The Bahá'í Faith regards the current world confusion and calamitous condition in society as a natural phase in an organic process leading ultimately and irresistibly to the unification of the human race in a single social order whose boundaries are those of the planet. World peace is not only possible but inevitable. It is the next stage in the evolution of this planet. The source of this optimism is a vision transcending the cessation of war and the creation of agencies of international cooperation. Permanent peace is an essential stage, but the ultimate goal of the social development of humanity is the unification of all the peoples of the world.

Banning nuclear weapons, prohibiting the use of poison gases, or outlawing germ warfare will not remove the root causes of war. However important such practical measures obviously are as elements of the peace process, they are in themselves too superficial to exert enduring influence. Peoples are ingenious enough to invent yet other forms of warfare, and to use food, raw materials, finance, industrial power, ideology, and terrorism to subvert one another in an endless quest for supremacy and dominion. Nor can the present massive dislocation in the affairs of humanity be resolved through the settlement of specific conflicts or disagreements among nations. The abolition of war is not simply a matter of signing treaties and protocols; it is a complex task requiring a new level of commitment to resolving issues not customarily associated with the pursuit of peace. Based on political agreements alone, the idea of collective security is a chimera. The primary challenge in dealing with issues of peace is to raise the context to the level of principle, as distinct from pure pragmatism. For, in essence, peace stems from an inner state supported by a spiritual or moral attitude, and it is chiefly in evoking this attitude that enduring solutions can be found.

There are spiritual principles, or what some call human values, by which solutions can be found for every social problem. Any group can devise practical solutions to its problems, but good intentions and practical knowledge are usually not enough. The essential merit of spiritual principle is that it presents a perspective which harmonizes with that which is immanent in human nature, while it also induces a will which facilitates the discovery and implementation of practical measures. Leaders of governments and all in authority would be well served in their efforts to solve problems if they would first seek to identify the principles involved and then be guided by them.

Acceptance of the oneness of mankind is the first fundamental prerequisite for the reorganization and administration of the world as one country, the home of humankind. Universal acceptance of this spiritual principle is essential to any successful attempt to establish world peace. The elimination of inordinate disparity between rich and poor, the replacement of unbridled nationalism with the love of humanity as a whole, the realization of full equality between the sexes, and the establishment of universal compulsory education, are also regarded by Bahá'ís as, among others, prerequisites to peace.