Following is the statement of purpose for the No Cold War group initiated by Massachusetts Peace Action. The statement was approved in October 2020.
Increasing tensions between the United States, China, and Russia threaten to drag the entire planet into a new Cold War. The Cold War that dominated international relations during the second half of the 20th century almost destroyed human civilization as we know it. It ended millions of human lives and easily could have ended billions. It was only through astonishing effort and luck that total war between great powers and an exchange of nuclear weapons was avoided. To risk everything again in a second Cold War is unacceptable.
The stakes could not be higher. To stop a new Cold War we must:
- Prevent the “modernization” of nuclear weapons that would restart an atomic arms race and continue dangerous brinkmanship for future generations
- Reject the demonization of Russia and China which is now driving us into a New Cold War
- Avoid dividing the world into hostile camps, which harms smaller nations caught in the crossfire in conflicts between great powers
- Strengthen international legal frameworks to resolve disagreements peacefully through diplomacy and compromise
- Encourage collaboration on global challenges like climate change, disarmament, demilitarization, and pandemics which cannot be solved without international cooperation
- Condemn and oppose racism, xenophobia, and the subjugation of minority peoples in all nations
- Reduce military spending and oppose calls for “full spectrum dominance of the Indo-Pacific” by the US military
- Oppose dangerous and potentially escalatory muscle-flexing initiated primarily by the United States but also by China and Russia, in the Baltic Sea area, South China Sea, areas near Taiwan, and other such flashpoints.
- Expose the conflict of interest from weapons manufacturers who stand to profit from a New Cold War and use political influence to promote it
- Encourage Common Security among the United States, China, Russia and neighboring nations in which security is achieved not against an adversary but together with it
The purpose of this group is to prevent the extreme danger posed by a New Cold War. We will inform the public and organize resistance to this folly. The United States, Russia, and China all may deserve criticism for the oppression of minorities and dissidents. Recognizing this, let us be clear. Massachusetts Peace Action is a nonpartisan organization. We do not give blanket or uncritical support to the policy of any government or political party.
People with divergent political views must set aside their differences and unite, for the sake of the species as a whole, to stop a New Cold War.
Solving the major crises in front of us — climate change, the danger of terminal nuclear war, and preventing/controlling pandemics — can only take place through international collaboration. The deepening cold war with Russia and China rules out the possibility of that collaboration and instead, increases the chances of each of these 3 crises destroying us. We must prevent a new cold war or we are finished.
