recent evidence from World War II and the Cold War shows that nuclear weapons are far less useful as military and political tools than has been believed. Far from giving a madman the power to conquer the world, nuclear weapons are clumsy, dangerous technology with very few real uses — even if you have a monopoly.
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Abstract
It is becoming increasingly clear that the concept of the absolutely sovereign nation-state is a dangerous anachronism in a world of thermonuclear weapons, instantaneous communication, and economic interdependence. Probably our best hope for the future lies in developing the United Nations into a World Federation. The strengthened United Nations should have a legislature with the power to make laws that are binding on individuals, and the ability to arrest and try individual political leaders for violations of these laws. The world federation should also have the power of taxation, and the military and legal powers necessary to guarantee the human rights of ethnic minorities within nations. Read More

Abstract

The author sets about re-thinking the old concept of “World Peace Through Law” (WPTL), meaning replacing the use of international force with the global rule of law. He traces the history of the WPTL concept back to the British legal philosopher Jeremy Bentham, whose 1789 ‘Plan for an Universal and Perpetual Peace’ proposed “a plan of general and permanent pacification for all Europe,” with troop reductions(especially in naval forces) and “a Common Court of Judicature” to resolve differences between nations. The author’s 21st century version of WPTL bears an uncanny resemblance to Bentham’s original proposal, calling for: 1) arms reductions (including abolition of nuclear weapons); 2) a four-stage comprehensive system of compulsory alternative dispute resolution(compulsory negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and adjudication); and 3) various enforcement mechanisms, including an international peace force.

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Abstract
The current international security framework is based on an incomplete, anachronistic conception of sovereignty shaped largely by historical circumstance rather than principles of universal justice. Evolution of the global community over the past half century necessitates a reformulation of the concept to justly represent the rights of individual citizens and the global community as a whole. The reconceptualization of sovereignty is an essential condition for the elimination of major threats to global security, most especially those arising from the continued existence and proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Read More

Report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability
NY: United Nations, 30 Jan 2012, 94p (download full report or 22p Overview at www.un.org/gsp)

This report is the latest UN vision of what must be done for a sustainable planet—essentially an update of the 1987 Brundtland report—featuring 56 proposals to empower people, to promote a sustainable economy, and to strengthen governance.
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A Report from the Club of Rome – EU Chapter to Finance Watch and the World Business Academy
By Bernard Lietaer, Christian Arnsperger, Sally Goerner and Stefan Brunnhuber Triarchy Press 2012

This report by WAAS Fellow Bernard Lietaer and his associates addresses important theoretical and practical issues regarding modern monetary systems. The central thesis of the report is that effective monetary systems must optimize performance on two complementary goals — efficiency of transactions and resilience in the face of destabilizing forces and events. National monetary systems maximize efficiency, but they lack the resilience to prevent catastrophic events such as those that have plagued the global financial markets and global economy over the past four years. The report advocates adoption of a variety of counter-cyclic, complementary currency systems to supplement and compensate for the inadequacies and vulnerabilities of national money systems. Read More

Abstract
Economics is an important construct explaining human wealth and well-being. Many economic ideas of the industrial era, however, are not appropriate to 21st century economies, where human and natural capital are increasingly valued, and simplistic assessments of wealth, national product, growth, and human happiness are increasingly questioned due to bad economic ideas in high places. To cope with growing complexity, uncertainty, and concern for sustainability, many critical books have been published, especially over the past 35 years. This “frontier frame” seeks to outline these views in a compact format of six categories: General Critiques of deficient economic thought, Ecological Economics, Scientific and Global Organizations (such as the OECD and UN), Textbooks Supporting a Broader View, Alternative Labels (such as Heterodox and Post-Keynesian), and a seven-point agenda of needed actions to accelerate learning about better ideas for economic policy. An Appendix briefly describes ten organizations promoting new economics. Read More

Abstract
The body of macroeconomic theory known as the neoclassical-Keynesian synthesis, hereafter mainstream macroeconomics, has dominated the practice of economics since the middle of the twentieth century and is largely unchallenged in institutions that teach economics. Not only does mainstream macroeconomics underlie monetary and fiscal policies intended to promote economic growth, full employment, and price stability, but it also provides the lens through which economic activity is measured and performance is evaluated. Most importantly, it has spawned a generally accepted ideology or conventional wisdom that frames economic issues and ‘acceptable’ policy responses to them. Woe to the economist or politician who strays beyond the constraints imposed by the beliefs emanating from this body of theory. Mainstream economic theory has always had its critics, but the failure of mainstream economists to predict the collapse of 2008 and the failure of the policy responses to the crisis have stimulated a new round of criticism. This paper surveys a range of criticisms made by economists and non-economists alike and finds that grounds exist for the rejection of mainstream macroeconomic theory. It is mathematically incoherent and irrelevant insofar as the assumptions upon which it is based are not supportable; its concepts are abstract and not measurable, and not capable of addressing the real questions of sustainability, economic stability, power, justice, and equity that affect the human condition. The conclusions reached are: 1) mainstream economic theory took a profoundly wrong path in the mid-twentieth century 2) foundations for a new synthesis of economic thinking are needed capable of addressing the issues that emerged in the late 20th century and integrating findings from other sub-disciplines of economics and other sciences. Read More