PRE-PUBLICATION DRAFT — GUIDE TO WW3
Introduction
Setting the Scene for “The Pacifist’s Guide to WW3”
“All a great power has to do to destroy itself is persist in trying to do the impossible.” — Stephen Vizinczey (1933–2021), Hungarian-Canadian novelist and critic.
“When the causes that people are behind are more important to them than the system, the system is in jeopardy.” — Ray Dalio, American billionaire businessman, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist who, in 2022, shorted several major European stocks, which means he has been betting on a major collapse since at least 2022.
“Some even believe we (the Rockefeller family) are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as ‘internationalists’ and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure — ‘one world’, if you will. If that’s the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.” — David Rockefeller (1915–2017), American investment banker, philanthropist, and internationalist. Quoted in Memoirs (2002), page 405
This short book is about the race between top-down and bottom-up global governance. Now, before you start thinking this is some heavy-duty, high-brow academic thesis, let me assure you — it’s not. We’re going to break down some pretty complex stuff into bite-sized, easy-to-digest pieces. Global governance, for example, is just a way for countries to have rules and agreements that help them cooperate better. The theory is that if countries work together more closely, they could solve big problems like pollution, poverty, and wars. Some people like this idea because they believe it will make the world safer and fairer for everyone. But others don’t like it because they worry about the abuse of power. As we will learn, those with concerns have good reason to question the top 1% of any class-based society.
First things first, what the heck is World War 3 anyway? Well, you’ve probably heard the term increasingly thrown around in news headlines. While it’s not yet officially recorded in the history books, WW3 started on March 11th, 2020. It’s not a nuclear or kinetic war, it’s a biological war, and it’s a mind virus war. We’ll cover this in more detail in Chapter 6, even though the date is not (yet) recognized by mainstream historians or governments. But first, we’ll cover WW1 in Chapter 1, specifically how the First World War laid the foundations for global governance. In Chapter 2, we’ll learn how the Second World War pushed global governance closer to reality.
In Chapter 3, we peer into the world of collapsology and cliodynamics, while keeping it light and simple. Collapsology is all about the rise and fall of civilisations, and cliodynamics looks into the cycles and patterns of historical events. So, when we talk about WW3, we’re showing how it is inevitable, based on a variety of cycles. WW3 has arrived because it is rooted in the ebbs and flows of history, a part of a larger cycle that has been playing out for centuries.
Now, I know what you might be thinking — cycles? Predictable patterns? Sounds a bit like astrology, doesn’t it? But stick with me for a sec. Think about it — haven’t you ever noticed how history seems to repeat itself? How conflicts flare up, empires rise and fall, and societies go through these cycles of growth, decline, and renewal? It’s like there’s this rhythm to the way the world works, and once you start paying attention, you can’t unsee it.
So, why this huge focus on patterns? What’s the point of dissecting the intricacies of global conflicts and civilisations? Well, it all comes down to one thing: our present is shaped by our past. In a world that feels like it’s teetering on the brink of chaos, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, to feel like there’s no way out. But here’s the thing — proficiency in patterns is power. By understanding the patterns of the past and the forces at play in the present, we can arm ourselves with the tools we need to navigate these uncertain times.
In Chapter 4 we look at the emerging technologies shaping geopolitical trends. We focus especially on propaganda and censorship. Why? Because (new) ideas carry power and those in power feel threatened by new ideas. Censorship is a way of squashing new ideas. Propaganda is an attempt to keep our thinking aligned and in check with the way the powerful want us to think. In Chapter 5 we introduce a new sector emerging outside of the Public, Private and NGO sectors. This sets the stage for the clash of worldviews which led to WW3 in Chapter 6.
Chapters 7, 8, and 9 are a peek into what we can expect in the future. The lens we peer through is a long-term evolutionary one. In other words, we are thinking in decades rather than years; centuries rather than decades. Let’s quickly explain why this long-term lens is helpful.
Have you heard of the Deep Time Walk in the UK? It’s a 4.6km walk, where every metre represents 1 million years in Earth’s evolution. Each step away from the starting point represents increasing complexity: from single amoebas at the beginning of the walk all the way through to human life and the complex social structures we live in today. This unfolding process of life started slowly and has been accelerating more recently. The five mass extinctions that preceded our current epoch all occurred between 440 and 65 metres from the end of the walk. The final 20 centimetres represent the last 200,000 years when the human species burst onto the scene. The final 13 millimetres show when the last Ice Age occurred. The Industrial Revolution occurred in the last one-fifth of a millimetre, an impossibly small timescale compared to 4.6 billion years.
This book considers those final 20 centimetres while reminding ourselves constantly that those 20 centimetres could not exist without the previous 4.6 kilometres. It’s like the spire at the top of the world’s tallest building. It cannot be there without the presence of the building itself. So, this is not just a history lesson or a doom-and-gloom forecast — it’s a guide, a roadmap for activists, thinkers, and anyone who’s feeling a little lost amid the inevitable chaos we’re witnessing.
We end the book with Part 4, which looks at specific actions you can take, based on what you’ve learned in the book. More specifically, Part 4 provides clues on activities some are involved in that are informed by propaganda. I mention these because my heart breaks when I see how much human creativity is spent chasing outcomes that can never be reached. Whether you’re a seasoned peace warrior or a person in the street trying to make sense of the confusing times we find ourselves in, there’s something here for you.
So, buckle up, because we’re about to embark on a journey through the past, present, and future of global governance, set against the backdrop of the evolution of Planet Earth. It’s going to be a wild ride, but I promise you — we’ll come out the other side with a better understanding of where we’ve been, where we’re headed, and how we can shape the world for the better.
Onward!
Further Exploration
- If you’re not familiar with the Deep Time Walk, please take a moment to experience it. Understanding what it is will help orientate the rest of this book. For a 5-minute overview, watch this YouTube video:
- To experience the Deep Time Walk anywhere on the planet (highly recommended), download the free app at https://www.deeptimewalk.org/kit/app/. While you’re there, take some time to explore their website and learn more about Deep Time. It will enhance your understanding of this book.
Next Chapter: Stay Tuned!
This is a serialized version of The Pacifist’s Guide to WW3, due to be self-published in mid-2024.
To orientate yourself, see this announcement post, where you can also find a Table of Contents with links to all the draft chapters published so far.
Please do leave your feedback, commentary and ideas. I’d like to make this book as useful as possible and I cannot do so without your help. 🙏
Do you know a Gen Z or Gen A who has lost hope? Please share this with them. It’s my genuine desire to bring hope to what looks like a hopeless situation.
“I’m not an optimist. That makes me sound naive. I’m a very serious “possibilist” — someone who neither hopes without reason nor fears without reason, someone who constantly resists the overdramatic worldview. As a possibilist, I see all this progress, and it fills me with conviction and hope that further progress is possible. This is not optimistic. It is having a clear and reasonable idea about how things are. It is having a worldview that is constructive and useful.” — Hans Rosling (1948–2017), Swedish physician, academic, and co-founder and chairman of the Gapminder Foundation.
