December Meeting:
"Pre-emption, Prevention, and Presumption:
Is a First Strike Ever Justified?"
At our December meeting,
GO member Bob Greene will present a lecture entitled “Pre-emption and
Iraq.” Bob will discuss the policy of pre-emptive military strikes and
their philosophical and political rationale. He will look at past
pre-emptive strikes, the current situation in Iraq, and what conclusions
can be made from them.
Join us on Saturday, December 21, at the home of Joy
& Jeff Kiviat, for the lecture and our annual holiday dinner. The
dinner will start at 7 p.m., with the lecture following at 8 p.m. Call
(314) 469-2723 for directions or more information....And
our Annual Holiday Dinner
Also at our December
meeting, we will enjoy delicious cuisine from around the world at our
annual holiday dinner. Our hosts, Joy & Jeff, suggest that each
person brings a food item that reflects their cultural heritage or
ancestry. If you consider yourself an American, then bring an American
dish!
The dinner will start one
hour early, at 7 p.m., so the meeting can start by 8 p.m.
***DINNER
AT 7 P.M.***
***MEETING
AT 8 P.M.***
Peace
and Objectivism
- by Jeff Kiviat
As we approach the holiday
season, the phrase “peace on earth” will be heard with increasing
frequency. And, there won’t be any arguments about it – no one is
opposed to peace. Yet, in 2001, the world saw 31 wars and 15 armed
conflicts. From 1945 to 2000, 50 to 51 million people were killed in wars
and violent conflicts.* There seems to be a massive gap between what
people want and what they get on the issue of peace. How to explain it? I
would suggest that we look at the fundamental philosophic ideas people
hold (explicitly or implicitly) and ask if they are predisposed toward
peace or conflict.
In
metaphysics, the fundamental issue is this: Is the reality we perceive
the only one, or are there other higher realities, e.g. heaven.
Certainly, if you believe that death will send you into a better world (a
view held by many religionists) you will be more willing, if not eager,
to risk your life for any particular cause. In any dispute, the risk of
escalation to armed conflict will be increased to the extent that people
hold such a view and take it seriously.
In epistemology, the
fundamental issue is faith vs. reason as the means of acquiring
knowledge. If people accept reason, then they have a pretty good chance
of settling disputes by means of persuasion. But if people believe that
faith gives them knowledge, how can they settle disputes? How do you
dissuade someone from a position that they accept on faith? You can’t,
of course. The means are just not available. The only way to
“convince” someone out of a view that they hold by faith is to use
force. Of course, force will not actually change the ideas you oppose,
but it can change people’s actions or eliminate people with the
“wrong” ideas. Without reason as common ground, force becomes a much
more likely outcome in any dispute. Yet, most religions and secular
philosophies denigrate reason.
In ethics, the fundamental
issue is: who should be the beneficiary of your actions? In other words,
the issue is altruism vs. self-interest. If you believe that the highest
good is self-sacrifice, there will be limitless potential causes for
which you can sacrifice yourself. It follows that the ultimate good would
be to sacrifice your very life. If the people of a country are
predominantly altruists, it becomes relatively easy for demagogic
politicians to herd them toward war. On the other hand, people who hold
their own happiness as their ultimate purpose in life will be a bit
harder to convince.
In politics, the
fundamental issue is collectivism vs. individual freedom. To the extent
that collectivism impairs the working of the free market, it leads to
impoverishment. People in an impoverished society will more readily
attack another society, because they have so little to lose.
On all of these fundamental issues, the
non-Objectivist position predisposes toward war, which is a pretty good
indication that those positions are wrong…at least it would be for
someone who values human life. Many people will send out greeting cards
that say “peace on earth.” But only the Objectivists among them hold
a philosophy that doesn’t undercut that laudable goal.
*from Vital Signs 2002, published by The
Worldwatch Institute, p. 94.
We welcome submissions of reviews, articles, columns and commentary.
Direct all correspondence to gwobjctvst@aol.com.
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