Is it possible to persuade mankind to livewithout war? War is an ancient institution which has existed for atleast sixthousand years. It was always bad and usually foolish, but in the past thehuman race managed to live withit. Modern ingenuity (创造力) has changed this. Either Man will abolishwar, or war will abolish Man. For thepresent, it is nuclear weapons that causethe most serious danger, but bacteriological or chemical weapons, maybeforelong, offer an even greater threat. If we succeed in abolishing nuclearweapons, our work will not be done. Itwill never be done until we havesucceeded in abolishing war. To do this, we need to persuade mankind tolookupon international questions in a new way, not as contests of forec, inwhich the victory goes to the side which ismost skillful in killing people, butby arbitration (调解. in accordance with agreedprinciples of law. It is not easyto change very old mental habits, but this iswhat must be attempted.

There are those who say that the adoptionoft_his or that ideology would prevent war. I believe this to be a bigerror.All ideologies are based on dogmatic ( 教条式的. statements which are, at best, doubtful, and at worst,totallyfalse. Their adherents believe in them fanatically (狂热地. that they are willing to go to war in support ofthem.

Themovement of world opinion during the past few years has been very largely suchas we can welcome. Ithas become a commonplace ( 老生长谈. that nuclear war must be avoided. Of course very difficultproblemsremain in the world, but the spirit in which they are being approachedis a better one than it was some years ago. Ithas begun to be thought, even bythe powerful men who decide whether we shall live or die, that negotiations should reach agreements even if both sides donot find these agreements wholly satisfactory. It has begun to beunderstoodthat the important conflict nowadays is not between different countries, butbetween Man and the atombomb.