Sociological Perspectives on War
Discussion on War in a Sociological Perspective
What is War?
As far as we know, war has always been part of human history. War occurred from time to time, in one form or another, even throughout our prehistory. What is war? Sociologically speaking, war is “organized, armed conflict among the peoples of various societies” (Macionis). Differed from gusty conflicts, war is well-planned and well-prepared, referring to the extension of a serious of disputes, if not one. From Sunzi’s The Art of War to Bernard Brodie’s The Absolute Weapon, human’s efforts on the war strategy study never waned. War is also characterized by means of arms. Ever since war’s advent, technology has become its counterpart, pushing each other to the very verge of human annihilation. But most importantly, war is a social construction, which happens among various societies holding different cultural traits, such as languages, norms, values, and beliefs (or specifically, religions).
What Causes War?
Early social Darwinists suggested that war among men was merely a special case of the universal law which guaranteed “the survival of the fittest”. This kind of explanations could lead human to nothing but racism and nationalism, which later became Hitler’s justice of genocide. Close study of animal world revealed that, “struggle for existence” was only carried by members of different species; successful groups were those that could live with cooperation and mutual aid (Bramson & Goethals). Marx, however, saw war as a result of economic causes, particularly imperialism. Durkheim, who appreciated the great power of cohesion in society, implied nationalism highly differentiating modern societies contributes to the outbreak of war (Bramson & Goethals).
A more systematic analyse had been done by Quincy Wright written in his book A Study of War. Based on Wright’s work (1987), Macionis stated, perceived threats, social problems, political objectives, moral objectives and the absence of
What is War?
As far as we know, war has always been part of human history. War occurred from time to time, in one form or another, even throughout our prehistory. What is war? Sociologically speaking, war is “organized, armed conflict among the peoples of various societies” (Macionis). Differed from gusty conflicts, war is well-planned and well-prepared, referring to the extension of a serious of disputes, if not one. From Sunzi’s The Art of War to Bernard Brodie’s The Absolute Weapon, human’s efforts on the war strategy study never waned. War is also characterized by means of arms. Ever since war’s advent, technology has become its counterpart, pushing each other to the very verge of human annihilation. But most importantly, war is a social construction, which happens among various societies holding different cultural traits, such as languages, norms, values, and beliefs (or specifically, religions).
What Causes War?
Early social Darwinists suggested that war among men was merely a special case of the universal law which guaranteed “the survival of the fittest”. This kind of explanations could lead human to nothing but racism and nationalism, which later became Hitler’s justice of genocide. Close study of animal world revealed that, “struggle for existence” was only carried by members of different species; successful groups were those that could live with cooperation and mutual aid (Bramson & Goethals). Marx, however, saw war as a result of economic causes, particularly imperialism. Durkheim, who appreciated the great power of cohesion in society, implied nationalism highly differentiating modern societies contributes to the outbreak of war (Bramson & Goethals).
A more systematic analyse had been done by Quincy Wright written in his book A Study of War. Based on Wright’s work (1987), Macionis stated, perceived threats, social problems, political objectives, moral objectives and the absence of
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