Page 37 - Age of Peace Goodword.indd

The Age of Peace

method of converting matter into technology, he failed to
discover the art of difference management. The art of difference
management is still an underdeveloped science.

Difference is a part of nature. Difference serves as a
boosting factor for one’s intellectual development. If there
are no differences, there will be no intellectual development.
Therefore, difference is not an evil. The real problem arises
when we are unable to manage differences.
What is the art of difference management? It is to settle
differences through peaceful negotiations. It is to apply reason
to the issue of differences such as was applied to the discoveries
of nature.

Difference was always a part of human life. In primitive ages
people tried to settle it through confrontation and fighting—
this was a barbaric way. The civilized way of managing
differences is to apply reason whenever there is an instance
of difference and to try to settle it through peaceful dialogue.
The age of civilization is still incomplete. So far, it has
only offered us material comforts. There is something yet to
be achieved, and that is to peacefully settle differences in a
civilized manner. On the day when people learn how to settle
differences peacefully, the age of civilization will have reached
its culmination.

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