The ABCs of human survival: a paradigm for global citizenship

280 Pages·2010·2.531 MB·English

by  University of Calgary. Consortium for Peace Studies.;Clark, Arthur

The ABCs of
Human Survival
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Global Peace Studies
Series Editor: George Melnyk
global peace studies is an interdisciplinary series that publishes
works dealing with the discourses of war and peace, conflict and post-
conflict studies, human rights, international development, human
security, and peace building. The series is global in perspective,
and includes works on militarism, structural violence, post-war
resconstruction, and reconciliation in divided societies. The series
encourages contributors from a wide variety of disciplines and
professions including health, law, social work, education, and the
social sciences and humanities.
—————————————————
series titles
“Bomb Canada” and Other Unkind
Remarks in the American Media
by Chantal Allan

The ABCs of Human Survival:
A Paradigm for Global Citizenship
by Arthur Clark
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The ABCs of
Human Survival
A Paradigm for Global Citizenship
arthur clark
Published by Athabasca University Press in
conjunction with the Consortium for Peace Studies
at the University of Calgary.
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© 2010 Arthur Clark
Published by AU Press, Athabasca University
1200, 10011 – 109 Street
Edmonton, AB T5J 3S8
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Clark, Arthur, 1943–
The ABCs of human survival : a paradigm for
global citizenship / Arthur Clark.

(Global peace studies, ISSN 1921-4022)
Includes bibliographical references.
Also available in electronic format (978-1-897425-69-5).
ISBN 978-1-897425-68-8
1. World citizenship. 2. Political participation.
3. Civil society. I. Title. II. Series: Global peace studies
JZ1320.4.C53 2010 323.6 C2010-901184-8
Cover design by Rod Michalchuk, General Idea.
Book design by Laura Brady, Brady Typesetting & Design.
Printed and bound in Canada by Marquis Book Printing.
This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons License, Attribution-
Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada, see www.creativecommons.
org. The text may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that
credit is given to the original author.
Please contact AU Press, Athabasca University at [email protected] for
permission beyond the usage outlined in the Creative Commons license.
A volume in the Global Peace Studies series:
ISSN 1921-4022 (Print)
ISSN 1921-4030 (Online)
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In respect and gratitude for the life and love of
irene marie petzinger
October 1948–July 2008
Into the darkness I will reflect your light.
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contents
Acknowledgements ..................................... xi
Foreword ............................................ xiii
Introduction and Overview........................... 1
The pathology of nationalism ......................... 3
Choosing the future.................................. 4
The necessity of democracy and law .................... 7
The personal is political .............................. 8
War is a disease: The case of Vietnam .................. 10
The practice of medicine and the practice of citizenship... 12
A personal journey ................................. 13
About this book.................................... 15
Principles of global community and global
citizenship: A synopsis ............................ 20
Chapter One: Choosing the Future ................... 27
Where are we going? ................................ 28
Where do we want to go? ............................ 30
The practice of medicine and the practice of
global citizenship................................. 33
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Pathogenesis: Why are we so self-destructive? ........... 35
Pathogenesis: Nationalism and warfare................. 40
Democracy and international law ..................... 48
The rabbi’s son from Krakow......................... 51
Choosing the future: Summary ....................... 53
Chapter Two: Axioms ............................... 57
First Axiom: The map is not the territory............... 58
Second Axiom: The map changes the territory........... 60
Third Axiom: We choose our maps .................... 63
Fourth Axiom: Good, bad, evil, important, and
unimportant are in the eye of the beholder ........... 63
Fifth Axiom: Political leaders are not competent to
determine the value of a human life ................. 65
Chapter Three: Paradigm Shift....................... 70
Who are we?....................................... 73
Pathology of the old paradigm........................ 76
The new paradigm and human options ................ 79
Chapter Four: Principles of Global Community ....... 81
Principle 1 ........................................ 83
Principle 2 ........................................ 86
Principle 3 ........................................ 87
Principle 4 ........................................ 89
Principle 5 ........................................ 90
Principle 6 ........................................ 95
Principle 7 ........................................ 96
Principle 8 ....................................... 100
Principle 9 ....................................... 101
Principle 10 ...................................... 103
Principle 11 ...................................... 105
Principle 12 ...................................... 107
Principle 13 ...................................... 108
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Principle 14 ...................................... 110
Principle 15 ...................................... 122
Principle 16 ...................................... 125
Principle 17 ...................................... 127
Principle 18 ...................................... 129
Principle 19 ...................................... 131
Principle 20 ...................................... 133
Chapter Five: The Case of Iraq...................... 135
Saddam Hussein and the U.S. government
before and after August 1990...................... 137
The U.S. invasion of Panama, Iraq’s invasion of
Kuwait, and the 1991 Gulf War .................... 143
Communication, scholars, the media, and
propaganda for war.............................. 148
Economic sanctions and weapons of mass destruction... 151
The U.S.-UK invasion of Iraq, March 2003............. 157
Democracy, the occupation, and the ongoing
violence in Iraq ................................. 160
Terrorism and the destruction of Iraq................. 166
Responsibility for the destruction of Iraq.............. 167
A way forward .................................... 169
Conclusion....................................... 179
Chapter Six: Principles of Global Citizenship ........ 181
Principle 21 ...................................... 184
Principle 22 ...................................... 185
Principle 23 ...................................... 187
Principle 24 .......................................188
Principle 25 ...................................... 191
Principle 26 ...................................... 193
Principle 27 ...................................... 194
Principle 28 ...................................... 197
Principle 29 ...................................... 199
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Principle 30 ...................................... 200
Winds of change .................................. 203
The power of one.................................. 204
Civil disobedience ................................. 206
Chapter Seven: Practicing Citizenship............... 212
The global citizen as hero for our time ................ 213
Awareness........................................ 214
Imagination and knowledge......................... 217
A 35 percent solution and the game of global
citizenship ..................................... 222
The basic building block of democracy................ 224
The Parkhill Pulse ................................. 227
The city as microcosm of the global community ........ 230
A Calgary Centre for Global Community.............. 234
The genius of citizenship ........................... 238
Chapter Eight: Prognosis ........................... 241
Your choice....................................... 251
Bibliography......................................... 253
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