Four Perspectives on War

1.  'Pacifism'

            War is never a morally acceptable means of resolving conflicts.  War always involves the killing of innocent people, and such killing is always wrong.  The alternative to war is not simply appeasement.  Nonviolent resistance to aggression is a workable alternative to militarism, and it would surely be more workable if it were pursued as diligently as we now pursue preparations for war.  Wars never really solve problems; only nonviolent means of conflict resolution can produce a lasting and just peace.  (This was the view of some early Christians, of Ghandi, and of Martin Luther King)

2.  'Just War Theory"

            Some wars are 'just wars.'  Because war involves violence and destruction it should be undertaken only as a last resort and only in response to great wrongs.  But sometimes it is morally worse to avoid war at the cost of tolerating evil than it is to fight for what is right.  Nonetheless, care must be taken to fight wars in a way that limits their destructiveness as much as possible and to respect the distinction between combatants and noncombatants.  (Largely codified in international law, defended and developed by a long series of theologians, jurists and philosophers, including Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Hugo Grotius.)

3.  'Realism'

            Moral concepts have no place in thinking about foreign policy and the use of military power.  To ask whether a nation is 'right' or 'wrong' in going to war is naive or misguided.  The only relevant question is whether going to war is in the national interest.  Wars fought for 'moral' reasons are all too likely to turn into crusades wherein sacrifices are made and destruction inflicted which are out of proportion to the likely gains.   Once war has begun, the only relevant question is how we can win most expeditiously.  (A view held by the early modern English philosopher Thomas Hobbes and by many twentieth century scholars and officials in the U.S. -- e.g., Reinhold Neibuhr, George Kennan, Hans Morgenthau, and Henry Kissinger)

4.  'Militarism'

            War is not only a legitimate instrument of national policy, it is an essential human activity.  There are virtues, both of men and of nations, which can only be developed through war.  Without war men and nations become weak and effeminate.  They lose their capacity for discipline, sacrifice, courage and teamwork.  They thus lose their 'greatness' and are sure to decline in power, wealth, and prestige.  (The view of Nietzsche, Hitler, and Theodore Rooseveldt)