By M.M. Goel

To commemorate World Peace Day on Nov. 17, there is a strong case for new agenda for discussion and debate by the protagonists of peace at all levels. We have to worship God for the peace, progress and happiness in the present times of materialistic miseries.

We need citizen-based organizations for multi-track diplomacy for preventing conflict of any kind at any level of operation in any economy of the world (South Korea or India) with the Global Peace Index based on 23 indicators. The measurement of the level of peace as an index of progress and happiness in every nation, state, district, village and city is the call of the day.

We need to place peace above everything which is the sermon of all religions in the world. The calm, unselfish and compassionate peace with vision of sustainable human development is necessary.

Peace can be positive as well as negative based on different means. “Peace by Peaceful Means” by Johan Galtung defines positive peace as a process of life enhancement. According to Betty Reardon, peace is the wholeness created by a right relationship with oneself, others and cultures, Earth and the larger whole of which all are a part.

Peace in every head and heart is essential in present world of stress and tensions caused by commercialization and spiritual bankruptcy. The domain of peace starts from an individual to family, city or village, district, state, nation and the world levels.

There is a direct correlation between peace and performance of any economy at all levels of operation. The peaceful societies ensure intra-generation, inter-generation equity and wellbeing freedoms with high level of per capita income.

The price and value of peace in the present scenario of inflation is more than anything else which is capable of reducing costs and expanding markets with strategic planning for investment leading to inclusive growth in India.

The dynamic peace dividend is accrued in the form of additional economic output made possible through proper, productive and practical (3Ps) use of human capital (hands, head and heart), social capital and physical capital in the form of infrastructure.

To serve the people, we need transformation (change in the mindset) in a big manner with higher investments in education and health which is capable of reducing other expenditures on police and prison personnel and to be called static peace.

We need to identify, understand, analyze, interpret and implement the 10 fundamental drivers of peace provided by the Institute for Economics and Peace of Australia (2009).

It is an established reality that the cost of conflict is higher to the cost of peace initiatives by any one at any level.

Peace is a necessary and sufficient condition for sustainable development in general and sustainable human development in particular which is conducive to happiness and progress of all.

Peace has multiplier effects on the various sectors of the economy including agriculture, industry, trade and services. There is a strong case for proper redistribution of wealth for ensuring peace at all levels. There is always a threat to peace due to inequalities of various kinds and the gap between rich and poor.

To ensure peace and discourage conflicts, we need voluntary efforts at all levels by individuals who can join hands to get things done. Let military farms be encouraged to reduce the mental agonies of the poor farmers who are ready to commit suicide for failing to pay off their debts.

Let us encourage peace as an essential input of growth in various sectors of the economy. Let peace economics be identified as a separate branch of economics which justified the Nobel Prize for Peace for an economist like Mohammad Yunus (2006) of Bangladesh providing microfinance with empathy (not sympathy) for the vulnerable segments of society consisting of women and beggars.

The writer is professor of economics and dean/faculty of social sciences, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India. Reach him at mmgoel2001@yahoo.co.in.