Editorial

New controversies on the pages of Peace! First comes the biology of human violence. Peter Nicholls stirred up quite a controversy last time. He was replying in a critical way to two other articles we had previously run that opposed violence on television and film. Nicholls defended such gruesome content-except for what he called "trash." Most readers seemed to disagree with him, including two members of Science for Peace who wrote articles of their own in response: peace researcher Anatol Rapoport and zoologist Alan Weatherley. Their remarks begin on pages 25 and 27. This will not be the end of the matter, since scientists now agree that they should address this old theme: What is the origin of violence? Are we programmed to fight?

Nonviolence is the theme of our second controversy, joined in this issue by Professor Ursula Franklin. She is responding to Nobel laureate John Polanyi's support, expressed elsewhere, for a standing U.N. army, which she thinks is no answer. (If Professor Polanyi wants to reply, we'll listen!)

Globalization is the third controversial theme. Professor Richard Falk, whose interview begins on page 11, is concerned with the lack of democracy in the global economy, a problem worsened by a lack of democratic representation in other regulatory institutions, such as those administering transnational free trade zones. For a different perspective, see the piece by Amit Kumar, who would like to see a trading bloc created for India and the surrounding region of south Asia.

We also have on-the-ground stories by activists in sites of conflict. Kari Reynolds reports from Nitassinan, where the lnnu are still resisting the overflying training lets. Liz Bernstein reports from a peace walk in Cambodia, where the war did not end, as we supposed, with the elections last year. Refugees were on the run and marchers were shot-evidently because they unwisely accepted a military escort. (Sometimes nonviolence is far safer!)

Read Brogden's ideas about plutonium, plus the report from Geneva on the terms being discussed for the CTB. We also have news, letters, and a review of Graeme McQueen's book.

Peace Magazine Nov-Dec 1994

Peace Magazine Nov-Dec 1994, page 4. Some rights reserved.

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