Steps to Peace; A Quaker View of U.S. Foreign Policy, A Report prepared for the American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee, 1951. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. 64 pages. Cover has some wear and soiling. Includes Preface, Introduction, and Conclusion. Chapters cover What Are the Ultimate Objectives of the American People in International Affairs? Is Our Present Foreign Policy Leading Us to These Objectives?; Why Has Our Policy Failed? An Alternative Program, New Initiative for Peaceful Settlements, The Essential Role of the United Nations; Disarmament and the International Control of Arms; and Development of Large-Scale Programs of Mutual Aid. The authors of the report felt compelled to speak out of a deep sense of moral concern: Even if we had no knowledge of other nations, and no experience in struggling against evil, we should still feel compelled to speak out. For with increasing disturbance of soul we have watched the hardening of public opinion, and the easy acceptance of the doctrine of force. In the clamor and clash of a hating world, people are forgetting moral values, which are as relevant today as they were in Jesus' time. But even on pragmatic grounds, we reject the concept that peace can emerge from an arms race, or that problems can be solved by dropping A-bombs. Is there no answer to coercive communism other than coercive militarism? God forbid. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) founded organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by American members of the Religious Society of Friends to assist civilian victims of World War I. It continued to engage in relief action in Europe and the Soviet Union after the Armistice of 1918. By the mid-1920s it focused on improving racial relations in the U.S., as well as exploring ways to prevent the outbreak of another conflict before and after World War II. As the Cold War developed, it moved to employ more professionals rather than Quaker volunteers, over time attempting to broaden its appeal and respond more forcefully to racial injustice, women's issues, and demands of sexual minorities for equal treatment. In April 1917—days after the United States joined World War I by declaring war on Germany and its allies—a group of Quakers met in Philadelphia to discuss the pending military draft and how it would affect members of peace churches such as Quakers, Mennonites, Brethren, and the Amish. They developed ideas for alternative service that could be done directly in the battle zones of northern France. In 1955, the committee published Speak Truth to Power: A Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence, drafted by a group including Stephen G. Cary, A. J. Muste, Robert Pickus, and Bayard Rustin. Focused on the Cold War, the 71-page pamphlet asserted that it sought "to give practical demonstration to the effectiveness of love in human relations".[18] It was widely commented on in the press, both secular and religious, and proved to be a major statement of Christian pacifism. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Peace, Peaceful Settlements, United Nations, Arms Control, Disarmament, Mutual Aid, International Affairs, Foreign Policy
[Book #82469]
Price: $32.50