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https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-immanuel-kants-toward-perpetual-peace-and-its-relevance-to-the-war-in-ukraine-179943>
"A powerful European country invades a less powerful one. This is a story that
German philosopher Immanuel Kant, while writing his essay
Toward Perpetual
Peace in 1795 in Prussian Königsberg (now a Russian territory on the Baltic
Sea called Kaliningrad), was all too familiar with.
Unfortunately, it is a story repeating itself today as Ukraine is invaded by
Russia. But what can we still learn from Kant’s essay?
At the time of writing, Kant was 71-years-old. He was reflecting on the bloody
aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789 and the numerous Revolutionary wars
between France and various European powers, including Austria and Kant’s
Prussia. Indeed, Prussia had been engaged in wars for most of Kant’s life.
Kant’s essay takes the form of a philosophical project aimed at achieving
perpetual peace. To be perpetual, a peace must not merely be temporary, like a
ceasefire, but lasting.
To be lasting, it must have a solid foundation. To this end, Kant drafts six
preliminary articles aimed at reducing the chance of war.
These include not making peace treaties while secretly plotting war, forbidding
annexing another state or interfering in its internal affairs, abolishing
standing armies with their associated danger of stoking arms races, the
limiting of foreign debt, and forbidding acts of war so heinous they prevent
future peace.
Many of these articles remain highly relevant today. Russia is clearly
interfering in the internal affairs of another state and has annexed part of
its territories; its actions have the potential to spark an arms race in
Europe; the role of sanctions and their impacts on debt and trade is a crucial
element in the broader attempt to stop Putin; and Russia’s threats to use
chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons could lead to heinous acts of
violence that make future peace difficult to achieve."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
