Peace Means Respect for Human Life In Gaza, And the World

In an open letter to the newly-elected Pope Leo XIV, Schiller Institute Chairwoman Helga Zepp-LaRouche expressed the basis of true peace as lying in the recognition of the interest of the other. She said,

“We wish to communicate to your Holiness our commitment to try everything in our power, to reach out to all Christians, as well as believers of other religions and world outlooks, to unify in an effort to establish a true peace order in the world, one which eliminates the real causes for war by taking into account the valid security interests of all parties.”

While regional conflicts are raging in several parts of the world—several of which have the potential of escalating to nuclear Armageddon—a promising chance for peace in the NATO-Russia conflict began yesterday with talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. This marks the beginning of such talks since early April of 2022, when Boris Johnson intervened to sabotage a peaceful resolution based on no entry of Ukraine into NATO and recognition of Crimea as being a part of Russia.

Above all, if peaceful negotiations between nations in regional hotspots are to be successful, a recognition in the humanity of the “Other” is required, as expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin during an event commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in Russia.

Putin’s expressed gratitude to the U.S. and other allies who fought in the Second World War for their role in opening the western front against Nazi Germany, and for supporting the Soviet Union through the Lend Lease Program, also coincides with his view of the appreciation of the “Other” as the basis for true statecraft.

The idea of peace through economic development as the basis for overcoming war is also an expression of Agape, or Love, in recognition of the better interests of the other. The fatal flaw in U.S. foreign and domestic policy, is the abandonment of this idea. Only if we return to the American System of Alexander Hamilton, Friedrich List, Henry Carey, and others, can we provide the basis of sustainable and durable peace.

Speakers: Harley Schlanger and Bill Jones