How to un-make war?
Once again, cultural evolution – the long view, and social (re) organization – the short view:
CULTURAL EVOLUTION – How to Cultivate Peace
De-legitimize Killing
Capital Punishment makes collective killing culturally acceptable in defense of society. Self-defense must not mean that another life is expendable. The rape or murder has been committed. Punishment is not simply duplicating the crime. Retribution is rarely justice. Murder does not necessarily deter murder. Seek meaningful alternatives to the death penalty. Blind Justice carries a sword, but she needn’t sleep with the Reaper. Justice and death should not go hand in hand.
Teach Peace
Acknowledge that being human means being potentially violent. Reduce this potential in scale to individual non-collective concepts that cultivate self-discipline, self-control and conflict resolution. This will require a shift in patterns of general education. Taoism (Daoism) is an example of a philosophic education towards peace. Despite the current vogue in action movies, some traditional martial arts styles such as Tai Chi Chuan offer methods of re-channeling violent aggression into peaceful paths and humanistic behaviors. Eliminate Nationalism Patriotism and nationalism have been two of the central ways that large numbers of people are assembled for war. Replace nationalism and nationalist expressions for humanism. Use the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the highest governmental expression of human social political culture, not the nation/state/ethnicity, etc.
Demote Materialist Culture
Reduce and re-evaluate materialism so that people and experiences become more important than things and objects to be acquired at “any expense.” Integrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with local economies to institutionalize economic justice. The basic quality of life and subsistence aspects of material culture should not be commodities on a competitive market. If basic survival is up to market prices, then many can be convinced to survive at any price – the result, war.
Redefine Masculinity
Masculinity in many cultures has been confused with patriarchy. Humanity is long overdue for a movement that redefines masculinity without patriarchy and dominance. The unfortunate reality of patriarchic male dominance is that men, having the power, have not seen the need to change. To be a male – or a man – does not have to mean being a killer.
Adopt Matriarchy
Reduce male dominance and patriarchy. The Iroquois society featured female property control and confirmation of all male leadership. Earlier in human history and pre-history matriarchies ruled. There is little evidence of widespread war from these times. Matriarchic social organization reduces gender abuses. Also, women become de commoditized.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Remove War Powers
No representative body, or individual should have war powers. If a leader wants a fight, let him fight. If a congress, parliament, or Knesset wants a war, then suit them up and send them. Any declaration of hostilities should be by direct vote. And a pro war vote is enlistment. Those who must fight should be the only ones qualified to vote on a course of war.
De-Militarize the Military
Broaden the scope and obligation of the government military organizations so that their mission is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Democratize the military in a new way, and decentralize authority over them – block the demagogue effect. Partisan politics plays no part in human rights. Rome became an Empire when its armies became professional. It was then that they lost their investment in the common lot of citizens. It was then that demagogues like Julius Caesar could use fear and militarism to seize Imperial authority. If a modern army’s mission is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Right, for instance, then it keeps them invested in the common lot of citizens. If the modern army is decentralized politically, they form an additional check balanced against imperial demagoguery.
Re-Configure Power and Leadership
Leaders must not be linked to wealth. The wealthy must not become leaders. Anyone seeking political leadership must give-up all wealth to the state. Campaigns will be federally funded only. Elected leaders will be fed, clothed, and housed by the state. The once-wealthy political leaders can recover their wealth only after their term in office. However, the former wealth of the leader can only be restored after responsible leadership and a direct democratic referendum (vote of confidence). Irresponsible leadership results in the state retaining the wealth of the leader to the degree of the referendum. Irresponsible is defined by a tenure in office that is lacking in human rights and economic justice.
De-Institutionalize Religion
Make a true separation between church and state. The dogmatic blanket of organized religion and the fundamentalist fanaticism it drapes have ever been centers of coercion to war.
Institutionalize Human Rights
Set human rights and economic justice as the fundamental validating principles of government. This must be a foreign as well as a domestic effort. The surrender of individual autonomy to the authority of the state should be based on a social contract consisting of human and economic rights. In order to be legitimate, state authority must rest on a high level of commitment to human rights and economic justice.
De-Capitalize the Basic Quality of Life
Nutrition, housing, fundamental health, education, and general welfare of populations must not be a matter of desperate struggle. Poverty and desperate need makes people open to political manipulation for war. Even when there is an unsupported belief that the basic quality of life is under threat enemies can be conjured that people respond to viscerally. It must become the primary responsibility of government to de-commoditize the basic quality of life. Without a threat to human rights, a jingoist or demagogue cannot trigger the gut reaction that occurs when the primary elements of one’s existence are at risk.
Do Not Socially Reward Violence – Especially Socially Organized Violence
Scale down public presentations of organized violence. Reduce all television coverage contracts of sports such as football, hockey, wrestling, and boxing. People can watch what they want. And, people can do whatever sport they want. But, vast economic empires built on violence should not be socially endorsed.
Will this happen? Sadly, no. Humanity is still a catastrophic species. We act when there is a crisis. Then, we act best.
CULTURAL EVOLUTION – How to Cultivate Peace
De-legitimize Killing
Capital Punishment makes collective killing culturally acceptable in defense of society. Self-defense must not mean that another life is expendable. The rape or murder has been committed. Punishment is not simply duplicating the crime. Retribution is rarely justice. Murder does not necessarily deter murder. Seek meaningful alternatives to the death penalty. Blind Justice carries a sword, but she needn’t sleep with the Reaper. Justice and death should not go hand in hand.
Teach Peace
Acknowledge that being human means being potentially violent. Reduce this potential in scale to individual non-collective concepts that cultivate self-discipline, self-control and conflict resolution. This will require a shift in patterns of general education. Taoism (Daoism) is an example of a philosophic education towards peace. Despite the current vogue in action movies, some traditional martial arts styles such as Tai Chi Chuan offer methods of re-channeling violent aggression into peaceful paths and humanistic behaviors. Eliminate Nationalism Patriotism and nationalism have been two of the central ways that large numbers of people are assembled for war. Replace nationalism and nationalist expressions for humanism. Use the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the highest governmental expression of human social political culture, not the nation/state/ethnicity, etc.
Demote Materialist Culture
Reduce and re-evaluate materialism so that people and experiences become more important than things and objects to be acquired at “any expense.” Integrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with local economies to institutionalize economic justice. The basic quality of life and subsistence aspects of material culture should not be commodities on a competitive market. If basic survival is up to market prices, then many can be convinced to survive at any price – the result, war.
Redefine Masculinity
Masculinity in many cultures has been confused with patriarchy. Humanity is long overdue for a movement that redefines masculinity without patriarchy and dominance. The unfortunate reality of patriarchic male dominance is that men, having the power, have not seen the need to change. To be a male – or a man – does not have to mean being a killer.
Adopt Matriarchy
Reduce male dominance and patriarchy. The Iroquois society featured female property control and confirmation of all male leadership. Earlier in human history and pre-history matriarchies ruled. There is little evidence of widespread war from these times. Matriarchic social organization reduces gender abuses. Also, women become de commoditized.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Remove War Powers
No representative body, or individual should have war powers. If a leader wants a fight, let him fight. If a congress, parliament, or Knesset wants a war, then suit them up and send them. Any declaration of hostilities should be by direct vote. And a pro war vote is enlistment. Those who must fight should be the only ones qualified to vote on a course of war.
De-Militarize the Military
Broaden the scope and obligation of the government military organizations so that their mission is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Democratize the military in a new way, and decentralize authority over them – block the demagogue effect. Partisan politics plays no part in human rights. Rome became an Empire when its armies became professional. It was then that they lost their investment in the common lot of citizens. It was then that demagogues like Julius Caesar could use fear and militarism to seize Imperial authority. If a modern army’s mission is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Right, for instance, then it keeps them invested in the common lot of citizens. If the modern army is decentralized politically, they form an additional check balanced against imperial demagoguery.
Re-Configure Power and Leadership
Leaders must not be linked to wealth. The wealthy must not become leaders. Anyone seeking political leadership must give-up all wealth to the state. Campaigns will be federally funded only. Elected leaders will be fed, clothed, and housed by the state. The once-wealthy political leaders can recover their wealth only after their term in office. However, the former wealth of the leader can only be restored after responsible leadership and a direct democratic referendum (vote of confidence). Irresponsible leadership results in the state retaining the wealth of the leader to the degree of the referendum. Irresponsible is defined by a tenure in office that is lacking in human rights and economic justice.
De-Institutionalize Religion
Make a true separation between church and state. The dogmatic blanket of organized religion and the fundamentalist fanaticism it drapes have ever been centers of coercion to war.
Institutionalize Human Rights
Set human rights and economic justice as the fundamental validating principles of government. This must be a foreign as well as a domestic effort. The surrender of individual autonomy to the authority of the state should be based on a social contract consisting of human and economic rights. In order to be legitimate, state authority must rest on a high level of commitment to human rights and economic justice.
De-Capitalize the Basic Quality of Life
Nutrition, housing, fundamental health, education, and general welfare of populations must not be a matter of desperate struggle. Poverty and desperate need makes people open to political manipulation for war. Even when there is an unsupported belief that the basic quality of life is under threat enemies can be conjured that people respond to viscerally. It must become the primary responsibility of government to de-commoditize the basic quality of life. Without a threat to human rights, a jingoist or demagogue cannot trigger the gut reaction that occurs when the primary elements of one’s existence are at risk.
Do Not Socially Reward Violence – Especially Socially Organized Violence
Scale down public presentations of organized violence. Reduce all television coverage contracts of sports such as football, hockey, wrestling, and boxing. People can watch what they want. And, people can do whatever sport they want. But, vast economic empires built on violence should not be socially endorsed.
Will this happen? Sadly, no. Humanity is still a catastrophic species. We act when there is a crisis. Then, we act best.