We believe humanity is in mortal danger. This danger is rooted deep in human history; in an imperfect social order, in an ability to alter the natural system and its processes without immediately or directly experiencing the consequences, and in an insufficient wisdom to guide and govern that ability.

The danger is immediate, global and intensifying. Most easily perceived are its physical manifestations such as war, starvation, genetic damage, and resource depletion. However, these are but the overt signs of a far more complex system of individual and institutional habits, behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs that are moving us toward mass destruction. These include the ways in which different people think of their rights, of ownership, of security, of freedom; the ways in which they form political, religious, and social values; the stated and the assumed rights and responsibilities among individuals and between citizens and their institutions; and the ways they have learned to solve problems.