{"id":107317,"date":"2025-03-02T10:41:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T15:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schillerinstitute.com\/?p=107317"},"modified":"2025-03-02T14:27:58","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T19:27:58","slug":"a-philosophical-discussion-for-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/blog\/2025\/03\/02\/a-philosophical-discussion-for-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"A Philosophical Discussion for Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Report on IPC #91<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">March 1, 2025 (EIRNS)\u2014The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/KAd3kMCPu9s?si=FOLQhU3JryvbPpjp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">91st weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition<\/a>&nbsp;(IPC) on Friday, Feb.&nbsp;28 turned into a profound philosophical discussion on the true meaning of politics and diplomacy which must be established in order to prevent the descent into global war, and on the current extremely dynamic transformation taking place in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s election and his forceful intervention to stop the surrogate war on Russia in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cultivate a Higher Level of Statecraft \u2014 International Peace Coalition #91\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KAd3kMCPu9s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Helga Zepp-LaRouche, the founder of the Schiller Institute and convener of the IPC, opened the forum by pointing to the tectonic shift taking place, with the collapse of the collective West. The unipolar world, ruled by the West since the end of the Soviet Union, is disintegrating, and \u201cis never to be fixed again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The war in Ukraine is lost, but the Europeans refuse to stop, preparing for a war they cannot win, and cannot afford. In a state of denial about reality, they sent French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and Ukraine\u2019s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to Washington to coerce Trump to continue the war, but totally failed. It is an \u201carrogance of power,\u201d Zepp-LaRouche said, which is expressed by the 2007 Lisbon Treaty. That treaty was used by the EU leadership to effectively create a European constitution, including a provision to wage collective war, without the consent of the European people\u2014after 2005 referendums in the Netherlands and France on the creation of such a constitution were soundly defeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zepp-LaRouche emphasized the importance of Russian President&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/en.kremlin.ru\/events\/president\/news\/76338\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vladimir Putin\u2019s Feb.&nbsp;27 declaration<\/a>&nbsp;that the talks with the Trump administration are going well, and that the intention is to create global security for all countries\u2014very much like the intention of the IPC and the Schiller Institute to create a new architecture for security and development for all nations. She warned that the situation in the Middle East is still treacherous, and that we must not finish our fight for peace until all the threats are resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Peace Is Bad for the Military-Industrial Complex<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ray McGovern, a co-founder of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), posed the question: Will the Europeans be able to stop Trump\u2019s peace effort? He warned that the media is a major weapon against peace, and \u201cpeace is bad for business.\u201d He reported that former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich and his wife had authored an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/eir.news\/2025\/03\/news\/kuciniches-praise-trumps-challenge-to-military-industrial-complex\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">article<\/a>&nbsp;showing that with the breakout of peace talks in the U.S., the stock values of the military-industrial companies had begun a sharp decline, whereas in Europe, where the leaders are militarizing their countries, the military-industrial stocks are booming. He ridiculed the continuing anti-Russia hysteria, asking if Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky were merely pumping gas at a Russian \u201cgas station.\u201d Trump is not only saying \u201cno more war in Ukraine,\u201d he is also saying \u201cno more NATO.\u201d Europe can no longer depend on the U.S., he said. Nonetheless, the danger in the Middle East is still great, and we should recall what his friend, the late peace-activist Daniel Berrigan said: \u201cThe difference between doing something and doing nothing is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr.&nbsp;J\u00e9r\u00f4me Ravenet, a professor of philosophy in France, the author of a thesis on Chinese President Xi Jinping, and a Chinese scholar, pointed first to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair\u2019s repulsive speech in Chicago in 1999 openly promoting Anglo-American imperial intervention in third countries, which became the basis and justification for the many regime-change wars by the U.K. and the U.S. in the following years. Sanctions and military interventions only escalate conflicts, not solve them, Ravenet said. Are they insane, he asked, or are they convinced that military intervention is necessary to counter a perceived evil?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The West has now worn out its power, with color revolutions and hubris. He then discussed the great philosophic minds of Western civilization, drawing from each a sense of justice. He pointed to Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, who distinguished between power and inclusivity, showing that power proves to be impotent (as the failure of sanctions demonstrates, as well as the fact that regime-change wars only create chaos), whereas the Chinese policy of the Belt and Road Initiative shows the benefit of inclusivity. He said that the West has demonized China, denying that the concept of socialist democracy can even exist. Contrary to the Wolfowitz Doctrine of Western superiority and hegemony, the great philosophers pointed to common sense, and a multipolar world; that contradictions do not mean declaring others to be enemies\u2014pointing to Nicholas of Cusa\u2019s concept of the \u201ccoincidence of opposites.\u201d China\u2019s idea of a \u201cwin-win\u201d policy, and Charles de Gaulle\u2019s notion of a \u201cthird way\u201d between communism and capitalism, are better approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zepp-LaRouche praised Dr.&nbsp;Ravenet\u2019s \u201cenlightened\u201d presentation, and agreed fully that the Chinese concept of \u201csocialist democracy\u201d was a better approach. After all, she noted, \u201cdemocracy is dead in Europe,\u201d as evidenced by the Romanian cancellation of the election because the winner was against the war in Ukraine, then arresting him to prevent him from running again. Europe is tied to the \u201cDeep State\u201d in the U.S. She brought up the notion of synarchy\u2014the idea that the oligarchy and the banking interests must have power over the will of the masses, pointing to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton\u2019s denunciation of the \u201cdeplorables\u201d as an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ray McGovern thanked Dr.&nbsp;Ravenet, saying that he felt like he was \u201cback in grad school, taking notes.\u201d He said that we must also consider the role of racism in the thinking of the oligarchy. He noted that he studied the Classics, and learned Greek, learning that there were two words for power\u2014one meaning hegemony, the other relational, in which the interests of the other were important. He added that Jesus used the term for relational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr.&nbsp;Ravenet added that in regard to anti-China racism, it was French Philosopher Montesquieu who introduced the notion of \u201cOriental despotism,\u201d although he knew nothing about China. His concern was to oppose Gottfried Leibniz, who was working with the Jesuits who were in China. He concurred with McGovern that Jesus rejected the concept of power as hegemonism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mubarak Awad, a Palestinian-American who heads Non-Violence International, provided a video discussion with the Schiller Institute\u2019s Gerald Belsky, in which he strongly endorsed the LaRouche Oasis Plan. He said Palestinians are \u201cless interested in one state or two states, but that people cannot live without water.\u201d He denounced the politicization of water, pointing to Israel\u2019s cutting off the water supply as part of their war on Gaza. He said that Palestinians do not trust the West, since its leaders repeatedly say \u201cpeace\u201d and \u201ctwo-state solution,\u201d but not a single U.S. President has enforced that policy, all saying that \u201cit is up to Israel.\u201d Other countries must be brought into the planning, such as T\u00fcrkiye, India and African countries; not just Europeans, who had colonized the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A Shared Community of Mankind<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to a question about what type of leadership was needed in Europe, Zepp-LaRouche said, \u201cNot those who reject the common good.\u201d She pointed to China\u2019s notion of the \u201cshared community of mankind.\u201d Leaders must \u201cinspire,\u201d she said, which requires a love of poetry and of music. Such leaders existed in the past, such as Charles de Gaulle, the Prussian reformers who followed Friedrich Schiller and the Humboldts, the leaders of the 1955 Bandung Conference, Confucius, and Joan of Arc. \u201cWe need discussions of these ideas,\u201d rather than the common use of \u201cslogans and text messages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr.&nbsp;Ravenet expressed his delight that the Schiller Institute exists to discuss these issues. He said that he had taught the Chinese language for years, but that in France, there was an effort to marginalize the teaching of Chinese and other languages. Zepp-LaRouche responded that knowing other languages and cultures is crucial if we are to create a world worthy of all nations and all peoples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jacques Cheminade, the head of the French Solidarit\u00e9 et Progr\u00e8s party, said that leaders must be willing to break from the \u201cset rules of discourse\u201d to seek the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A question was raised as to whether Trump had the fortitude to counter the Deep State. IPC co-moderator Dennis Speed responded that the new U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded that certain files be released, only to find that thousands of pages had been withheld. She has now demanded that they all be released immediately, and to reveal who had withheld them. Tulsi Gabbard, now the Director of National Intelligence, has countered the British demand that Apple create a \u201cbackdoor\u201d on all their phones so that British intelligence can spy on everyone. These are the cases which will determine if the Deep State can win or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>eir<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Report on IPC #91 March 1, 2025 (EIRNS)\u2014The&nbsp;91st weekly meeting of the International Peace Coalition&nbsp;(IPC) on Friday, Feb.&nbsp;28 turned into a profound philosophical discussion on the true meaning of politics and diplomacy which must be established in order to prevent the descent into global war, and on the current extremely dynamic transformation taking place in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":107318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,798],"tags":[842],"class_list":["post-107317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allgemein","category-international-peace-coalition","tag-lang-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107317"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107343,"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107317\/revisions\/107343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}