Why I'm a Pacifist

It's become pretty clear to almost everyone these days that wars are horrific, terrible things which cause huge suffering to all those who are unfortunate enough to become caught up in them. But despite accepting how destructive war is most people still seem to believe that there are cases where war in not only inevitable, but also the least bad option. I don't think this is ever the case. Here are my reasons.

First, what does it mean to be a pacifist? At the most basic level it is a refusal to take part in wars. If called upon to fight I would refuse because I have no desire to kill others and I see no reason why anyone else should ask me to put my life in jeopardy for something I disagree with.

That is the classic concept of pacifism, and it's rightly criticised because it offers no solution to war. Sure, if everyone refused to fight the world would be a wonderful place, but it would be naive to think that's likely to happen - I'm not that persuasive! (heck, I don't even know if anyone reads this stuff!).

So as a pacifist I need to offer a solution, an alternative, to war. My aim therefore is to prevent the conditions which lead to war. No war happens in a vacuum, in every case there are precursors, events which moved towards war, which if caught early enough, could have been dealt with without resort to violence.

The question that always eventually arises when I say I'm a pacifist is "so would you have not fought against the Nazis?". No, I wouldn't. The second world war in Europe was made inevitable after the end of WWI by the desire of the allies to extract reparations from Germany. The effect of this was to pave the way for Hitler. By subjecting the German people to suffering it was easy for someone to promise a way out. Hitler was sufficiently charismatic to take advantage of this, and he used the resentment of reparations to build his power base. Most people, who saw an improving economy didn't look any further until it was much too late.

Contrast this with the end of WWII. The Marshall plan ensured that Germany (and the rest of Europe) was rebuilt at great expense to the USA. Post WWII there was vastly less resentment by Germans and Germany has retaken it's rightful place in Europe and the world. Had reparations been repeated it is unlikely that the German people would have been so peaceful.

The answer then to war is not simply to refuse to fight, but to constantly look for the early warning signs of anger, resentment, injustice and unrest that are the precursors and to deal with those justly. We need to deal with other peoples with respect for their religions, legitimate governments and ways of life. If we do that then we will build friendships which will preclude the very possibility of war.

By contrast Western governments have been appallingly bad at doing this, taking an arrogant line which has infuriated many around the world. We have meddled in the internal affairs of other countries, sold arms to both sides of conflicts, and acted with ill-faith in all manner of ways. And then we ask why we are hated. It should be pretty obvious.

To be a pacifist is not easy. It's harder than the alternative. It requires a honesty and a strong sense of justice and eternal vigilance. You have to be a pacifist every day of your life. And ironically, it requires action to reduce conflict before it turns to war.

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