Let us fight for a world of reason, a world in which science and progress lead to the happiness of all of us. Still with much hope that Humanity will reconcile with itself and with Nature, we present our desire that all our dear friends make a deep reflection on the gigantic problems that afflict us and engage in the struggle for a better world of what men and women have built to this day.

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IN DEFENSE OF A BETTER WORLD
Fernando Alcoforado *
Throughout the course of the year, we should reflect deeply on the trajectory of
Humanity throughout history in the sense of seeking the best paths that lead us to peace
and solidarity among all men and women on our planet. All of us should incorporate in
our minds that we are living decisive historical moments for humanity in which very
powerful economic, social and environmental forces can lead us to a catastrophic
picture of conflicts between human beings and the revolt of Nature against those who
attack it, that is, humans.
In human history, conflicts between human beings have been a constant. Violence has
grown over time. The end of the Cold War, for example, has not contributed to the
peaceful resolution of conflicts between nations and peoples that continue to cause
millions of dead and maimed people throughout the world and prevent many people
from living in the least conditions of dignity. Even in seemingly peaceful situations,
violence is, in many ways, a daily reality that destroys lives and condemns to survival in
wicked conditions a multitude of human beings.
Is it not unemployment, illiteracy, insecurity, growing inequalities, the exploitation of
man by man and the future threatened manifestations of violence with which we are
constantly confronted? Let us not confuse nonviolence with passivity, cowardice, or
relinquishment to fight for justice. Affirmation of self, aggressiveness and conflict have
been hallmarks of human behavior throughout its history. War can not continue to be a
constant in the history of Humanity.
Humanity today has material and spiritual resources that allow it to do without violence
as a way of guaranteeing survival and it is possible, starting from a slow and difficult
process, to inaugurate a new civilizing era of humanization, personal and community
enrichment, through confrontation and understanding of the other, the different. Today,
it is possible to think of the evolution of humanity outside the framework of violence.
There is a proverb that has become common sense that "if you want peace prepare the
war" which is false because it encourages the proliferation of war with the arms race".
Just as we must learn to kill to practice violence, so one must be prepared to die to
practice non-violence", Gandhi said. Now, to have this principle as a horizon of life
presupposes a deep and persistent inner work because non-violence does not refuse
conflict, but seeks to transform it into a source of growth and maturation of human
consciousness and solidarity, conscious of the limitations and precariousness of this
same process.
Not satisfied with the conflicts between human beings throughout history, Humanity
began to practice violence against Nature, putting at risk its very existence in the face of
the environmental catastrophe that is foreseen on our planet. The rulers do little to
preserve the cradle that sustains Humanity, that is, the planet Earth. It has developed a
culture of putting the interests of Humanity above Nature, because survival is stronger
than the preservation of the Earth.

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They forget that the Earth is a cradle and is a road, a sine qua non for the survival of
Humanity. It is necessary to develop social awareness as the most effective way of
bringing the Human Being to know about oneself and of the Whole in a fraternal
correlation of knowledge that does not leave the Earth in second or third planes, but in
an equality plane.
In Charles Chaplin's "final speech" in the film The Great Dictator, he lives a brilliant
satire to Adolf Hitler. The classic climax of this film is the celebrated final speech, a
libel to the triumph of reason over militarism. He stated, among other things, in a
context different from the current one, but valid today, that we all want to help each
other. Human beings are like that. We want to live for the happiness of our neighbor -
not for their misfortune. Why should we hate or despise one another? There is space for
everyone in this world. The Earth, which is good and rich, can supply all our needs.
The path of life can be that of freedom and beauty, but we stray. Covetousness has
poisoned the soul of man ... raised up the walls of hatred in the world ... and has made
us go at a goose's pace for misery and death. We create the era of speed, but we feel
trapped within it. The machine, which produces abundance, has left us in want. Our
knowledge has made us skeptical, our intelligence hardened and cruel. We think too
much and feel too little. More than machines, we need humanity. More than
intelligence, we need affection and sweetness. Without these two virtues, life will be
violence and all will be lost.
The next nature of these things is an eloquent appeal to the goodness of man, an appeal
to universal fraternity, to the union of all of us. To those who can hear me I say, "Do not
despair!" The misfortune that has fallen upon us is nothing more than the product of
covetousness in agony ... of the bitterness of men who fear the advance of human
progress.
Let us now fight to liberate the world, to put an end to greed, hatred and arrogance. Let
us fight for a world of reason, a world in which science and progress lead to the
happiness of all of us. Still with much hope that Humanity will reconcile with itself and
with Nature, we present our desire that all our dear friends make a deep reflection on the
gigantic problems that afflict us and engage in the struggle for a better world of what
men and women have built to this day.
* Fernando Alcoforado, 79, holder of the CONFEA / CREA System Medal of Merit, member of the Bahia
Academy of Education, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development by the
University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic planning, business
planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is the author of 14 books addressing issues
such as Globalization and Development, Brazilian Economy, Global Warming and Climate Change, The
Factors that Condition Economic and Social Development, Energy in the world and The Great Scientific,
Economic, and Social Revolutions that Changed the World.