Is war a necessary evil?

Question

Is it necessary to have "World Peace" without war?

Answer 1

Hello:

To answer the statement already posted saying that it is not possible...I am sure the Ancient Romans thought flight impossible...I am sure that when Jules Verne wrote that most of that seemed impossible. Going to the moon, or leaving this planet was once not possible...

Human beings are amazing little (excuse the term) creatures...we're like ants...one of us can do something, all of us can do anything.

At the end of the say no one (or a small portion of people) want to spend their lives fighting. We fight because we see something we need and have to take by force or because of an ideal, but all in all human being was the same things...a warm bed, someone to love them and a full belly...which is over simplifying things, but in the end...thats it.

War is different from conflict, war is different from fighting. War is one group of people showing up to kill another group of people for what seems like a really good reason at the time. Conflict may be inevitable, but I do no concede that this makes war inevitable.

At this point...I think that we can become so intertwined with humanity regardless of where they are on the planet that we will need to keep interacting with each other. I think that without war that there would be an inevitable "world peace" at least in that most of the world will be in contact with one another (at least on a nation state level) however every day people will likely stay local.

I hope this helps answer your question

Rev Phil

Answer 2

War has ALWAYS been fought to increase taxation. And it never goes back down (for very long) when the war is over and the money is not "needed". The argument that defensive wars need to be fought is incorrect for several reasons. Firstly that there is no such thing as a defensive war, but also that there would be nothing to defend if there were no government in the first place. Invading armies always take over the existing tax structure and law system and use it for themselves. Throughout history there has never been a government that stayed small in the thousands of examples available. It is therefor necessary for any government to make war once it cannot sustain itself. War is necessary for growing governments, but a government is far from peaceful. A government is a monopoly on the initiation of violence. It doesn't You don't purchase it's services. It takes your money and then forces it's services upon you. It doesn't make robbers or murderers or kidnappers go away. It dresses men up in blue brandishing pistols and shotguns to threaten anyone they perceive is doing something they should not (as defined by a perceived majority). They don't make people moral. All they can do is wave guns around. They don't get money by performing a service (like your local grocery store), they make up services so that they can get money. And then pay for more men in blue suits with guns to take even more money. That whole system is absolutely necessary for a war. Self defense is absolutely understandable, but a war is something entirely different. If people wanted to pay for a collective defense then I wouldn't stop them. I would only ask that they don't send men with guns to my door if I refuse to pay for it. That is absolutely evil, and it's absolutely unnecessary. A necessary evil refers to something that is evil that also produces conditional results that are preferable. If you point to any time in history you can point to a thousand examples of how government power (the evil) was posed as necessary to solve a particular problem, as they typically make that problem worse. The bottom line is whether or not you will grant me and anyone else the right NOT to pay for a war that we did not choose, if we grant you the right to pay for it. There is no other conversation until this is understood.

Answer 3

The term "Necessary Evil" implys an ethical equilibrium when one is faced with horrific acts in the pursuit of peace, an imbalanced quandry exemplified in Orwellian double-speak. "War is Peace" etc.

The use of military force embodies these contradictions, and as Nietzche pointed out, by having a standing army that is justified for reasons of national defense, an endless cycle of mistrust among neighboring nations is created. See: the "arms race". All wars (see: "Iraq") have been justified in terms of "national defense".

Violence intends to shut down diplomacy, to end all arguments, and explain murder as "colateral damage". If the interests of capital had really cared about what Hitler was engaged in, on an ethical rather than financial basis, he would have been stopped before he started.

Answer 4

War is certainly evil, but 95% of the time it's utterly unnecessary (despite what the politicians and warhawks claim). Only a defensive war is necessary, such as stopping Hitler's plans for world conquest in WW2.

Answer 5

War is not a "necessary evil" but it is a logical conclusion and an inevitable result of what lies within man.

"Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask."

James 4:1-2 NKJ

God Himself calls man to war, to serve His greater purpose:
"The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name." Ex 15:3

Answer 6

Peace to me means that both sides are willing to talk, listen and act upon their diplomatic discussions. Problem is there are too many who would rather take, lie and steal than talk. they will use talk to delay you while arming themselves for an attack.

I'm all for talking, but what do you do when talking fails? Embargo? The US tried that against Japan in 1941, and many people are now (falsely) blaming this for Pearl Harbor.

Answer 7

People value their freedom more than anything else.

Human beings also have a strong desire to control others.

All of that pales in comparison to our own internal growth in our own personal worlds.

The world is not broken. It does not need to be fixed.

However, I choose to offer uplifting thoughts to every person. Those uplifting thoughts lead to courtesy and consideration of others. This is better than resisting war and calling it evil.

What you resist persists!

Answer 8

World peace is a ridiculous notion. As long as someone hates someone there is going to be fighting. The world just isn't mature enough to get over it's prejudices and anger.

Answer 9

Defense of one's area is a necessity in a world of hostile takeovers.

"Climb the Highest Mountan," Mark Prophet, "The Path of Virtue," Jonathan Murro, and "Man, Master of His Destiny," O. M. Aivanhov, are worth reading.

best regards,

j.

Answer 10

There will always be war somewhere.