Session 4: Is Man To Blame?

War, and violent conflict in general, continues to gnaw away at innocent lives. Despite the realization that war results in such a collateral, there is still a widely held belief that it is nothing but inevitable. Many of the world's intellectual circles have agreed and disagreed upon various instigators of warfare. One of these academics, Kenneth N. Waltz, in his essay, "Man, the State and War", traces these causes.

The first cause of war highlighted, is rooted in man's nature. The premise of this argument is developed by Milton, who believes that war should be understood by an assessment of man's inherent traits. This analysis, though, does not give due weight to the influence of circumstances, as the individual is viewed in complete isolation of his environment.

In recognition of this, a question asked is, "Does man make society in his image or does his society make him?" Uncovering this relies upon Voltaire's analysis, which emphasizes that man's natural condition is neither good, nor bad. Thus, society has power over man to shape and alter his belief system. Support for this could be found in how many people find it hard to break away from religious dogma to which they get exposed at a tender age. They were not born with these beliefs, but they were developed by society. As a result, man's nature cannot be understood in isolation, as society is also a relevant component.

While these are two opposing views, it is later understood in the essay, that a clearer understanding of war can only be reached if there is an attempt to understand both of these causes. This approach, for me, is not reductionist and in turn, more holistic than the other two posed.

A claim is made in the essay that war is only induced to prevent danger. This is because a person requires "some assurance that others will not be able to ruin him". War is thus, not held as a preference, but a last resort that is necessary. This line of reasoning, however, is problematic due to the way it ignores wars of aggression and perhaps the development of the United States of America as a war economy. The employment of US soldiers in Nicaragua was not a defensive, but an offensive measure, which highlights the stains in such a claim.

The causes of war simply provide an explanation for the occurrence of war, and not a valid justification. While motives differ, the consequences of war remain the same, and so, war should be considered an absolute moral wrong. According to Paul Gerwith, all individuals have “an absolute right not to be made the intended victims of a homicidal project”, and war makes them exactly that.