3. War and Peace: Texts
- Mo Tzu: “Condemnation of Offensive War”
This brief essay by a contemporary of Mencius and Hsün Tzu gives a strong argument against war and in favor of universal love.
- William James: “The Moral Equivalent of War”
This well-known essay by the famous American psychologist and philosopher is quoted by Margaret Mead at the beginning of “Warfare: An Invention—Not a Biological Necessity.” Here, James articulates the theory that Mead disputes: that modern warfare is based on a deep, biological imperative in the human species. Rather than being eliminated, James argues, the feelings that lead to war can be channeled in socially productive directions.
- Mohandas K. Gandhi: “The Doctrine of the Sword”
This classic essay by India’s most important spiritual leader argues that nonviolence and forgiveness represent strength, while war represents weakness.
- “War and Peace” from Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book
This collection of thoughts on war and peace comes from the Quotations of Chairman Mao, a book that, with more than one billion copies in print, is second only to the Bible as the most read book in world history. Mao’s thoughts, in the form of short quotations from articles and speeches, combine well with the book’s readings on just war theory and with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’s Communist Manifesto, in chapter 4.
