All of us over here at selfdirectedsociety.com were just delighted beyond words at the election of Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States of America. His election not only shattered barriers of racial preconception; it restored the people’s faith in democracy, and gave us hope for the future of humanity.
In Principles for a Self-Directed Society Chapter 3 "Creating a Lasting Peace," I advocate a revised vision of the role of United Nations peacekeeping forces. There and elsewhere I maintain that the United States is not an appropriate arbiter of international disputes: such conflict resolution is solely the responsibility of the United Nations. To this end I advocate a strategy under which, in times of ongoing strife, U.N. forces should be empowered to intervene, using lethal force when necessary; not in support of any particular faction, but simply to do their best to prevent any continuation of the violence. I developed this position as a response to the horror I have felt at the unchecked genocides which have taken place in recent history and which are ongoing in Sudan. The world community’s shameful failure to respond to such terrible incidents calls into question the very notion that we are indeed a "civilized" society.
