STRUCTURE AND FUNDING OF THE
WORLD PEACE FORCE

SYNOPSIS:

    In part to allay fears that the World Peace Force
might try to take over the world,
the structure and funding of the WPF will prevent such distortions.

OUTLINE:

1.  THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL BE
            PERSONS OF UNQUESTIONABLE COMMITMENT TO PEACE.

2.  FUNDING WITHOUT TAXATION.

3.  A PLANET AT PEACE WILL BE CHEAPER TO POLICE.

4.  A CHANGE OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

STRUCTURE AND FUNDING OF THE
WORLD PEACE FORCE

by James Leonard Park

1.  THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL BE
            PERSONS OF UNQUESTIONABLE COMMITMENT TO PEACE.

    One fear of those who oppose the creation of a World Peace Force
is that any such military force will dominate the planet Earth.
And that might happen if the leaders of the World Peace Force
were inclined toward personal power and world domination.

    Because of this worry, the Board of Directors of the World Peace Force
will be made up exclusively of persons who have no such inclinations.
The World Peace Force will be governed by pure civilians
—people who have never been employed by any military organization.
They have never been trained to follow military orders.
They will be individuals who can think for themselves.

    The Board of Directors will consist of people
more committed to peace than to their own nation of origin.
Many of their fellow countrymen might think of the WPF leaders
as traitors to their own countries.
But everyone who loves peace more than war
will recognize these visionary leaders
as persons who can set aside the interests of their homelands
in favor of embracing the peace of the whole planet Earth. 

    Because we want peace-loving people to lead the World Peace Force,
they cannot be selected by the nation-states of the Earth.
Even if national leaders might claim that they can select leaders
who love peace more than their own countries,
just being selected by national leaders should raise suspicion.

    In each generation of preparing, civilian leaders will emerge,
who are known to others in the movement to be leaders for peace.
And because it will take 100 years to create the World Peace Force,
the early leaders will be replaced before operations begin.
The early generations of leaders will help to select the later leaders.

    These civilian leaders of the World Peace Force
will have the ultimate power and authority
to make all decisions necessary for the World Peace Force.
They will control the finances of the World Peace Force.
Everyone who works for the WPF
will be hired (and perhaps fired) by the Board of Directors.

   The Board of Directors will establish
the basic principles of operation for the World Peace Force.
And these principles will be reviewed and revised continuously
in light of what actually happens after the WPF begins to operate.

    Listening to everyone on Earth who has meaningful suggestions,
the Board will establish the universal principles of peace
that will be carried forward by the officers of the World Peace Force.



2.  FUNDING WITHOUT TAXATION.

    Those who oppose the World Peace Force in the early years
will make certain that no tax-money from their country supports the WPF.
Opponents will support their national military forces.
And they might try to suppress any movement towards world peace
that goes beyond using their own national military forces.

    But such opposition will eventually melt away
as the World Peace Force shows that it can preserve peace on Earth
better than any combination of national military forces.
And once the doubters either die of old age
or become convinced by the peace prevailing on our planet
that the World Peace Force is the best means of preserving peace,
then even early skeptics will support the World Peace Force.

    But financing the World Peace Force does not have to wait
for the majority of people on the Earth to support it.
At first only a small minority of human beings will support the WPF.
But even we first lovers of peace can make a difference.

    Looking back from the final achievement of world peace,
the actual amount of money spent will be much less
than the nation-states of our planet previously spend on preparing for war.
When finally operating, the WPF will probably spend about 10%
of what the world used to spend on national military forces.

    About half of all military expenditures on the planet Earth
are now provided by the taxpayers of the United States of America.
Once the planet Earth is completely disarmed,
there will be no more taxes to support national military forces.
So Americans (and everyone else on Earth)
will be relieved of the tremendous burden of arming themselves.

    Americans are also among the most generous givers on Earth.
Do we give more money to charities than to our military forces?
And what charity would be more worthy of our gifts than the WPF?

    Any individual or group with any financial resources
would be eligible to support the World Peace Force.
Sending money for the WPF will not allow the funders to influence
the policies or behavior of the World Peace Force.
As long as funders are concerned about their own national interests,
funding can be expected to go up and down as the World Peace Force
performs peacekeeping that it either popular or unpopular.

    For example, whenever the World Peace Force
discovers and destroys any national military resources,
at least some of the advocates of having such national military forces
will attempt to defund and undermine the World Peace Force.
Most of the citizens of that country might stop supporting  the WPF.
But there will be some minority of citizens
who see the wisdom of disarming even their own country.
And they will find ways to continue supporting the World Peace Force,
even if their own government bans sending money to the WPF.

    And after a particular country has been disarmed,
support will increase from other people on Earth
who believe that it is always better to eliminate national military forces.
Thus, the finances of the World Peace Force will ebb and flow.
And there should be sufficient reserves to take care of the lean years.

    Also, the fact that the World Peace Force depends
on contributions from peace-loving people everywhere
will keep the WPF accountable to the people of Earth.
If one World Peace Force proves to be corrupt and/or inept,
we the people will stop sending money.
And a new World Peace Force might have to be created.

    Each of the activities of the WPF will be known to people nearby.
And they will report to the world-wide news media. 
This will mean that the funders—we the peace-lovers of Earth—
will be able to evaluate the effects of the money we are sending.
And if we determine that the military forces of the World Peace Force
are actually doing more harm than good,
we will communicate our displeasure to the WPF
and threaten to defund them if they do not change course.

    The threat of defunding will be much more effective
than such threats against national military forces.
It took many years for Americans to defund the war in Vietnam.
Americans were forced to pay taxes for the U.S. war in Vietnam
long after it became clear that it was a foolish and harmful war.

    If the World Peace Force were ever to engage in any similar activity,
the peace-loving people of Earth would immediately stop sending money.

    Because the WPF will depend on the good will of the people of Earth,
there is no chance that they could take over the world by military might.
Even the earliest steps toward such a corrupt plan
would cause the World Peace Force to be dismantled,
either directly by its own Board of Directors
or by the supporters who must continue to fund all operations.

    Defunding national military forces is much more difficult:
Even if the taxpayers disapprove of the behavior of their own military,
they are still forced to pay taxes to support policies they dislike.
And in some countries, the military does not depend on taxation.
Oil-revenues or other income are sufficient to keep the military going
even if the military has turned to oppressing the people of that country.
Nothing like that could ever happen with the World Peace Force.

    Everyone would know what the World Peace Force is doing.
And individual contributors would stop sending money
if ever the World Peace Force went bad.



3.  A PLANET AT PEACE WILL BE CHEAPER TO POLICE.

    The future generations of peoples on Earth
will wonder why it took so long to civilize the planet.
Why did the people spend so much money back in the 21st century
on having their own national military forces?
It is so much better to have a World Peace Force:
Only 10% as many people are employed as soldiers on Earth.
And they almost never fight, since there are no other soldiers on Earth.
The World Peace Force is better known
for their instant responses to natural disasters.

    The people of a peaceful Earth will be able to live their own lives
without giving much thought to military affairs.
They will no longer be taxed to support national military forces.
Most of the people on Earth will never consider a military career.

    The children who grow up on a planet completely at peace
will focus their interests around non-military purposes and meanings.
They will not worry about their own 'defense'.
New generations of children will be born into a world without war.
Parents will no longer worry that their children might die in warfare.


  
4.  A CHANGE OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

    All of the inhabitants of the planet Earth who grew up with warfare
assume that war is a natural state of affairs.
We might call this the Star-Wars Syndrome:
It has seemed natural to the people who grew up with science fiction
that when different civilizations were discovered in the universe
the first response would be to declare war on the strangers.
Or the strangers would commit warfare against us.

    But the children who grow up on a peaceful planet
will have a completely different set of assumptions.
Instead of fighting new people we might discover anywhere,
we will want to know them better and how they live their lives.
Instead of assuming that all strangers must be enemies,
the new consciousness will welcome the strangers as guests.

    A universe at peace instead of a universe at war
will not incline explorers to dominate and control the new places.
Why assume that strangers will be hostile?

    Peace on Earth will prevail when most Earthlings no longer assume
that killing is the best way to resolve disputes.

AUTHOR:

    James Park is an independent writer,
living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
His views expressed in these essays are his own,
but he welcomes others with similar views to join him
in imagining the ways in which the World Peace Force might be created.

    Much more about this proposal will be found here:

WORLD PEACE FORCE

       World Without War

       The Meaning of Complete Disarmament

       Blessed Are the Peacemakers

       World Peace Force—100 Years for Transition

       Could the World Peace Force Go Bad?

WHAT WOULD THE WORLD PEACE FORCE DO?

       Eliminate all Weapons of Mass Death

       End all Military Dictatorships

       When National Governments Collapse 

       Separate the Arabs and Jews in Palestine 

       Disarm All Sides in Afghanistan

       Disarm All Fighters in Syria


All of the Internet essays listed above have now become chapters of a book:
World Peace Force: Disarming the Planet Earth.
This discussion of organization is Chapter 16.
  See the complete table of contents,
which shows all the other elements of this proposal.

A new Facebook Group is assembling,
which will discuss this book in an organized way
once the first 100 readers have joined this FB Group:

Peace on Earth:
Establish a World Peace Force,
Then Disarm all Nations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/199878276819122/

Here is a complete description of this free Facebook Seminar:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-website-jamesleonardpark---freelibrary-3puxk/ED-WPF.html
Created December 8, 2011; Revised 5-10-2012; 8-3-2012; 10-25-2012; 11-17-2012; 12-1-2012; 2-7-2013;
9-4-2013; 9-23-2013; 9-25-2013; 9-26-2013; 8-19-2014; 4-16-2015; 4-22-2016; 12-17-2020; 

Go to the beginning of this website
James Leonard Park—Free Library