25 June 2007

Price of Peace - Campaigning for the UN

Although peace is not an obvious topic for "business4good", peace is probably the most valuable public good. Ever since I read that the US is spending 20 (!) times the money on its military than on Official Development Assistance, I thought "can't we use this money in a better way?". No doubt, we need some 'hard' power in the form of military for defense but everything in moderation and well balanced please.

Therefore, I like the "Prize of Peace" Campaign. Although US focussed, it shows that peace is not just the right thing for humanity but also make economical sense. UN peacekeeping is 8 times cheaper than US military forces (see their video for more snappy facts). Peace is not just cheaper than war but furthermore UN peacekeeping efforts and 'soft' peacemaking efforts are much more effective than 'hard' military power.

We can debate endlessly about the flaws of the UN but we have any better organization? No, so let's get together and make the UN works - for a better world. What's your opinion?