Pacificism is the general term for

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

opposition to

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

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

peace Peace is a concept of 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 (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

. The former 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 Caedel, pacifism and pacificism are driven by a certain political position or ideology such as

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. 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 ...

(normalized) * Crusading ( interventionism) * Defencism (prevention) * Pacificism (prevention and abolition) *

Pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

(rejection)

Development

Pacifism ranges between total

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

, which usually states that killing, violence or war is unconditionally wrong in all cases, and

defensivism Defensivism is a philosophical standpoint related in spirit to the non-aggression principle. It is a halfway point between other combat or violence based philosophies, such as just war and pacifism. Concept Defensivism has a standpoint that on ...

, 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 overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...

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 a British historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his televis ...

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'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 of N ...

, 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