Twelve apostles started one era. Hundreds of thousands could start another. Assagioli’s appeal to people of good will to organise themselves into a worldwide movement built on the most accessible form of love
By Roberto Assagioli [1]
Adapted from material first published in Alice A. Bailey’s The Problems of Humanity (1947) [2]
Assagioli Archives, Florence, Doc. #23067
Original title: Appello agli Uomini di Buona Volonta
Translated and edited with notes by Jan Kuniholm
Editorial Note
The abstract and contextual subtitle in this online edition have been added by the editor, Kenneth Sorensen, to support readability, navigation, and archival consistency. The original wording has not been altered. As Jan Kuniholm notes in his editorial commentary, the corresponding English passages in Bailey’s volume could not be located, so this edition is translated from the Italian text in the Assagioli Archives.
Abstract
In this short essay, Roberto Assagioli appeals to people of good will across the world to recognise themselves as a force already at work. Good will, he argues, is the most accessible expression of love, and its disciplined use is the technique for establishing right human relationships at every scale. As twelve apostles once began an era, hundreds of thousands could now begin another.
The present situation of the world offers a wonderful opportunity for good due to the fact that for the first time people are aware on a planetary scale of the evils that must be eliminated. Everywhere there are discussions and plans being made, everywhere there are meetings of assemblies, councils and committees; there are meetings and conventions, ranging from the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization down to the small meetings held in remote villages.
The good thing about the present situation is that what is needed on a world scale can be provided and be practically applied even in the smallest human communities. The problems and disagreements that exist in families, towns, cities, nations, churches, between races and among peoples can all be solved and eliminated in the same way: by establishing right human relationships . The technique or method for implementing these relationships is in each case the same: the use of the spirit of good will .
Good will is the most basic expression of true love and is the one most easily understood. The use of good will to solve the problems facing humanity causes intelligence to operate along constructive lines. Where good will is present the barriers of separation and misunderstanding fall away. It is appropriate — at least temporarily — not to talk about “love” and its use to solve problems, and instead to stay at a more accessible and practical level: that of good will. The word “love” is not accepted, or else it almost elicits derision from skeptics and from those who are hardened and disappointed. Instead, everyone can understand and recognize that good will is a harmonizing force. Love and understanding can later follow the practical expression of good will in all kinds of human relationships. The expression of true love in the life of our planet may be far off, but good will is a present possibility and there is a pressing need for its use.
What is most needed is a campaign carried out immediately by people of good will throughout the world, with the purpose of explaining the meaning of good will; to bring out the practical character of its expression; to bring together all men and women of good will in an active and efficient world group.
This is not to create a super-organisation, but to convince the unfortunate, the suffering, and those who seek help, of the greatness of the intelligent Help that is ready to assist them. The good will movement must show its ability to give support and strength to all those who are working and struggling to establish right human relations; it must put at their disposal the power of an active public opinion, educated by people of good will. Thus in every nation, in every city, in every village, groups may be formed of people of good will endowed with experienced understanding, with good practical sense, who are aware of world problems, and active in spreading the spirit of good will and in finding like-minded people in their environment.
The work of people of good will is educational in nature. They do not possess or offer miraculous solutions to world problems, but they KNOW that a spirit of good will, especially when combined with a right knowledge of the facts, can produce an atmosphere and attitude that will make it possible to solve those problems. When people come together with good will, whatever their political party, their nationality, their religion, there is no problem before us that cannot be solved — and solved to the satisfaction of the various parties involved.
The main task of people of good will is not to present ready-made solutions, but to create that atmosphere and evoke that attitude. Such a spirit of good will can be present even when there is at first a fundamental disagreement between the parties involved. There is no reason to believe that the development of good will have to be slow and gradual. The opposite may be the case if men and women who now feel genuine good will in themselves and are free from preconceptions will seek each other out and work together for the spread of good will.
People who are dominated by preconceptions, fanatics in the religious field or stubborn nationalists, will find great difficulty in developing good will in themselves, but they can do so if they care enough about the good of their fellow human beings and are willing to let them be free. To do so they will have to look for the dark spots in their minds where separative barriers exist, and break them down. They will have to deliberately develop good will ( not tolerance) towards those about whom they have preconceptions, towards people of different religions, towards the nation or race for which they feel antagonism and whom they look down upon.
Good will is much more widespread in the world than people think. It just needs to be discovered, educated and made effective. People of good will take an intermediate position between the various opposing groups in order to create a condition in which discussions or mutual concessions can take place successfully. They consistently follow the “noble middle path” set forth by the Buddha, which goes between the pairs of opposites and proceeds straight to the very heart of God; they travel the “narrow way” of love that Christ speaks of. They demonstrate that they travel it by expressing the only aspect of love that humanity as a whole can presently comprehend: Good will.
The Christian Era was established by a small band of people: the twelve apostles, the seventy disciples, the five hundred who recognized the message of Christ. The New Era is now being established by the hundreds of thousands of people of good will who are active in the world and who can become even more so if they are recognized, united and organized.
[1] This appeal is extracted (with some adaptations) from a volume written by Alice Bailey, soon to be published in America, on The Problems of Humanity : (1. The problem of the material reconstruction of the world – 2. The problem of psychological recovery – 3. The problem of children and adolescents – 4. The problem of capital and labor – 5. The problem of racial minorities – 6. The problem of the Churches – 7. The problem of maintaining the union of the United Nations). —Author’s Note. The Bailey book was first published in 1947, based upon pamphlets that had been written between 1944 and 1946. New revised editions were published in 1953 and 1964. The actual passages in the book were originally in English but have not been located by this editor, so this essay is a translation of the Italian language file found in the Assagioli Archives. -Oath.
[2] Because the book from which this appeal is extracted is nominally written by Alice Bailey, it is unclear whether this essay is actually written by Roberto Assagioli and used in the Bailey book, or whether Bailey was the author. The style of writing suggests that Assagioli was the author, or the adaptor. -Oath.
