protect them, too, from the age-old demons
of ethnic and religious strife. Only through the dawning consciousness
that they constitute a single people will the inhabitants of the planet be
enabled to turn away from the patterns of conflict that have dominated
social organization in the past and begin to learn the ways of
collaboration and conciliation. "The well-being of mankind," Baha'u'llah
writes, "its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its
unity is firmly established."

II

Justice is the one power that can translate the dawning consciousness of
humanity's oneness into a collective will through which the necessary
structures of global community life can be confidently erected. An age
that sees the people of the world increasingly gaining access to
information of every kind and to a diversity of ideas will find justice
asserting itself as the ruling principle of successful social
organization. With ever greater frequency, proposals aiming at the
development of the planet will have to submit to the candid light of the
standards it requires.

At the individual level, justice is that faculty of the human soul that
enables each person to distinguish truth from falsehood. In the sight of
God, Baha'u'llah avers, justice is "the best beloved of all things" since
it permits each individual to see with his own eyes rather than the eyes
of others, to know through his own knowledge rather than the knowledge of
his neighbor or his group. It calls for fair-mindedness in one's
judgments, for equity in one's treatment of others, and is thus a constant
if demanding companion in the daily occasions of life.

At the group level, a concern for justice is the indispensable compass in
collective decision making, because it is the only means by which unity of
thought and action can be achieved. Far from encouraging the punitive
spirit that has often masqueraded under its name in past ages, justice is
the practical expression of awareness that, in the achievement of human
progress, the interests of the individual and those of society are
inextricably linked. To the extent that justice becomes a guiding concern
of human interaction, a consultative climate is encouraged that permits
options to be examined dispassionately and appropriate courses of action
selected. In such a climate the perennial tendencies toward manipulation
and partisanship are far less likely to deflect the decision-making
process.

The