what is the longest time of peace?

[Valkyrie]

I know you're all history buff here, So I'm wondering --Does anyone know in the annals of history of the longest continuous state of Peace? Where, Who, and what war broke it up?

[gooddoctor]

as far as i know there has never, ever been a state of peace in this world. on 10 september there were dozens of wars being fought across the globe. the gulf war has been carried on behind an information blanket to this day. some see the palestinian-israeli conflict as a continuation of ww2, and in its turn, ww2 is a continuation of ww1. the last century was the bloodiest in mankind's history thanks to the imperialist powers that be, and i don't see it changing until the revolution. i would like to use this opportunity to remember the words of thomas jefferson: "i never new of a bad peace, or a good war".

[Anonymous]

You know its ironic... we owe the longest period of relative world peace to a weapon: the Atomic bomb.
Sure there are still some "minor" wars here and there but there is a big difference between that and the kind of wars that periodicly erupted in europe and around the world. By world war 1 the rules had aready changed and the price of war had to be reavaluated, but still they kept at it, what did they (the leaders) care.. it wasnt them in the front getting shoot.

It only stoped when the distruction of mankind and the world was at stake... Sure tells you something about human nature and how dumb it can be doesnt it?

[Chancho]

Global peace? forget about that on Earth. I hear Neptune has never had a world war though.

Nationally, there's probably only Antarctica left - and why? who wants it?! Ah, property - the major driving force behind the majority of human action.

[RedCeltic]

Well... we never fought a war on Antartica, but... the US has a base there... I know someone who actually volentered for that duty... lord knows why... I think he was quite mad.

[SellasieI]

I have no idea whats the longest peace streak, but Switzerland has been neutral for an awful long time, and now they are going to help the US by supplying soldiers.

[gooddoctor]

don't forget that antarctica's been carved up between the imperial powers that be, too. how long will it be before a squabble erupts after an american iceburg drifts into french territory and the french won't give it back?
on the subject of relative peace since the bomb, that's utter historical bullshit peddled by american fabricators of history. there is a list of countries that america has either attacked, sent military aid to or the cia has carried out covert operations in, since '45, that is over twenty long. let's see here, just off the top of my head like: korea, vietnam, guatemala, cuba, chile, indonesia, nicaragua, palestine, serbia, iraq, sudan, afghanistan, and so on...depressing, isn't it?

(Edited by gooddoctor at 12:16 am on Nov. 8, 2001)


(Edited by gooddoctor at 12:16 am on Nov. 8, 2001)

[Prometeos]

Total peace is a dream. The world will only experience it when all men have died.

[gooddoctor]

may i rephrase that? replace men with capitalists and i think you have the key.

[Prometeos]

Unfortunatily not only capitalists. We can not forget that good men are hard to find. And for many people ,even from the left, the taste of power is too sweet...

[gooddoctor]

that's why we have to give power to the people. it's the only power that can't be corrupted.

[vox]

"And for many people ,even from the left, the taste of power is too sweet..."

Yes, Prometeos, but the foundations of power can be changed and in doing so solve the problem of power.

vox

[gooddoctor]

prometeos, i have to say, when i read your posts, i read them with a yoda voice.

[Prometeos]

Maybe...and believe that i want to believe in that. But in the moment i am to ceptical about men and mankind. I don´t know if it´s only a problem of mentality and not a problem of human nature.

[gooddoctor]

it's all about education. it's in everyone's best interests to get along, and we have to tell people that. conversely, it's in the capitalist's best interests for everyone to be divided, and at present, they control the corporate media and the spoon-fed education system.

(Edited by gooddoctor at 1:25 am on Nov. 8, 2001)

[vox]

Ah, but Prometeos, is there a "human nature?"

I do not believe that there is. Human behavior throughout history and cross-culturally is so varied that one would be hard pressed to come up with any ethical foundation for some sort of "human nature."

I've found that human nature is whatever the rulers at the time want human nature to be.

vox

[Prometeos]

Good question Vox. Unfortunately my english is not as good as wanted it to be so i´m afraid that i´m not capable of explain what I realy have in my head. When we speak about policy, ideas , forms of behavior etc. We are talking about the racional part of the man. When I talk about human nature i´m thinking in the other part of every man. The animal part? Inconscient part? I don´t realy know what to call it. But is that who make us sometime do things, or behave in a form that neither we understend.

[vox]

Hey, your English is fine, don't worry. It's the only language I speak, so you're ahead of me.

The thing is, we can say that babies suck, and they do. Put your little finger in a hungry babies mouth, and the baby will suck it. And then start crying because there is no damn milk! Still, the thing is, there are instinctual behaviors, that's true, but I wouldn't call that human nature. After all, we develop beyond babyhood.

And that's what's interesting.

We may talk of status, but status has changed throughout the ages, depending on the economic, and therefore political, structure in place. Sometimes people were born into what was called their "station," and that couldn't be changed. Now, class is more fluid. That means that any essentialist thought of class is wrong, it has to be wrong. So, if we include class, or status, as part of human nature, then it fails.

Need may be universal, but aspects of need are not, I think.

vox

[Prometeos]

I totaly agree with you.But imagine this: you are a lider of a great leftist country and just nearby there is a small totaly fascist country (i dont know if you are a pacifist or not) I doubt that you(or anybody else) would not feal the temptacion to atack and conquer that country,creating a war...

[Chancho]

Quote: from gooddoctor on 12:10 am on Nov. 8, 2001
don't forget that antarctica's been carved up between the imperial powers that be, too. how long will it be before a squabble erupts after an american iceburg drifts into french territory and the french won't give it back?


lol gooddoctor :)

"Nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man's character, give him power"
- Abraham Lincoln

[Anonymous]

Vox, i do think the existence of a "human nature" is real, however at risk of such a filosofical question become a very big confusion, we must be acurate in defining what we preceve to be this human nature. Now you mentioned a baby that will suck your tumb because it is hungry, in my humble opinion this has nothing to do with human nature as human nature has nothing to do this instictive fisiologicaly driven behaviors. Human nature is something more abstract but never the less reall, it is for example the that when confronted with the possibility of making a profit out of someone else the majority of individuals would chose to do so, you can observe this all through out history. Another example could be that when given power or rather absolute power as in the case of a coup, the majority of individuals will once again be currupted. Because each person is different and each has a differente set of values and a different ethical code, but there are patterns, we are all very simillar when you think about it. One might argue that education and culture and so one are the really defining factores however i disagree. Each person has good and bad in him/her and is capable of both, in a confortable situation with nothing to worry about be might, due to our education, be kind considerate and sharing people, but if an extreme situation sould emerge things might change violente and selfish behaviors would normaly replace the ones we have when all is well in order to ensure survival. Ethical considerations over things like sharing food when there is little would be put a side, this is nature and man is part of it. wouldnt you agree comrade?