For the only way in which a durable peace can be created is by

James Forrestal, the first United States Secretary of Defense, spoke words heavy with the weight of a war-torn world when he declared: “For the only way in which a durable peace can be created is by world-wide restoration of economic activity and international trade.” His statement was not the idle thought of a statesman but the insight of one who had witnessed the ashes of global conflict. He saw that peace is not simply the absence of war, nor the signing of treaties, but the weaving together of nations in bonds of shared prosperity. For when the economies of the world lie shattered and nations are left in hunger and ruin, resentment and desperation soon sharpen into new swords.

The ancients, too, saw glimpses of this truth. The Greeks spoke of xenia — the sacred law of hospitality — and built bonds of trade across the seas of the Aegean. Where goods flowed, so too flowed friendship, understanding, and treaties. Likewise, the Romans established the Pax Romana, not merely by their legions but by the roads and markets that bound their empire together. Grain from Egypt, wine from Gaul, spices from the East — these were not luxuries, but lifelines that created interdependence. Thus Forrestal’s words echo an ancient wisdom: lasting peace grows not only from treaties of parchment, but from the daily commerce that ties the fate of peoples together.

History offers us luminous proof in the aftermath of the Second World War. Europe lay in ruins, its cities bombed, its factories silent, its people starving. Politicians could sign documents of surrender, but Forrestal and others knew such peace would not endure unless despair was replaced with hope. Thus arose the Marshall Plan, a massive effort to restore economic activity across the continent. By rebuilding industries, reviving trade, and stitching Europe back into the fabric of global commerce, the plan created not only recovery but reconciliation. Former enemies became trading partners, and where once there had been barbed wire, there now flowed goods and ideas. The result was not a fragile ceasefire but a peace that endured.

Contrast this with the aftermath of the First World War. Harsh reparations crippled Germany’s economy, leaving its people humiliated and destitute. Factories collapsed, unemployment soared, and hunger gnawed at homes. The absence of economic restoration created a fertile ground for hatred, extremism, and war. What the world failed to build in trade and prosperity after 1919, it was forced to face again in blood by 1939. Here the truth of Forrestal’s words is illuminated by tragedy: without economic renewal, peace rots from within.

Children of tomorrow, take this wisdom into your hearts: peace cannot live on words alone. Peace must be fed. It must be sustained by the bread of commerce, the wine of labor, the fruit of shared prosperity. A hungry people will not remain at peace, nor will a nation deprived of dignity through poverty long remain content. When trade is broken, mistrust grows; when trade flourishes, friendship finds root. The path of lasting peace is paved with open markets, honest commerce, and the restoration of economic life for all.

The lesson is clear: in your own life and in the life of nations, peace is not maintained by silence or treaties alone, but by the daily acts of building, restoring, and sharing. When you restore another’s livelihood, you create an ally. When you open your hand in fair exchange, you close the door on suspicion. When you seek prosperity not only for yourself but for your neighbor, you build a bond stronger than steel. This is as true for individuals as it is for nations.

Practical action flows from this wisdom. Support systems of cooperation, both in your community and in the world at large. Value fair trade and honest exchange, not exploitation. Encourage policies that uplift economies rather than punish them into ruin. And in your daily life, practice the spirit of this truth: let your peace with others be rooted in generosity, in fairness, in the restoration of what is broken.

So let it be remembered: “The only way in which a durable peace can be created is by world-wide restoration of economic activity and international trade.” Forrestal’s words are a reminder, carved out of history’s sorrow, that peace is not a luxury, but a labor — not a pause in war, but the construction of a world where hunger and despair no longer breed hatred. To build such peace is the duty of all, for upon it rests the future of humankind.