Inam Ullah
Peace and prosperity are the core tenets of global progress. However, their existence depends on the coordinated efforts of individuals, societies and nations, for only when men work together do they achieve great goals.
On the contrary, if there prevails perpetual conflict in society, not only new progress is hampered, but also stern damage is perpetrated upon infrastructure, human capital, and the economy. The dependence of peace and prosperity on cooperation and its hindering due to competition could be understood from a famous fable, “United, we stand; divided, we fall”. In the fable, a farmer teaches his sons a lesson that sticks tied together become unbreakable; the same sticks, when tested individually, do not stand a chance.
Thus, according to the farmer, if his sons live together with love and harmony, no power will be able to break them; however, if they fight with each other, anyone could break them apart. To illustrate, history contains examples showing how collaboration and cooperation have brought about revolutions.
It shows that men, when working together, become an imperishable force bound to get what it strives for. The Pakistan Movement is a vivid example of this fact. Men, women, children, students, and even scholars participated without discrimination in the fight for freedom. Scholars and Ulema played a significant role in uniting the Muslims of different sects and fields of life to play a productive role in the struggle, resulting in Pakistan’s independence.
A common manifestation of this fact can also be observed in everyday life. When all household members work together, prosperity finds its way there. Eventually, such a society contributes significantly to a country’s economy. For instance, gender parity is observed in China’s work environment; there, men and women participate equally in all fields of labour.
As a result, both genders generate enough capital, resulting in China’s ever-flourishing economy and giving it the power to stand against America – the global giant. Likewise, sports teach a lesson of teamwork as well; no person working on his own can win a sports competition. Even if it is a solo race, a whole group is involved in training, counselling, and testing him before his big day. It has been aptly said by Michael Jordon, a former basketball player, “It takes a team to win a championship”.
It means big competitions and games cannot be won without combined effort. If we take into the regional level, it is cooperation not competition that promotes regional and global peace and prosperity. When countries collaborate on developmental projects, the whole region progresses; differences are sorted out diplomatically, and an example is set for the world to follow. Several organizations are operating for this cause such as the EU, OIC and ASEAN.
These organizations work in their respective regions to promote solidarity among the member countries and improve their relations via collaborative projects. Thereby, the chances of wars and conflicts decline when countries become interdependent. Extrapolating the idea of regional cooperation to the global scale, organizations that help countries come together also promote harmony. When nations agree to resolve conflicts through diplomacy, it leaves slight chance for the world falling into a World War. For this purpose, the United Nations Organization (UNO) was established after World War II and has since launched several peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions across the globe. Where cooperation brings about continuous progress, conflict breeds crisis, be it humanitarian, social, political, environmental, or economic. In the field of politics, although disagreement is the beauty of democracy, problems begin only when people fail to agree on matters respectfully. Such is the case in Pakistan’s politics; unhealthy competition between the ruling and opposition parties leads to a prevailing chaotic state of affairs in the country.
In regional matters, conflict and fights hamper progress and prosperity. When countries in a region do not see eye to eye, all their efforts are directed towards pushing each other down. The most apparent evidence is Pakistan and India’s constant strife since independence, which has led them to spend a massive budgetary share on defence. The two countries, hence, have made very little progress socially, politically, and economically compared to other countries. Similarly, disputes on an international scale also paint a gloomy picture of disturbing world peace.
Global powers having fights have a trickledown effect on their regions and the neighbouring areas; international trade is disturbed, and the whole world experiences economic repercussions. For instance, the Sino-American trade war and the Russia-Ukraine war have disturbed world peace and prosperity. All the countries involved have global influence and, thus, have pushed the world to the brink of nuclear combat.
Since the commencement of the industrial revolution in the late 19th century, the world has seen ever-increasing competition between countries, which has caused severe climate repercussions. Each country is in a race to expand its industrial production and trade and, in this very race, ignores the pollution that comes with setting up industries. Putting together the impact of all nations, the industrial rivalry has unleashed the menace of global warming, evident in the 0.07 degrees’ Celsius rise per decade in the earth’s average temperature since the 1880s.
Moreover, several natural disasters like floods, tsunamis and wildfires have come with global warming, levelling infrastructure and taking millions of lives. Despite the mayhem inflicted by global rows, all is not lost. A lot could still be done to forestall the destruction already done and thwart such future events by focusing on realistic and holistic measures.
