War: Between human nature and the quest for a just peace

Source: Hobbes and the right to everything: When war is the state of nature

Because the condition of man (as hath been declared in the precedent chapter) is a condition of war of every one against every one, in which case every one is governed by his own reason, and there is nothing he can make use of that may not be a help unto him in preserving his life against his enemies; it followeth that in such a condition every man has a right to every thing, even to one another's body. And therefore, as long as this natural right of every man to every thing endureth, there can be no security to any man, how strong or wise soever he be, of living out the time which nature ordinarily alloweth men to live.

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From this fundamental law of nature, by which men are commanded to endeavour peace, is derived this second law: that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far forth as for peace and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men as he would allow other men against himself.

(1. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Chapter 14)

Explanation: The state of nature: An endless competition for survival

Thomas Hobbes, the 17th-century English philosopher, argued that the natural condition of man is war—an endless competition in which people believe they have a right to inflict any harm on another to preserve their own lives and property. This right, which treats the lives of "others" as forfeit when everyone endangers everyone else, ensures that most people will die before their time.

Perspective: Evil from youth or corrupted by culture?

A debate has raged from biblical times to our own: Is the inclination of the human heart evil from youth, or did God make humankind upright and good, only for culture to corrupt us? It is reasonable to assume that some philosophical reasoning was simply social observation; 17th-century England endured a civil war, the execution of a king, and ongoing conquests in North America and India—events that surely influenced Hobbes. Even today, in a world rife with wars, terrorism, and arms races, one can easily come away with the impression that Hobbes was right.

Going Deeper: Walzer and the search for a just war

Michael Walzer, 20th-century Jewish-American ethicist and scholar, preface to the Hebrew edition of Just and Unjust Wars, Am Oved, 1983:

Certainly, we can always avoid war by surrendering, but that is not what we are discussing here. War is inevitable; the life of the community and the life of the individual are fundamental values that sometimes compel us to fight, to take upon ourselves the far-reaching risks of war as well as moral commitments, active in the ethical sphere, that must adapt to the unique conditions of battle.... But those who fight in just wars, and likewise those who write about them, must never forget that the ultimate success of any political community—the end of both theory and practice—is a just peace.

Culture: Bloodless violence: How we raise a generation for war

As is well known, movie ratings for children depend on profanity, levels of violence, and nudity. Surprisingly, films like Marvel Studios' superhero movies are packed with intense violence and yet generally face few restrictions. The reason is "bloodless violence"—shooting violent scenes without blood, having heroes bounce back repeatedly without a scratch, directing violence at robots or aliens, and other techniques that keep the violence sanitized so age ratings remain low. Today, studies show that the amount of violence in children's movies is three times higher than in adult movies from the 1980s. That is how children learn the ways of violence without any understanding of its cost in blood, pain, or death.