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War and Defense Editor’s note: Mr.
Kieninger wrote this article in December of 1967. The intervening decades
have further proven his data and conclusions. By Richard Kieninger Modem man is so thoroughly conditioned
to war and the economic-political institutions which are integral parts of
war-making, that it is difficult for him to comprehend how the great nation
of Lemuria functioned for tens of thousands of years without war. Inasmuch as
recorded history is a repetitious recital of wars for territorial
acquisition, power, freedom, booty and revenge, it is only natural that
skepticism about world peace is so prevalent. Down through time, governments
have been established primarily for the purpose of organizing for defense.
Tribal leaders and feudal lords joined forces for mutual protection and
appointed a central authority over themselves to unify their efforts.
Preparedness for defensive warfare admittedly is expensive, but people willingly
consent to being taxed in order to provide for their protectors. The nation of Lemuria also
had its humble beginning in a defense pact between formerly rival tribes; and
if there had not been such a great yearning for security, it is unlikely that
the tribal leaders ever would have yielded their autonomy and joined forces.
Cave dwellers had long demonstrated the fortress-like effectiveness of their
homes; and in adapting this idea to an open plain, the first structure of
stone was raised for the defense of the early settlement. Thus we see another
example of war being a typically uniting force among a people and acting as a
traditional spur to inventive resourcefulness. The nation of Lemuria,
however, did not engage in warfare for at least forty thousand years after it
was formed. Within a few years after the budding nation occupied the
northeastern quadrant of the continent of Mu, its demonstration of
impregnable defense discouraged further attacks upon it. Lemuria continued to
avoid conflicts because of its size and tightly-knit organization, and still
later it slowly grew into an empire through trade agreements with
undeveloped lands. Their “empire” was really a federation of self-ruled
peoples who became nations under the guidance and assistance of Lemuria. The
philosophy of Lemurians and their knowledge of karma precluded their
attacking another land, and their diplomatic knack for gaining loyal friends
served to protect Lemuria and her confederate nations from threat of armed
conflict. Nevertheless, Lemuria maintained a skeleton army around which the
able-bodied men could rally should an emergency arise. The enemies of the Lemurian
Empire in most cases were the descendants of people exiled to other lands for
reasons of criminal or seditious activities. Lemuria maintained no jails, but
rather removed dangerous persons from the continent altogether. This custom
of lifelong banishment became a potent deterrent to persons who might
otherwise be weak in resisting temptation. The Lemurian army was always on
hand to forestall any contemplation of attack by these colonies of exile,
and the army also served as a place where the malcontents and alienated
juveniles, who have always been part of every society, could be disciplined
and forced to learn a trade. The small army was continually employed in
building public works; for at no time could any group of persons be allowed
to be karmically unproductive. Preparations for defense
occupied a minuscule portion of the Lemurian national expenditure. The Elders
adjudged which inventions were allowed to be manufactured, and They permitted
the army to be armed with weapons which were only as advanced as those
developed by the enemies of Lemuria. Fortunately, this remained limited to
axes, arrows, spears, slings, catapults and body armor. The defense effort of the
U.S.A., by comparison, consumes at least 20 percent of our gross national
product. Economists shudder to think what would happen to the American
economy if secure peace treaties were consummated with the other powers of
the world and universal disarmament became a reality. The plain fact is that
our economic booms accompany periods of industrial overproduction. Wars and
the arms race which has accompanied the Cold War have siphoned off this
excess production from the consumer market to keep us from the
condition of overstocked warehouses which brought about the depression of
1930 and earlier cyclic panics and recessions. Peace would force us into a
situation of finding an alternate technique of waste. The space program
offers one long-range way to rid ourselves of tens of billions of dollars
worth of production. An all-out poverty program would last only a decade, and
a global give-away plan would last only a half-century. Were we to be
relieved of all such diversions of wealth, taxes could be drastically cut;
but then explosive inflation would soon destroy the nation’s economy. It is
important that a large proportion of our huge population be kept out of
productivity during a conversion to a peacetime economy in order to prevent
overproduction. If the entire available labor force were to be employed, the
average work week would have to be legislated to less than twenty hours; and
everyone’s salary would then be reduced to a mere subsistence level. Under
those circumstances no family could buy anything except food, shelter and
clothing, and the automotive and hard goods industries would collapse for
lack of customers. Therefore, our present economy demands that half our
people be denied a living wage so that the other half can receive a larger
income (which allows an excess over their creature needs) in order to support
the market for the luxury goods upon which our industrial system thrives.
Economists are well aware that none of the world powers today can afford peace.
The closing of vast armament facilities, increased unemployment and the
return to the labor market of men discharged from the armed services would
cause world-wide economic dislocations. Moreover, the most unifying force a
government can muster for controlling contentious factions within its own
country is the credible threat of attack by an outside enemy. Given twenty years, the
world economy could be adjusted to peace, but no one wants peace since it
means inescapable economic privation until the adjustment can be made; so we
opt for war. Actually, the atom bomb makes us careful about risking a hot war
so long as a cold war spurs the economy sufficiently. If the U.S.A. were to
spend its annual defense budget of about 70 billion dollars on housing
instead, we could give EVERY FAMILY (50,000,000 of them) a new $25,000
home within 18 years. Of course, not that many homes need be built. Paying
the mortgages on existing homes would be equivalent. With no need for anyone
to pay rent, the 40-hour week could be cut to 30 hours, and those persons who
are unemployed could then be brought into the labor force. Most wage earners
pay a 15-20 percent income tax, and by cutting the tax rate in half, the work
week could be reduced to 24 hours. Effective buying power would remain the
same while the retail market would expand through the elimination of poverty,
and lowered corporation taxes would result in lower retail prices. Lemuria’s Citizens were united by their altruistic ideals and their personal Egoic goals of attaining Adeptship. Their government was less concerned with controlling the Citizenry than with providing efficient public services. Their work week was a few hours, and prices were so low that everyone could set aside savings to buy quality items which literally outlasted a lifetime. Their economy was centrally regulated by adjusting the length of the work week, by lowering retail prices, or by undertaking public works. It was their law that “no one may profit at the expense of another,” and they realized that the wealthier everyone became, the stronger their economy grew. The entire world could return to the Lemurian system in less than a generation, but the world is quite acclimated to war and its social functions. Moreover, the Evil they know seems safer than the unproven Good they do not know. |
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