'Just War'?

[AnarchyIsOrder]

What are your views on Just War theory? Is it to provide support to imperialism, is it legitimate, humanitarian, etc?

[ComradeOm]

Given that you've capitalised it, I assume you're talking about Augustine of Hippo's relatively specific thesis of bellum iustum? The important thing to note here, without passing moral judgement, is that Augustine's work was largely an effort to reconcile the Church's undoubted pacifist teachings (turn the other cheek and whatnot) with the violent realities of the Early Middle Ages; in particular the Church's reliance on a warrior caste for which war was an everyday reality. This was a real dilemma for the emerging feudal landowning class which increasingly relied on the Church for moral legitimacy but at the same time was forced to establish/protect its rights by force

Augustine's compromise position, like the later 'Truce of God' movements, generally suited all parties. By accepting that violence could occasionally be vindicated, or even sanctioned, the Church made a significant concession to its core congregation, while, at the same time, Papal approval of noble's cause was a major boon. Interestingly enough this all takes on a twist with the growth of the Pope's power (as a result of the centralisation of the Church) which eventually produces the doctrine of bellum sacrum - the idea that war could in itself be not only acceptable but actually penitential if waged in the right cause. This was a big theological hurdle that had to be cleared before you get the likes of the Crusades and other holy wars

(This distinction took several centuries to emerge in Christianity but was present from the outset in Islam in the form of the various houses - ie 'House of War' and 'House of Peace')

Of course if you meant just war in general, as it just strikes me that you may, then the above history lesson is probably useless. Apologies. Nonetheless the basic concept remains the same - nationstates obviously need to wage war in order to protect/further their interests/ambitions but such destructive endeavours have to be regulated (or else the system tears itself apart). So today we have the likes of the UN declaring just which wars are 'just' and which are not. There's nothing inherently capitalist or imperialist about that, as I hope I've shown above, although its undoubtedly served as a fig leaf for countless imperialist wars over the past century

I mean, transpose the framework of just war into a revolutionary scenario and only the specifics will change. Only a pacifist (or a counter-revolutionary!) would condemn a revolutionary war of liberation, for example. What wars are worth waging depends entirely on your own perspective and definitions

[Bitter Ashes]

First it's how you may kill to defend your family. Then it becomes "the family" of your nation that needs defending. Soon it becomes a case of defending that country from countries that have the potential to harm the country. It never ends.