Wayne Hall wrote:

{{one cannot but wonder what Spinelli's take would have been on the ? post-Cold-War world}}

True, but let's continue in his footsteps nevertheless!

Wayne also said:

{{there was willingness after the disintegration of the USSR for them to go very much further along the road to nuclear disarmament than their Western partners were ready to accompany them.}}

I think he has an extremely important point here. (Wayne has written on the subject in several articles.)

To what extent such facts will influence on the thoughts and acts of people, e.g. of Alexander Stubb [a Finnish member of the European Parliament] is an altogether different question. Facts and reasoning are absolutely necessary, but only a visible and loud mass movement can make a real impact, I'm afraid. It does not need to express itself as "street politics", at least not primarily, although some big demonstrations against the war, end expressing at the same time an anti-nuclear consciousness, would be very welcome right now. However, nothing less than a change in the Zeitgeist will do. Which means a change in the minds of masses of people, perhaps also in the mind of Stubb. In my vision of things, the internet, and more generally the library, should become an important part of the solution. The library , which comprises the internet and which is one of mankind's cosmopolitical institutions, must become the foundation of effective cosmopolitics.

We should also identify other important developments after the Cold War, in addition to the now almost forgotten story about the window of opportunity for nuclear disarmament at the beginning of the 1990ies. For instance, the distinction between weapons of mass destruction and so called conventional weapons is no longer what it was in the 1960ies or even 1980ies as is illustrated by the real and potential military applications of nanotechnology.

Today I shall participate in a discussion abt the future of the public libraries. The discussion takes place iat the Helsinki Book Fair. I plan to start my little speech by singing a song, which is called "A Song About the Atom Bomb Which One Can Dance To" (En visa om atombomben som man kan dansa till). It was written by Finland-Swedish poet Lars Huldén for a cabaret in the 1960ies...