The dreams of a future of stable peace and prosperity for all is achievable.
Today's unparalleled economic and human crises will be solved!
The Bible reveals precisely how.
THE WORLD'S greatest statesmen can't solve it! The world's best economists don't know the answers! Few persons even grasp the scope and complexity of humanity's problems today!
How, then, could anyone be so audacious as to give hope or a positive answer to the worsening and seemingly insoluble economic, political and social problems now facing every. nation — whether rich or poor — on earth?
But the astounding truth is, there is an exciting and wonderful answer! And it's sure!
Alarming Era Today
You live now in a totally new era of human experience. Nations all around the world — rich technological nations as well as poor developing nations — are plagued with many similar and serious problems that threaten their survival.
Almost every nation on earth is now plagued with a spiraling demand for, but scarcity of, affordable fuel and affordable food. Lacking are the resources and money for the expansion of their economies, for the security and well-being of their people.
The end of cheap energy now is joined by the end of cheap food, by the end of cheap money, by the end of cheap almost everything.
And these shortages of affordable essential commodities of life are happening despite record incomes, despite record production of manufactured goods and services, despite record crops in most nations.
How did it happen? There is a cause why so many nations have jumped the track!
Few understand just how great today's economic problems are. Or understand just how great the solution to them must be!
Pivotal Event
The sudden quadrupling of oil prices in 1974 by Mideast oil producers was a pivotal event in world history. Do not misunderstand. This event is not the cause of all economic ills today.
Mideast oil producers were forced to dramatically raise prices. They felt victimized by decades of creeping, then spiraling inflation for goods they had to import from developed nations. They understandably lost patience when they continued to receive low prices for their chief income-producing and irreplaceable resource — oil. Most oil importing nations scarcely offered a protest. They knew oil had been priced unfairly low.
But this decision quickly super intensified every problem within and among nations.
Economically broad-based technological nations — the industrial world — were able to absorb the first shock of quadrupled oil prices. Now, seven years later, in the new decade of the 1980s, many of these powerful nations are seriously weakened.
Third World Disaster
But in the less developed or nonoil-producing nations (the nopecs), serious economic tragedy is already well advanced. These nations never recovered from any of the oil price, or other inflationary, shocks. Many nations are walking on the very edge of the precipice of total economic disaster!
The non-oil-producing developing nations will have to spend almost $200 billion a year on oil imports by 1990 against $58 billion in 1980. Where will they get the money? The governments of many of these nations already survive only through massive loans from international and commercial banks. But developing nations are additionally hit. Soaring inflation and recession in much of the Western world has slackened demand for many of their resources and manufactured goods. They are crippling the ability of these nations to repay massive debts. And these nations can't afford new loans at today's enormous interest rates.
In Africa, almost every country watches helplessly. They see bigger energy bills and falling prices — because of lessening demand for commodities like cocoa, uranium, peanuts and cotton erode trade and financial stability. Leaping oil prices and inflation have been major contributors to stagnating African economies. In Tanzania, for example, almost half of last year's export earnings , were earmarked to import less oil than in 1972 — but at 10 times the cost. This year oil costs will take 60 percent of export earnings.
"Africa is dying," says the former foreign minister of Togo.
Much of the continent is unable to feed itself. Food production per capita is actually less in several important African nations than in 1970. Widespread hunger and famines are due to several causes. The continent's soaring population growth relentlessly surpasses all increases in food production. To this crisis has been added widespread drought and weather upsets in recent months and years. But in several nations, food shortages are also caused by revolution and warfare and their attendant political and social turmoil.
Tribalism and language barriers internally divide many nations of Africa.
Debts Eat Up Development
Ten years ago the leading borrowers of money on international markets paid less than 6 percent of their export earnings to service their external debts. Today Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Ivory Coast and other nations as well have to spend 20 percent more of export earnings to service their interest-laden debts. That means less and less financial resources are available to develop faltering economies.
According to South, a magazine about developing nations, five years ago one metric ton of jute — an important fiber export of India, Bangladesh and Thailand — bought 35 barrels of oil and $56,000 in interest. Today the same amount is worth only 11 barrels of oil and $2,000 in interest.
In 1975, one metric ton of cocoa bought 148 barrels of oil and paid $23,000 in interest. In 1980, the same amount of cocoa bought 72 barrels and $13,000 in interest, effectively halving the value of the commodity.
Brazil is an example of a nation so deeply in debt there is almost no chance it could repay. But the West can't afford to let it go under.
Brazil will owe $60 billion to the central banks of other nations by the end of the year. This year, Brazil will spend on oil and interest payments the equivalent of 75 percent of its export earnings. This leaves almost nothing for development, so it must borrow more money.
Inflation hit 113 percent in Brazil last year, more than double the 54 percent average for all of South America. Despite this, Brazilian authorities are confident they can borrow from commercial banks again this. year. Said one Brazilian banker, "We owe so much that we can't afford not to borrow more."
To such glibness the executive director of one of London's commercial banks answers rhetorically: "What else can the, banks do — walk in and turn off the lights in a country? You roll over the debt because, frankly, there is nothing else to do."
If you think oil wealth will solve a nation's economic ills, you should look at Venezuela (or any number of other important oil-producing nations).
Oil wealth led to massive Venezuelan government spending. This produced soaring inflation. The result? Everyone has lost buying power and feels insecure and demoralized. Venezuela's poor, who never received the benefits of oil wealth, are even more impoverished.
Coming too little and too late is an attempt of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) to establish a fund of a few billion dollars in low-cost loans to help non-oil, poor nations stabilize commodity prices and pay oil bills. OPEC has also proposed a $20 billion development bank for such nations. This amount is much too little for developing nations' needs. And the reality of such a bank is highly in doubt. The Iran-Iraq war and Mideast instability discourages any long-range commitment to such a fund.
All of these and other similar problems in the world today are the result of the wrong way of living! Human selfishness and greed have produced these gigantic problems. The way of nations today has robbed mankind of many blessings they could have!
Now here is good news! There is a revealed solution to these huge problems in your Bible!
The Good News
Leaders of many nations feel helpless to cope with many of the problems you have just been reading.
"What can I do to help my people?" ask many world leaders in conference with Herbert W. Armstrong, editor of this magazine, during his worldwide trips to fulfill his great commission. Mr. Armstrong gives them a message of hope for humanity. What is that hope?
Mr. Armstrong tells world leaders of government and business the real cause of humanity's ills. He tells them that all of humanity's economic, political and social ills are produced by the GET way of life — the selfish concern and taking for oneself at the expense or hurt of others, at the disregard of consequences in the future or to future generations.
The Bible reveals the source of this attitude. This self-seeking "get" way is actually Satan's attitude cleverly placed in human minds by the deceptive devil (see Ephesians 2:2-3 and Revelation 12:9).
Mr. Armstrong tells leaders the only true solution to their national problems. That solution is living by the way of Love — the way of constructive help, sharing and concern for others. That's God's way! The GIVE or LOVE way is concern for the well-being of others equal with concern for oneself. It is, as Jesus taught, "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:19).
The solution Mr. Armstrong gives to world leaders is actually the true gospel, the good news (gospel means "good news") of the coming rule of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the ruling family of God organized into a government. That government will enforce on humanity the way of life, God's way of love, which will produce true peace and lasting prosperity in all nations.
For nearly 6,000 years God has let humanity experience the consequences of their own ways under Satan's evil sway. But the Creator reveals in his Word, the Bible, that he will soon intervene in world affairs, powerfully, to set up his government over all the earth. God's government will force nations to live in the ways that produce lasting peace and blessings. Human governments, of and by themselves, or in any group or combination, will not bring lasting peace and prosperity.
Just Ahead
Notice what the apostle John recorded under God's inspiration in Revelation, chapter 11. The time setting of this chapter is when much of the earth is being ravaged, and much of humanity destroyed, by soon-to-occur unprecedented warfare. Humanity is about to wipe itself off the earth except for the fact that Jesus prophesied it would not happen — because God will intervene to save us from ourselves (Matthew 24:22).
. . . and there were great voices in heaven saying, The kingdoms [nations or governments] of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever" (verse 15).
It is the time when Christ will return to earth to set up the government and way of God. It is the time when God will reward his faithful servants with rulership over the nations under Christ and also "destroy them which destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:18-19, 2:26, 5:10).
Daniel prophesied of this same great event in world history. "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions [or rulers] shall serve and obey him" (Daniel 7:27).