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Peace means societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism or violence. The word pacifism was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ahimsa, which is a core philosophy in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While modern connotations are recent, having been explicated since the 19th century, ancient references abound.
Anarcho-pacifism, also referred to as anarchist pacifism and pacifist anarchism, is an anarchist school of thought that advocates for the use of peaceful, non-violent forms of resistance in the struggle for social change. Anarcho-pacifism rejects the principle of violence which is seen as a form of power and therefore as contradictory to key anarchist ideals such as the rejection of hierarchy and dominance. Many anarcho-pacifists are also Christian anarchists, who reject war and the use of violence.
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determined not to support any kind of war. I am also determined to work for the removal of all causes of war", and campaign to promote peaceful and nonviolent solutions to conflict. The PPU forms the British section of War Resisters' International.
The Peace Ballot of 1934–35 was a nationwide questionnaire in Britain of five questions attempting to discover the British public's attitude to the League of Nations and collective security. Its official title was "A National Declaration on the League of Nations and Armaments." Advocates of the League of Nations felt that a growing isolationism in Britain had to be countered by a massive demonstration that the public demanded adherence to the principles of the League. Recent failures to achieve disarmament had undermined the credibility of the League, and there were fears the National government might step back from its official stance of supporting the League.
The Peace Society, International Peace Society or London Peace Society, originally known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, was a pioneering British pacifist organisation that was active from 1816 until the 1930s.
Opposition to World War II was expressed by the governments and peoples of all combatant nations to various extents. Initial reluctance for conflict in the Allied democratic nations changed to overwhelming, but not complete, support once the war had been joined. Some politicians and military leaders in the Axis powers opposed starting or expanding the conflict during its course. However, the totalitarian nature of these countries limited their effect. Noncombatant nations opposed joining the war for a variety of reasons, including self preservation, economic disincentives or a belief in neutrality in upon itself. After the war the populations of the former Axis powers mostly regretted their nations' involvement. In contrast, the people of Allied nations celebrated their involvement and the perceived just nature of the war, particularly in comparison with World War I.
The No More War Movement was the name of two pacifist organisations, one in the United Kingdom and one in New Zealand.
Opposition to World War I was widespread during the conflict and included socialists, anarchists, syndicalists and Marxists as well as Christian pacifists, anti-colonial nationalists, feminists, intellectuals, and the working class.
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Christian pacifists state that Jesus himself was a pacifist who taught and practiced pacifism and that his followers must do likewise. Notable Christian pacifists include Martin Luther King Jr., Leo Tolstoy, Adin Ballou, and Ammon Hennacy.
The King and Country Debate was a debate on 9 February 1933 at the Oxford Union Society. The motion presented, "This House will under no circumstances fight for its King and country", passed with 275 votes for the motion and 153 against it. The motion would later be named the Oxford Oath or the Oxford Pledge.
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peace. Some of the methods used to achieve these goals include advocacy of pacifism, nonviolent resistance, diplomacy, boycotts, peace camps, ethical consumerism, supporting anti-war political candidates, supporting legislation to remove profits from government contracts to the military–industrial complex, banning guns, creating tools for open government and transparency, direct democracy, supporting whistleblowers who expose war crimes or conspiracies to create wars, demonstrations, and political lobbying. The political cooperative is an example of an organization which seeks to merge all peace-movement and green organizations; they may have diverse goals, but have the common ideal of peace and humane sustainability. A concern of some peace activists is the challenge of attaining peace when those against peace often use violence as their means of communication and empowerment.
Bartholomeus de Ligt was a Dutch anarcho-pacifist and antimilitarist. He is chiefly known for his support of conscientious objectors.
Antimilitarism is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes should be settled without recourse to violence, Paul B. Miller defines anti-militarism as "ideology and activities...aimed at reducing the civil power of the military and ultimately, preventing international war". Cynthia Cockburn defines an anti-militarist movement as one opposed to "military rule, high military expenditure or the imposition of foreign bases in their country". Martin Ceadel points out that anti-militarism is sometimes equated with pacificism—general opposition to war or violence, except in cases where force is deemed necessary to advance the cause of peace.
Richard Finch was a merchant in London and a Quaker. In 1746, he wrote a pamphlet entitled The Nature and Duty of Self-Defence: Addressed to the People called Quakers, which argued against Quaker beliefs on pacifism. His opposition to pacifism takes the form of two arguments, one theological and the other not. The theological argument is that man has a right to self-defence which was not abolished by Jesus in the gospels. The second argument draws an analogy between defending against an external aggressor and the right for a government to defend against a civil rebellion or a criminal.
Pacifism has manifested in the United States in a variety of forms, and in myriad contexts. In general, it exists in contrast to an acceptance of the necessity of war for national defense.
The Peace Through Law Association was a French pacifist organization active in the years before World War I (1914–1918) that continued to promote its cause throughout the inter-war period leading up to World War II (1939–1945). For many years it was the leading organization of the fragmented French pacifist movement. The APD believed that peace could be maintained through an internationally agreed legal framework, with mediation to resolve disputes. It did not support individual conscientious objection, which it thought was ineffective. It would not align with the left-wing "peace at all costs" groups, or with the right-wing groups that thought the League of Nations was all that was needed.
Priscilla Hannah Peckover was an English Quaker, pacifist and linguist from a prosperous banking family. After helping to raise the three daughters of her widowed brother, in her forties she became involved in the pacifist movement.
Joseph John Jefferson (1795–1882), usually referred to as John Jefferson, was a British Congregationalist minister and advocate for Christian pacifism.
The existence of pacifism in Germany has changed over time, with the consistent feature of having diverse groups with a shared belief in an opposition to participating in war. These movements both individually and collectively, have historically been small in their numbers and have not been well organised. With a culture of war in the early history of Germany, pacifism was not a culturally significant group. This was driven by the government as they attempted to use the media in order to promote the expansion of Germany as a growing empire. The exception to this is during the Cold War with the Bonn demonstration with a large turnout of around 300,000 people. Christian peace groups have been the most consistent groups within the classification of pacifists as an opposition to violence is a key part of their faith. The size, whilst remaining small varies over the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The reception from the public regarding pacifists also changes depending on the historical period.
References
- ↑ Yamamoto, Mari (2004-11-04). Grassroots Pacifism in Post-War Japan: The Rebirth of a Nation. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781134308170.
- ↑ Nishikawa, Yukiko (2018). Political Sociology of Japanese Pacifism. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781351672955.
- ↑ Alexandra, Andrew (2011-11-16). "On the Distinction between Pacifism and Pacificism". Academia.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
- ↑ Western Herald – Pacifism cannot hold up under scrutiny Archived 2008-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Pacificist or Pacifism ?". The Spectator . 5 September 1940. p. 13.
- ↑ Fiala, Andrew (2018-02-02). The Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence. Routledge. ISBN 9781317271970.
- ↑ ‘By ‘pacificism’ I mean the advocacy of a peaceful policy; by ‘pacifism’ (a word invented only in the twentieth century) the doctrine of non-resistance. The latter is the negation of policy, not an alternative, and therefore irrelevant to my theme. Hence my disregard for the Peace Societies.’ AJP Taylor, The Trouble-Makers, London: H Hamilton, 1957, p. 51
- ↑ Pacifism – Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- ↑ Pledge Peace Union – Debating Peace and War
- ↑ Trovato, Sara (2016). Mainstreaming Pacifism: Conflict, Success, and Ethics. London: Lexington Books. p. 12. ISBN 9780739187180.
- ↑ Donald Birn, The League of Nations Union, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981
- ↑ Martin Ceadel, Semi Detached Idealists: The British Peace Movement and International Relations, 1854–1945, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 7