Involvement with Affected Communities and Advocacy Groups
War has often been portrayed as an inevitable aspect of human existence. Yet, when examined closely, war is not simply the outcome of human nature but a byproduct of a particular social order: the state and the industrial civilization it sustains. War emerges as a tool to secure resources, consolidate power, and enforce borders — all in service of an extractive system rooted in imperialism and colonialism.
The State as the Engine of War
The modern state arose alongside systems of taxation, militarization, and centralized authority. To maintain itself, it requires the accumulation of resources, labor, and territory. War becomes its instrument to achieve these ends, not an accident but a deliberate strategy. States wage war to control populations, suppress dissent, and expand influence. Without the apparatus of the state, the capacity for organized, large-scale war would not exist.
Industrial Civilization and the Demand for Extraction
Industrial civilization depends on the continuous extraction of land, minerals, oil, and labor. This hunger for resources drives conflicts both within and between nations. The wars of the modern era — from colonial conquests to contemporary interventions in resource-rich regions — reveal that war is not simply about ideology or religion but about securing the raw materials necessary to sustain industrial economies.
Imperialism, Colonialism, and the Legacy of War
War is inseparable from the history of empire-building. Colonialism spread not through peaceful exchange but through violent conquest, justified by flags, borders, and fabricated notions of superiority. Even today, neocolonial wars are fought to maintain global hierarchies, ensuring that powerful states continue to dominate weaker ones through both direct violence and economic coercion.
Flags and Borders as Constructs of Division
The symbols of nationhood — flags, anthems, and borders — play a crucial role in fueling wars. They create artificial divisions among people who otherwise share common needs and struggles. The idea of the border transforms neighbors into enemies and land into property to be defended or seized. These constructs allow states to mobilize populations into fighting wars that serve the interests of elites rather than the collective good.
Call to Action: Decolonize. Reconnect. Unlearn. Relearn.
To move beyond war, we must:
- Decolonize our minds and societies, rejecting the myths of empire, nationalism, and state supremacy.
- Reconnect with the land, with each other, and with the traditions that value cooperation over domination.
- Unlearn the narratives that glorify war as honor, necessity, or progress.
- Relearn ways of living rooted in balance, reciprocity, and collective care.
Only by breaking free from the machinery of the state and industrial civilization can humanity move toward a future of true peace, justice, and ecological harmony.