War and Peace (Lysander Spooner) – TBWJP007

What is War?

When we hear the term war, what usually comes to mind is a battlefield where one man goes after another; it is where one family goes after another; it is where one nation goes after another. But is there something else to the concept? I would say yes.

A war is the notion of getting into a conflict, which could be physical (i.e., violent) in nature. It could be understood as a face-to-face encounter between two or more entities. A war could also be understood as a fight, which does not have to be physical or violent. But the culmination of every encounter must yield a victor and a vanquished.

The above explanation is a generic understanding about the term war. Here, we could consider a different approach. We could examine the concept from a natural perspective.

Defining the Term “War”

We could define a “War” as the innate desire of every living entity to be. In that sense, a war is not a process, which may lead to a particular outcome. Rather, it is a way of being in the world.

Lysander Spooner, on the other hand, does not seem to see the term “War” from a similar prism. In many of his works, notably in the publication titled Legal Treatises, 1800-1926 (Natural Law, the Science of Justice, or the Science of Mine and Thine), Spooner seems to suggest that a war is always avoidable.[1] The reason, he says, is that men are inherently just.

From Spooner’s vantage point, the man is always in control of his nature. That is, the man would do anything to avoid war. Spooner argues that men have a duty to repel what is unjust and compel justice. In this Podcast, I argue to the contrary.

War as a Natural State of Being

I believe that a war is a natural state of being in the world. Men could not withstand their selves from going to war, for it would be against their nature to do so. War is intrinsic in nature. Thereby, it is inherent in every man, if not in every living entity.

Everything in nature is at war with one another. What seems peaceful in the eyes of men is far from being the case in the realm of the natural. To that extent, there could be no peace.

There would always be wars. This is the essence of being in the world. Instead of saying “The Science of Justice,” we should say, “The Science of War.”

There would always be wars. Men would always be in the middle of every war. I would proclaim with vehemence that this is the nature of our world. Claiming otherwise would simply be misguided.

[1] Lysander Spooner, Natural Law, or, The Science of Justice: A Treatise on Natural Law, Natural Justice, Natural Rights, Natural Liberty, and Natural Society : Showing … Is an Absurdity, a Usurpation, and a Crime. (Place of publication not identified: Gale, Making of Modern Law, 2010).

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