Pacificism is the general term for

ethical Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...

opposition to

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

unless force is deemed necessary. Together with pacifism, it is born from the Western tradition or attitude that calls for

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

. The latter involves the unconditional refusal to support violence or absolute pacifism, but pacificism views the prevention of violence as its duty but recognizes the controlled use of force to achieve such objective. According to Martin Ceadel, pacifism and pacificism are driven by a certain political position or ideology such as

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. Ceadel has categorized pacificism among positions about war and peace, ordering it among the other categories: *

Militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

(violence normalized) * Crusading ( interventionism; violence used as a tool) * Defensivism (violence prevention) * Pacificism (violence prevention and abolition) *

Pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war 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 ...

(violence rejection)

Development

Pacificism ranges between total

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war 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 ...

, which usually states that killing, violence or war is unconditionally wrong in all cases, and defensivism, which accepts all ''defensive'' acts as morally just. Pacificism states that war may ever be considered only as a firm "last resort" and condemns both

aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

and

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

. In the 1940s, the two terms were not conceptually distinguished, and pacificism was considered merely an archaic spelling. The term ''pacificism'' was first used in 1910 by William James. The distinct theory was later developed by

A. J. P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was an English historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his telev ...

in ''The Trouble-Makers'' (1957) and was subsequently defined by Ceadel in his 1987 book, ''Thinking About Peace and War''. It was also discussed in detail in

Richard Norman Richard Norman may refer to: * Richard Norman (chemist), British chemist * Richard Norman (philosopher), British academic, philosopher and humanist *Richard Norman, founder of movie production company Norman Studios in the U.S. * Dick Norman (Amer ...

's book, ''Ethics, Killing and War''. The concept came to mean "the advocacy of a peaceful policy." The largest national peace association in history, the British

League of Nations Union The League of Nations Union (LNU) was an organization formed in October 1918 in Great Britain to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League o ...

, was pacificist rather than pacifist in orientation. Historically, the majority of peace activists have been pacificists rather than strict pacifists.Martin Ceadel, ''Semi Detached Idealists: The British Peace Movement and International Relations, 1854–1945'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 7

References

{{anti-war Pacifism Political theories

Development

See also

References