Peace and Social Justice

Background

Peace is not only the absence of war but also the absence of all violence in a society, both internal and external, direct and indirect. Peace and social justice are interdependent. A superficial peace based on the denial and suppression of basic human needs and rights is built on a foundation of quicksand (Van Soest, 1992).

Lasting peace in the world can be achieved only through the fulfillment of basic human needs. In the nuclear age, the paramount requisite for "promoting the general welfare"_a goal to which the profession is committed by the NASW Code of Ethics (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 1993)_is the prevention of nuclear war and the opposition to violence in all its forms. The realization of this goal will require a diversion of basic resources from the destruction of life and toward the improvement of those physical and social conditions that are basic to the support of human life.

The reliance by many nations on military force as a prime instrument of foreign policy has jeopardized the entire world. In the United States, the preoccupation with national defense so permeates the structure of society that livelihoods, civil liberties, and values have become inextricably entwined with military preparedness. The institutionalization of armed power and the development of the military-industrial complex appear inaccessible to control by citizens or the U.S. Congress.

The United States and Russia have begun to realize that reliance on military force in the nuclear age is a no-win policy, that the human and economic costs are prohibitive, and that new concepts of national security, namely "common security" and an "interdependent world," are emerging. The United States and Russia are to be commended for making significant progress toward reducing their nuclear and conventional military arsenals; however, this is just a beginning. Ways must be found to eliminate nuclear and other weapons, to more fully meet human needs through reductions in military spending, and to provide jobs for military and civilian personnel who depended on the military economy.

In addition to the danger of nuclear war, there is danger surrounding the actual armed conflicts that have been waged with conventional weapons in many parts of the world. The tragic loss of life, the enormous drain on the world's dwindling natural resources, and the brutalizing impact of war on all who are involved in it are antithetical to global social welfare and security, as well as to the central purpose of the social work profession.

Beyond the destruction and trauma of war is the continual drain on human and material resources_the diversion of energies and goods and services to meet military needs_while the social welfare of millions of people in the United States and abroad goes unmet. The reliance on military might had led the United States to the brink of nuclear war and to the actuality of conventional war; has sapped the nation's resources; and has resulted in the pollution of the earth and the atmosphere, which, along with other global environmental dangers, poses a threat to the world's public health and safety and to its very future. In addition to the physical, social, and economic consequences, the arms race and the threat of nuclear war pose unique psychological consequences for men, women, and children.

Issue Statement

Since the adoption of the Peace and Social Welfare policy statement by the NASW Delegate Assembly in August 1990, a nearly universal consensus has emerged within American society that the Cold War, the stated rationale for most of their U.S. military buildup and activities for more than 40 years, has ended.

Military Spending

The United States spends about 40 percent of its military budget for the defense of Western Europe ("Two Trillion Dollars," 1987), maintains 395 military bases around the world ("U.S. Military Agenda," 1991), and retains more than 11,000 strategic nuclear warheads (Forsberg, 1992). Specifically, in 1990, according to Forsberg, the number of U.S. nuclear warheads totaled 11,658. The U.S. Defense Department has recommended that this number be reduced to 4,700 by 1997. Most of the military expenditure is for nuclear weapons and power projection around the world (Morland, 1986). Morland has estimated that the U.S. 1985 military budget comprised the following:

• 3 percent: defense of U.S. borders
• 10 percent: deterrence of unprovoked nuclear attacks
• 45 percent: Third World intervention
• 37 percent: containment of the Soviet Union
• 5 percent: miscellaneous overhead

From 1975 to 1990, real U.S. military spending increased by 50 percent (Riddell, 1990). At the same time, the poverty rate rose from 11.7 percent in 1979 to 13 percent in 1988 (Edwards, 1990). As a nation, we have not recovered from $57 billion cut from domestic programs from 1982 through 1985 (Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, 1986). State and local governments also lost substantial funding due to retrenchment by the federal government. Hunger, homelessness, and other social ills have increased.

Support for the military establishment constitutes a considerable burden on the taxpayer. More than half of U.S. income taxes are directly and indirectly used for military related purposes (DeGrasso, 1983; War Resisters League, 1989; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 1985). The War Resisters League analysis revealed that 36 percent of the budget goes for current military expenses and 24 percent for past military expenses. The following military related items do not appear in the official government military budget: half of National Aeronautics and Space Administration costs, CIA, Selective Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, nuclear weapons (Department of Energy), veterans' benefits, and interest on the national debt due to military spending.

Economic Conversion

Various arguments have been presented against economic conversion. One is that too many jobs will be lost. Ironically, this argument is hardly plausible, given the great need to employ people in the work of ameliorating the deplorable conditions of the U.S. infrastructure, environment, and human resources_conditions that have been caused, at least in part, by military spending, manufacturing, and weapons testing.

Some people propose that the armed services be given roles that have a partial social function to enhance the military's image and to strengthen its viability. For example, troops would interdict drug supplies in other nations and intervene to prevent hunger. Other proposals stress the need to retain the military capability to enforce a new world order because the world is a dangerous place. In addition, demonization of world leaders as a tactical prelude to military intervention has been gaining increasing acceptance. However, the United States has undercut attempts to achieve collaboratively such a goal through the United Nations by stopping payments to the UN, by providing most of the military labor for some UN peacekeeping efforts, and by refusing to function in those endeavors under UN command.

These actions suggest that the United States wants to maintain a large military establishment that can promote American economic influence around the world more than it wants to establish peace through the UN. Cases in point are the CIA and military involvements that ensure the existence of foreign governments that promote economic policies favoring the United States.

The military-welfare complex often provides greater profit levels than those achievable in the more free market segments of the U.S. economy. Even now, some modest military cutbacks are being replaced by increased arms sales to other nations_even to developed nations. The recent Gulf War showcased weapons that could be marketed internationally.

More than 9 million Americans receive their paychecks from the Pentagon, and millions more are indirectly dependent on military spending (The U.S. military after the Cold War, 1989). Progress in reducing defense outlays will be difficult if there is no plan to minimize the potential job dislocation that could result. Progress is possible, however. An equally prodigious challenge was met when the United States made the transition to a peacetime economy after World War II (Borosage, 1992). According to Borosage, within three years after World War II, 24.8 million people left defense-related employment and 11 million veterans reentered the labor market thanks to the G. I. bill. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that funds create more jobs when used for civilian rather than military purposes (Anderson, 1992). A $1 billion reduction in military spending costs 24,000 jobs, but there is a gain of 31,000 jobs_a net gain of 7,000 jobs.

De-escalation of Violence

The United States is one of the most violent nations in the world, with violence rates as much as 76 times that of some other nations. We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world, having exceeded South Africa's rate in 1988.

International Cooperation

Military expenditures in the world total about $1 trillion annually (Sivard, 1988). Referring to global military expenditures, Sivard said, "In current dollars those expenditures reached $944 billion in 1987 and in 1988 appear to have set a new record high close to $1,000 billion for the year" (p. 12). Many of the world's major economic powers not only have large military budgets but also are primary sources of arms shipments to Third World nations, many of which are governed by dictatorships. For example, the United States provides weapons to 142 nations, 59 of which are authoritarian governments, such as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Guatemala, and Haiti (Arming dictators, 1992). Of 120 wars in the world from World War II to 1986, only one was in a developed nation (Sivard, 1986). These less-developed nations often spend sizable portions of their finances on armaments, draining funds from social needs, and engage in military actions that result in hunger and refugees. In our own country, the location of waste sites for the weapons industry causes a disproportionate health hazard to the poor, disenfranchised, and people of color.

Policy Statement

We must reduce the use of violence as a solution to domestic as well as foreign problems. This should include reducing the use of capital punishment and incarceration, which is often used for racist rather than crime prevention purposes. In addition we must demilitarize police forces and address social problems through nonviolent means, such as providing drug treatment instead of waging drug wars.

The social work profession can contribute to a redefinition of national security that includes healthy children, the prevention of poverty, an adequate education for all residents, and a productive economy. The growing reality of social disenfranchisement and frustration by those Americans who are hopeless, homeless, powerless, penniless, and ignored demonstrates an internal lack of national security that demands bold action.

As a leader in the arms race, the United States should be a forerunner in disarmament by making measured unilateral reductions in its military forces and by ending the testing of nuclear weapons before the militarization of space makes the arms race irreversible. The United States should exercise leadership toward nuclear disarmament. This leadership will require a reduction in existing nuclear weapons and opposition to the development of new weapons systems.

Military Spending

The United States should adopt a plan to reduce its military budget substantially over the next 10 years and to divert most of the savings to respond to the mounting social needs in our nation and to efforts to help military and defense industries personnel make the transition to a civilian economy.

In addition the United States should support all peaceful efforts for the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons; the abolition of nuclear weapons tests by all nations, and the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons; and the reduction of troop levels and all weapons of warfare among all nations.

Furthermore, the United States should support the abolition of all chemical warfare agents or nerve gas and a bilateral agreement between the United States and all countries to cease production of these compounds and to destroy any existing stockpiles. Also, the United States should support a UN-sponsored multinational treaty calling for the abolition of chemical warfare agents worldwide, with strong sanctions imposed against any nation that uses these weapons.

The United States should consistently emphasize cooperation in its foreign policy rather than unilateral military action. The welfare of all people and the balanced economic and social development of nations should be the goals of U.S. foreign policy.

Economic Conversion

Policies promoting economic conversion should be implemented through legislation and funding. The United States also should encourage participation at all levels of government and nongovernment organizations in studying and planning for the redevelopment of materials and personnel for the conversion of the economy from war production to peaceful pursuits. Readjustment to civilian life should be facilitated for those people who are completing military service, especially those who are suddenly terminated because of the end of the Cold War.

International Cooperation

The United States should join other nations to reduce the production of armaments and to find more constructive and nonviolent means to deal with international conflicts. Such means include participation in the UN and other world organizations that exist primarily to foster an atmosphere of cooperation and the nonviolent resolution of conflicts.

The United States should endeavor to decrease the number of refugees by supporting democratically elected governments and by providing economic and social assistance rather than military shipments to other nations. Refugees should be granted asylum if they are faced with violence and death. Recognizing the equal worth of humans everywhere, asylum should not be based on race or other factors that are inconsistent with the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Resettlement should be done by private and governmental social agencies.

In addition the U.S. government should support the efforts of the UN, including such agencies as the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Court, and other international organizations in the quest for world order, international cooperation, and disarmament.

The United States also should support implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration states that each person has the right to a standard of living that is adequate for his or her health and well-being and that the components of that standard of living, although they vary among cultures, should provide those goods and services that are essential to the social security of each individual.

Furthermore, the United States should support each country's right to political and economic self-determination, to nonintervention, and to control over its own natural resources. In considering the tragic and growing phenomena of world poverty and hunger, internationally coordinated efforts must include redistribution of global resources (such as technology transfer, reduction of Third World debt burden, reduction of over-consumption patterns of the West), improvement of women's status, and population stabilization.

The United States also should stimulate and support the use of government funds, free of military or political purposes, to promote social and economic development and protection of the environment; to meet basic human needs in education, housing, health, and welfare services; and to develop cooperative efforts with other governments through the UN to make these funds available to the people of the world.

World nations should continue the U.S. bilateral and multilateral programs for foreign aid until the needs of developing nations can be met adequately through the UN and other international programs. Such programs should be conducted in harmony with the spirit and planning of multilateral programs. Primary emphasis should be on human values and the contribution of these programs to human welfare.

Social Work Role

Qualified professional social workers should be employed in the U.S. Foreign Service and in social welfare positions in multilateral and bilateral programs of technical assistance, such as community development, social work education, and the development of social welfare services. Appropriate additional training should be provided to qualified social workers to prepare them fully for international service, including nongovernment organizations and international professional associations, such as the International Federation of Social Workers, the International Association of Schools of Social Work, the International Council on Social Welfare, and IUCUSD. In addition, stronger links must be made to the international social work community through cooperative efforts in the schools of social work, social services agencies, and hospital social work departments, to name a few. NASW's International Committee should be strengthened and made more widely known.

The United States also should continue using qualified professional social workers to serve the armed forces and military dependents, regardless of their location or proximity to service. The presence of qualified social workers in the military is important to ensure that commanders give a high priority to human values and that the military establishment responds adequately to the welfare needs of military personnel and their families.

Our domestic peace and justice agenda must also include gun control legislation and the stoppage of the illegal weapons trade that brings firearms into the hands of our citizens, many of them disenfranchised young people. To prevent violence that turns communities into war zones, we must promote early and ongoing intervention through economic revitalization and educational and employment opportunities to give young people hope and direction. In addition, we must address the role of the media and other institutions in the glorification of violence and use of weapons.

Finally, in accordance with current Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) standards, the social work profession must integrate peace and justice issues into the undergraduate- and graduate-level curriculum on both the micro and macro levels. Students must be educated about the social and political aspects of social work practice from the outset and must be offered field experiences that enable them to take an active role in working for social change. Teaching the connections between direct client services and the larger sociopolitical context and providing avenues for students to learn and practice social action skills will bring social work back to its roots. As social workers, building on our activist tradition is one of the most powerful ways to carry the message of peace and justice and to help make it a reality.

References

Anderson, M. (1992). Rebuilding America. Boston Review, 17, 3-4.

Arming dictators. (1992). Defense Monitor, 21, 5.

Borosage, R. (1992, May 20). Job blackmail: A substitute for defense cuts. Baltimore Sun, p. A17.

Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy. (1986). Fiscal year 1986 edition guide to the military budget.

DeGrasso, R. W., Jr. (1983). Military expansion and economic decline. Armonk, NY: M. E. Tharpe.

Edwards, R. L. (1990, February). Poverty trend: A threat for 21st century. NASW News, p. 2.

Forsberg, R. (1992). Defense cuts and cooperative security in the post war world. Boston Review, 17, 3-4.

Morland, H. (1986). A few billion for defense. Washington, DC: Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy.

National Association of Social Workers. (1993). NASW code of ethics. Washington, DC: Author.

Riddell, T. (1990). Farewell to arms. Dollars & Sense, 154.

Sivard, R. (1986). World military and social expenditures (11th ed.). Washington, DC: World Priorities.

Sivard, R. (1988). World military and social expenditures (12th ed.). Washington, DC: World Priorities.

Two trillion dollars in seven years. (1987). Defense Monitor, 16(17), 3.

The U.S. military after the cold war. (1989). Defense Monitor, 18(8), 4.

U.S. military agenda for 1992 and beyond. (1991). Defense Monitor, 20(6), 3.

Van Soest, D. (1992). Incorporating peace and social justice in the social work curriculum (Chapter 4). Washington, DC: NASW Peace and Social Justice Committee.

War Resisters League. (1989). Where your income tax money really goes. New York: Author.

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. (1985). [Title unknown.] Philadelphia: Jane Addams Peace Association.