War
1945 marked the end of the greatest conflict man has ever known. Vast armies marched across Europe and Asia, destroying everything in their sight. Nuclear weapons were used for the first, and thankfully only time (KNOCK ON WOOD), against human populations. Inhuman genocide was practiced, and tens of millions of civilians perished in what is now known as 'World War II'.
It is tempting to succumb to the notion that this was the war to end all wars. In our comfortable living room chairs, it is easy to forget that the history of the world is a history of war. It is tempting to believe that we are at peace - but the truth is man has never been at peace, and perhaps never will be. As we speak, a million have perished in the Second Gulf War. Almost two decades ago a conflict erupted in the Congo, claiming some 3-4 million lives. Vietnam took at least that many. In the aftermath of U.S. bombing in Cambodia, the savage Marxist Khmer Rouge with their barbaric drive to the country side slaughtered several million Cambodians. In the death camps of Soviet Russia and Maoist China, tens of millions perished, the victims of a sick and twisted ideology. In Nicaragua the civilians there were the victims of the Contra terror campaign - funded by Washington. As we speak a civil war is tearing Columbia apart - again, funded by Washington.
It was said that the United Nations would put an end to global conflict. Perhaps the folly here was the thought that government, be it world government or the government of a nation state, could end war - when it is government ultimately that causes war. Whatever the case, it is clear that if this was it's mission it has failed - today the United Nations is used as a tool to legitimize warfare. One must not forget, that the War in Iraq was justified under U.N. mandates - and U.N. sanctions against Iraq were the precursor to the conflict.
And yet, I do not believe a pessimistic outlook is justified. It has been said that we can have civilization or we can have war but we cannot have both. War is not the curse of a fallen people but rather the consequence of individual choices. It is not unavoidable. The War in Iraq was noteworthy for many reasons, but perhaps the most remarkable was that it is the first war in human history that had widespread popular opposition before it began. Slowly it seems we are learning.
Liberty and war are in direct opposition. The very essence of libertarianism is the non-aggression principle and war is the very essence of aggression. What we must understand is that the violence of conflicts between countries or states is not altogether different than any other form of coercion, such as taxation. When we accept the principle that it is justified to use force to achieve ones ends, when we accept that might makes right, we accept it in all cases - or, as Dr. King once said, justice denied anywhere is justice denied everywhere. It should come as no surprise then to see that the most coercive of institutions - the state, is also the prime (if not sole) cause of war.
Barack Obama in a campaign speech recently said that "change comes from the bottom up". A minor rhetorical flourish from a generic politician, to be sure, but that statement contains within it a world of meaning. If we are ever to end the most coercive of behaviour, war, we must first seek to end the minor coercions we are forced to endure. Opposition to the use of force must begin at the ground level, through civil disobedience we must speak out loudly - the age of violence has come to an end! The age of reason is here. It is time for a new era - an era where voluntarism is not a dream but the law of the land. Where no man is allowed power over another. Through understanding and communicating the principles of liberty we must put an end the age of war - before the age of war puts an end to us.