"Men living together according to reason, without a common Superior on earth, with Authority to judge between them, is properly the State of Nature. The State of Nature has a Law of Nature to govern it, which obliges everyone: and Reason, which is that Law, teaches all Mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions."
"Laws are the conditions under which independent and isolated men united in society, weary of living in a constant state of war, and of enjoying a liberty rendered useless by the uncertainty of preserving it."
"War is the art of destroying... that which is useful to mankind."
Independent individuals adopt laws as conditions for social unity to escape a continual state of war and to secure liberty that would otherwise be uncertain. Reason functions as a Law of Nature obliging everyone, teaching equality and prohibiting harm to life, health, liberty, and possessions. War operates as a force that destroys what benefits humanity. Powerful and permanent military establishments can reshape political priorities, risk democratic control, and entrench influence over public policy. Effective international order requires legal institutions, restrained use of force, and safeguards against militarization to preserve human welfare.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]