War, the Necessary Beast
Many people have probably heard Bruce Springsteen belt out the famous lines, “War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” However, Mr. Springsteen would be wrong in that statement. While war is horrible, it ironically has propelled us on a course that has made us richer, safer, and lead to progress and development. War has led to the establishment of larger societies, it is justifiable and necessary in some instances, and leads to an immense amount of progress and development in society and technologies.
Many times it has been said that war is insanity. It is brutal, harsh, and can lead to extreme casualties, homelessness and violence. Many people have asked why war exists. They have come to the conclusion that war does nothing for good and only
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Just war is the idea that war can be good and morally acceptable if under certain conditions. The theory of just war has been put forth many times, particularly in reference to documents by the Catholic Church, such as the Summa Theologica. The first detailed development of the idea was by St. Thomas Aquinas who laid out the necessary parts for just war in his book, the Summa Theologica. For a war to be just, he said, “It must be ordered by a competent Authority, the cause must be just and the intention must be good” (Haass). Modern Just War Theory is based on two factors, the decision to go to war, and how to fight said war. According to a summary by the Council on Foreign Relations, “Building on the writings of both Augustine and Aquinas, there must be a just cause as well as a decision by a competent authority sanctioning the undertaking. War must be a last resort. There must be a good chance of success. And projected benefits must outweigh projected costs” (Haass). Just wars have occurred many times in US history. The First and Second World Wars, the Revolutionary War, and the Persian Gulf War are all examples of the application of just war theory. These were wars
“For war, as a grave act of killing, needs to be justified.” These words were written by Murray N. Rothbard, dean of the Austrian School and founder of modern libertarianism, who spent much of his academic career trying to determine what, exactly, defined a “just war”. In fact, for as long as humans have been fighting wars, there have been quotations referring to the justification and moralities of wars and how warfare can be considered fair and acceptable to each society’s individual standards. While the time and place of each war differs, the reality of the devastation of battle may be found warranted by those fighting using these just war standards to vindicate their actions.
War-- a horrific way of justifying our actions and the innocent lives that have been lost, but on the other hand has resolved some of the greatest conflicts in history. Not every issue ever raised in this world is resolved through negotiation and discussion, rather sometimes war becomes a necessity for countries to settle disputes. War is a part of how a society strengthens itself politically, socially, and economically however, ultimately it becomes a country’s abusive use of power.
War leads to oppression and leaves negative implications on all people and societies by impacting the poor, women, children, and nations as a whole. "War is a state of violent conflict between one or more groups" (Rasenberger 3). Rasenberger defines war as a state of conflict between one group within itself or several groups in combat with each other, what is not mentioned are the after-effects of war. War itself leads to many civilian and military deaths, an estimated 1.5-3.8 million people died during the Vietnam War and an approximate 500,000 people died in the Iraq war. The biggest tragedy of War is that it always results in fatality, but another key, negative, factor to understand is that after the War many adverse implications arise. Post-war ramifications in the nation fall upon the poor, women, and children, making them weaker and less motivated leading to the downfall of a society. Regardless if a nation wins or is defeated in war they have to deal with consequences of war and find solutions to the impacted people and society. It is essential to understand that there is never a true victor in war because regardless of the outcome, fatality and a fall of morale within society on both sides are inevitable. War has often been the solution to situations that required force or violence, but in recent times this has
The idea of war has been around for centuries and yet humanity is still doubtful as to what causes us to be so engaged in war. Could it possibly have anything to do with the feelings and emotions that come along when dealing with an actual war? In “The Ecstasy of War”, Barbara Ehreneich argues that war brings such powerful and uplifting feeling that it seems to resemble a religious experience. War exposes a lot about human nature and why despite the destruction caused by war, we still manage to participate. It is important to understand the origins by acknowledging the repetitive and compulsive behavior that arises in human beings at war. By changing the perspective on war, humanity can begin to take the first step to freedom. I will examine
The conflict of war and its effects have been debated throughout history. Some argue that there are other peaceful alternatives besides war that would lead to a better outcome, but in reality this is not the case. War is a natural part of human interactions, and even though it brings death and destruction, war will not cease to exist. Wars are the human way of getting one group to look superior than the other. The idea of a passive approach is ideal, but it is almost nearly impossible and may not always lead to the same outcome as if a war had taken place.
War is a horrible thing that comes out of hatred in people’s hearts and produces tragedy around it. War comes and goes but in its path are people who have to suffer through the hardships it brings. Two of the most notable aspects of war is that war is a fight for power and that produces loss of family.
Throughout history, war has always been described as an atrocity and an unnecessary reason for the loss of life. This is not the case. War is necessary for the survival of the economy, the sustainability of non-renewable resources, and the progression of inventions.
The just war theory has a long history. Parts of the Bible hint at ethical behavior in war and concepts of just cause, announcing the justice of war by divine intervention.
In his book Just and Unjust Wars, Michael Walzer discusses the intricacies of noncombatant immunity. Walzer defines noncombatants as those who are immune from direct attack by an enemy. He derives this immunity from an individual’s natural rights to life and liberty. Walzer explains that an individual who threatens these natural rights of others loses his immunity, rendering this individual a combatant, and he can therefore be subject to direct attack by an enemy. Walzer further elaborates on this point by providing the example of soldiers.
In contrast to that point, the cost of war can be very high; however, if we think about it, war really is worth it. “War |wôr| : a state of armed
When you think of war, there is nothing good that comes to mind. War is a really violent thing. Nothing good comes out of it. You have people going into combat and dying because of something you might be able to resolve by talking it out. The outcome is either you have most of your army die or your army kill others, which is traumatizing.
“War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children. This famous quote is from James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr., who served as the 39th President of the United States. It implies that war can be justified under strict circumstances where it can be necessary, but it is still abhorrent. War is defined as a state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country. Justification refers to the action of showing something to be right or reasonable. War brings many negative and catastrophic impacts not just to the country, but to the people living in the country as well, which this paper
War is controversial, unfortunate, and certainly misunderstood; it is a transforming agent, a catalyst for change. Nonetheless, many people focus on war's negative consequences, while positive effects are downplayed. War is a necessary evil in the sense that it stabilizes population, encourages technological advances, and has a very high economic value. Without war, the overpopulation of the human race is inevitable. It is this reason that war is a useful tool by not only Mother Nature, but also humans themselves to institute population control.
The Just War Theory is a doctrine founded by Saint Augustine which has helped bring much discussion and debate to wars and the morality to fight in them. Wars and fights between people have gone on forever and are not perceived to stop anytime soon so it is important that some people thought about when and why they should ever fight. For many years Christians never part toke in this fighting due to teachings of the Bible and Jesus' teaching on 'turning the other cheek' and 'live by the sword, die by the sword'. Saint Augustine would be one of the first to talk about how a Christian could be a soldier and serve God at the same time. Through this thought we would receive the Just War Theory which gave a set of requirements for someone to partake
War has been a part of human culture since it's birth. It has led to a great many massacres and has shown us the evil that exists within the souls of humanity. Some have even gone as far as saying that war is human nature. To better understand the reasons behind war and how it affects others, I've examined several different societies and cultures so as to better understand the necessity of war and see the cause of their external war attitude. To do so, different variables from two topics (military institutions and external war attitude) were matched up and crossed so as to look into the answers to these questions. The variables were then calculated and through these graphs, I was able to find different societies in which