The Spirit of a Peaceful World

"I am. We are. That is enough. Now we have to start."

What does this first introductory sentence of a significant philosophical work in the early 20th century? "The Spirit of Utopia" by Ernst Bloch is definitely an attempt to find an answer to nihilism, as Bloch was influenced greatly by Hegel and Schopenhauer. The first part of the book is about self-encounter. Does this not represent the first two words of the introductory sentence, "I am"? An utopia first requires, self-discovery and one has to understand his or her being. Then, this moves onto others. One is now included in a community called, "we". It moves on from an individual to community. And as individuals identify themselves as a community, this is enough to start. What does it mean to start? This is an initiative to build an utopia. What is the meaning of an utopia? Wouldn't that be a peaceful world? Through the book, Bloch is laying a foundation of what are necessary steps that need to taken towards a peaceful world. Every individual identify themselves affiliated with a specific group. I am a Christian or I am a Buddhist. I am a doctor or I am a lawyer. I am a democrat or I am a republican. Shouldn't this concept transcend to a new level, where we will be able to identify ourselves as one? We are...? How would you finish and complete the sentence?

I would like to say, "We are peace advocates. We are a global family". This statement is just enough for us to start building a new world. Although the intention of Bloch for this opening statement may be different, I would like to think that it is a statement of peace. As we compared the writings of different philosophers and figures, we can see that our approach towards peace is similar. There are many things in the world that we disagree on, but on how to achieve a peaceful world and what consists of a peaceful world, everyone had a similar idea. Then, if everyone had a similar idea, why was it not possible? Some may say, one has not found peace yet, or did not encounter oneself. However, it could be, because we were not able to identify, "we are". When did all the people came together as a global family wished for the common thing? This happened in the WARP Summit, when all different leaders from different nations came together under the idea of peace in South Korea. HWPL may have the answer to what is "we are". Wouldn't that be why that we are actually starting to build the world of peace? It is now time to think what is truly the spirit or the mentality of one who belongs to an utopia, or a world of peace.