On September 29, 2024, Bruce Fein, a prominent attorney and constitutional scholar, delivered a profound speech in support of the United Nations’ “Summit of the Future,” introduced by Bircan Unver, founder, president and TV producer and head NGO of the Light Millennium Global Charitable Human Advancement Organization, which was formed, based in New York in 2001 with 501(c)3 status and associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications since 2005, and co-presented by Ugur Kara, President, Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance (TADA), a 501 (c)(3) Organization.
This exclusive session delved into one of the most pressing issues facing humanity: the prevention of war through the principles of constitutional governance, moral education, and separation of powers. Fein’s speech, rooted in the philosophical and legal foundations of governance, emphasized the necessity of shifting power away from the executive branch to legislators curbing the unchecked pursuit of war by governments around the world.
The summit asked profound questions:
- Why are we here today?
- Why are we in this meeting, right?
- What are we doing?
- What’s wrong with the future?
- Why are we worried about the future?
- As you know, we’re going through several wars around the world. Why are there wars happening, why countries are attacking each other?
- What is the root cause and how can we prevent this and what is the role of education in this prevention?
Introduction to the Occasion
The Summit of the Future is a critical initiative of the United Nations, aimed at addressing and reimagining global governance, peace, and prosperity for the coming generations. As wars continue to plague humanity, with countries engaging in violent conflict across the globe, this summit seeks to address the root causes and mechanisms behind these conflicts. Bruce Fein’s participation reflects a powerful call to reform how governments handle war decisions. His speech offers a constitutional, legal, and philosophical perspective on stopping wars by limiting the power of the executive branch to declare and wage war.
Bruce Fein’s contributions highlight the historical pattern of war initiated by powerful executives, from Alexander the Great to modern-day world leaders. His advocacy for peace education—rooted in educating citizens from a young age on the importance of moral governance and legislative control over military power—resonated deeply with the audience. Mr Fein opened his remarks by asking a profound question,
‘How can we survive as a species in a civilized way where peace and prosperity prevail, that we treat other people according to their character and accomplishments and nothing more?’
In essence, the question pondered is seeking an answer to another question.
How can we break the cycle from the ‘passage in Thucydides’s history of the Peloponnesian War where he’s describing the relations between the various Greek city states.
And he says as follows, “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must“.’
What is the right thing to do?
What is fair?
What is justice?
James Madison wrote in Federalist 51 “Justice is the end of civil society“, “Justice is the end of government.” All the Constitution’s checks and balances, Madison concludes, serve to preserve liberty by ensuring justice[1]. Indeed, the separation of powers per constitution has always been a central theme of the argument by Bruce Fein[2].
Main Points of Bruce Fein’s Speech
- Separation of Powers and the Prevention of War: Central to Fein’s argument is the importance of legislative oversight in preventing wars. He argued that wars are predominantly initiated by the executive branches of government, which have historically been unchecked in their authority to wage wars for power, control, and status.
“The common feature of every single war is always the decision is made by the executive who has the power to issue rules by decree, and when you’re in times of war, then martial law comes into play and the leader decrees whatever the leader wants to be the rule for that particular minute and moment.”
Fein pointed out that war gives executives unchecked power, and that only by returning the authority to declare war to legislators—who are less inclined to benefit from war—can the cycle of violence be broken. He described how in the United States Constitution, the power to declare war is vested in Congress, but recent decades have seen this power increasingly usurped by the executive branch, leading to conflicts like Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond.
“The framers were very wise. ‘We’ll give the war power to the Congress. Both the House and the Senate have to vote for war.’ Very confident that it would probably very seldom happen unless we were actually attacked, and we were already in a state of war.”
“..We know that if we entrust the war power to the executive, the wars will never, ever, ever end. And they have not.”
- Human Nature and the Lust for Power: Fein’s speech took a philosophical turn when discussing the inherent desire for power within human nature.
“The overriding motivations for the species are power, money, sex, celebrity status or fame, creature comforts, and certainty to get to heaven after you die. But among those, power is the most coveted gratification of all because it gives to the species a sense of self-esteem—’I’m better than you'”
He referenced historical figures like Napoleon, Genghis Khan, and even modern-day leaders, who often wage war for personal aggrandizement. Fein believes that humanity has made no progress in moral wisdom compared to its advancements in science and technology.
“We’ve made 0 progress, none whatsoever, in those thousands of years in understanding and inculcating a sense of moral learning and wisdom. What is the right thing to do? What is fair? What is justice?”
The pursuit of power, wealth, and control has led to the consistent eruption of wars, despite centuries of global advancements in other areas. We are living today in a world of wars ongoing for long periods of time, fueling an immense war industry, not just an industry of military ambitions but more an industry bent on fueling more war and supporting more power given to dictators, who are sidestepping the powers of democracy and the will of the people.
- Education as the Pathway to Peace: Fein’s solution to this pervasive issue is grounded in education. He passionately advocated for a shift in how societies educate their children—starting from kindergarten and continuing throughout life. Fein proposed “Compulsory Peace Education,” a vision for teaching future generations the values of justice, fairness, and moral decision-making. His vision includes integrating moral and ethical education alongside traditional subjects like science and technology, which he argued, have advanced without a corresponding growth in wisdom or moral insight.
“We need immediately to start to work on making the cerebral faculties—our thinking faculties, our moral faculties—dominant and control the hormonal gratifications that drive us from birth. And if we can do that, that is how we make progress.
..It’s our great pride to support the summit of the future and a project that came up as a vision… Compulsory peace education, ICTs from K12, from kindergarten. So we are also persistent to act from K12 and beyond.”
This initiative, supported by the Light Millennium Global Charitable Human Advancement Organization, aims to incorporate peace education into school curricula globally. It includes teaching children the importance of peace, understanding, and empathy as essential parts of citizenship. Fein believes that this kind of education is the key to stopping the instinctual craving for power and the inclination toward violence.
- The Role of the United Nations and ICT in Peace Education: Fein also pointed to the importance of global organizations, such as the United Nations, in leading efforts for peace education. He praised the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in spreading knowledge and moral education across the globe. However, he warned that this effort must begin with individuals and communities, not just institutions. ICT can serve as a tool for educators and advocates to promote peace education, but it must be harnessed effectively to create lasting change.
“But this effort needs to start at the individual and community level. It can’t just be the institutions. If you build peace into the system so that it flows naturally, the people who have the power to decide to go to war don’t have any incentive to do so.”
Introducing the ‘Compulsory Peace Education’ Event
In a related event, titled Compulsory Peace Education, which will was aired on 5th October, 2024, at the United Nations at 11 am EST, Fein’s advocacy for peace education was further discussed alongside several prominent speakers. This event sought to formalize global initiatives to include peace education in school curricula and community programs, emphasizing early childhood education. These initiatives support the long-term vision that Fein outlined: to nurture the next generation of law-abiding citizens who value peace and are equipped with the moral wisdom to reject violence and war.
The Compulsory Peace Education initiative reflects a proactive stance against the cycle of violence by planting the seeds of understanding and empathy in young minds. In alignment with Fein’s vision, this initiative aims to provide practical solutions for educating children about the consequences of war and the moral imperatives of peace.
Conclusion
Bruce Fein’s speech at the Summit of the Future serves as a clarion call for peace, challenging the global community to rethink its approach to war and violence. His focus on legislative control over war powers, coupled with his advocacy for a radical overhaul of education systems to prioritize peace, represents a vision for a future where war is no longer seen as a necessary or glorified action. The upcoming Compulsory Peace Education event underscores this message, highlighting the urgency of integrating peace education into the foundation of global education systems. Together, these efforts mark a pivotal step toward a future where reason, law, and morality triumph over the destructive forces of war and violence.
REFERENCES
- Madison, J., The federalist papers: No. 51. February, 1788. 8: p. 1788.
- Fein, B., Constitutional peril: The life and death struggle for our Constitution and democracy. 2015: St. Martin’s Press.