Hi Folks,
today I stumbled over a TEDx-Talk where a smart little guy from Columbia was asking a quite philosophical question which was covered by philosophers throughout history (e.g., P.J. Proudhon, La Guerre et la Paix, 1861; L. Tolstoy, Vojna i mir, 1869; M. Bressler, Peace or War: Can Humanity Make the Choice?, 1977).
The question was if we should choose war or peace. Of course peace, everyone would say. Nevertheless, the phrase "sometimes a leader has to choose war in order to achieve peace" made me reflect upon my own core beliefs. Would we all choose peace if our belongings, our personal freedom or even our family would be in danger by man-made hazards? I guess, we would "defend" ourselves in order to achieve the state of fairness and the right to live; however, would we really start a war like governments/politicians/rebels do for the same reasons?
Is war not the last option, when all attempts of negotiation fail; or is it even an option at all in terms of moral justification/intention and furthermore, do Authorities (who guards the guardians?), societies or individuals have the privilege to decide what is right or wrong?
We will all agree that i.a., Power/Ego, Money, Territory, Religion and Resources were and, unfortunately, still are the drivers of war ever since, but what if fighting against each other is somehow burned in our gene code? According to R. Brian Ferguson's interesting findings, "war is not part of human nature" and just a cultural issue.
Consequently, there should be hope for our species to live peacefully among each other. Nonetheless, the world needs a solution quickly in order to achieve universal peace.
In my opinion "The Venus Project" might offer such a solution.
Let me know what you think or if you have found any other approaches/solutions concerning a world beyond war.
Have a nice Sunday!