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In the search for peace we are continually called upon to strike balances−between strength and conciliation; between the need to defend our values and interests and the need to consider the views of others; between partial and total settlements.
America's second moral imperative is the growing need for global cooperation. We live in a world of more than 150 countries, each asserting sovereignty and claiming the right to realize its national aspirations. Clearly, no nation can fulfill all its goals without infringing on the rights of others. Hence, compromise and common endeavors are inescapable. The growing interdependence of states in the face of the polarizing tendencies of nationalism and ideologies makes imperative the building of world community.
We live in an age of division−between East and West and between the advanced industrial nations and the developing nations. Clearly, a world in which a few nations constitute islands of wealth in a sea of despair is fundamentally insecure and morally intolerable. Those who consider themselves dispossessed will become the seedbed of upheaval. But the tactics of confrontation with which some of the developing nations have pursued their goals are as unacceptable as they are unproductive.
The objectives of the developing nations are clear: economic development, a role in international decisions that affect them, a fair share of global economic benefits. The goals of the industrial nations are equally clear: widening prosperity, an open world system of trade, investments and markets and reliable development of the resources of food, energy and raw materials.
The process of building a new era of international economic relationships will continue through the rest of this century. If those relationships are to be equitable and lasting, negotiation and mutual regard among diverse and contending interests will clearly be required. On the part of the industrial nations, there must be a moral commitment−now, while there is still time for conciliation−to make the sacrifices necessary to build a sense of community. On the part of the developing nations, there must be an end to blackmail and extortion−now, before the world is irrevocably split into contending camps−and a commitment to seek progress through cooperation.
Our third moral imperative is the nurturing of human values.