Ashoka's Dilema -- is peace possible among nation-states?
Oct 16, 2015 13:47:53 GMT -8
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Post by Oss Rae on Oct 16, 2015 13:47:53 GMT -8
Yesterday I listened to this interview with author Karen Armstrong (link below) about the history of violence and its role in sustaining empires, and she argues, keeping civilization from unraveling. Herself a former Catholic nun, much of her focus is on how religion has been co-opted to perpetuate this system via violence (e.g., Constantine's adoption of Christianity and the use of religion to justify the Crusades. The Crusades, in fact, had great political expedience for those who ordered them), but she also also emphasizes the need for violence to sustain civilization. In fact, she almost called her newest book Ashoka's Dilemma.
Ashoka was a king in India, third century b.c.e., who became horrified by violence and made sweeping changes (and even outlawed hunting as a sport because it was so cruel). However, he came to realize he could not dismantle his army: the borders were surrounded by would-be emperors.
(As mentioned, Armstrong wanted to name her book Ashoka's Dilemma, but the publisher didn't think it would be marketable, so the title is Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence.)
Here's a link to the interview: archives.kpfa.org/data/20151015-Thu1000.mp3
This makes me want to revisit this website, Peaceful Societies: www.peacefulsocieties.org/. It's been some years since I've looked at it.
I do recall that Jean-Bertrand Aristide dismantled his army while president of Haiti in the early 2000s, but he ended up being apprehended and sent into exile.
Most peaceful societies that come to my mind right now are ones that were deemed "uncivilized" by Europeans: Indigenous peoples in various parts of this continent and on some pacific islands. However, I THINK the Peaceful Societies website has at least a few examples in the nation-state system.
Ashoka was a king in India, third century b.c.e., who became horrified by violence and made sweeping changes (and even outlawed hunting as a sport because it was so cruel). However, he came to realize he could not dismantle his army: the borders were surrounded by would-be emperors.
(As mentioned, Armstrong wanted to name her book Ashoka's Dilemma, but the publisher didn't think it would be marketable, so the title is Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence.)
Here's a link to the interview: archives.kpfa.org/data/20151015-Thu1000.mp3
This makes me want to revisit this website, Peaceful Societies: www.peacefulsocieties.org/. It's been some years since I've looked at it.
I do recall that Jean-Bertrand Aristide dismantled his army while president of Haiti in the early 2000s, but he ended up being apprehended and sent into exile.
Most peaceful societies that come to my mind right now are ones that were deemed "uncivilized" by Europeans: Indigenous peoples in various parts of this continent and on some pacific islands. However, I THINK the Peaceful Societies website has at least a few examples in the nation-state system.