Then there is the aim of expanding access to new markets and new opportunities for investment. Think too of the emphasis placed on securing trade routes - from Suez to the China Sea. At a time when large corporations are pressing for further expansion into new markets, new investment opportunities and new sources of cheap labour, it is not surprising that freedom has come to mean open economies, free trade and starvation wages. Wherever possible this is to be achieved by political and economic pressure but there is always force as a last resort and a potent reminder of power and influence. We need first to see where nuclear arms fit in.
Nuclear weapons are different.
Their use would mean the end of human development - and perhaps human life. The second step is to realise that struggles for economic and political independence are an essential contribution to disarmament. Democratic control over your own resources, investment and technological development is a vital component of any alternative strategy for defensive defence . It provides security from being held to economic ransom when foreign missiles or bases are removed. This includes the need to break down Cold War fears and suspicions between people in the East and the West.