Citation

Alexander F. Am. J. Sociol. 1941; 46(4): 504-520.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1941, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

10.1086/218696

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Rather than to seek the causes of war, it is perhaps more profitable to attempt to discover the conditions under which peace is possible. The American continent offers an opportunity for this type of study. Since the inhabitants of the Americas are largely of European origin, it is less plausible to assume that their psychological structure has been radically modified than to assume that a difference in social conditions is responsible for the more peaceful history of this continent. Where organized groups co-exist without conflicting interests, or with supplementary interests, peace is possible, and the adjacent groups may fuse into a single economic and political unit. The fact that personal conflicts within a group are settled by law or by norm is encouraging in suggesting the possibility of extending this type of settlement to intergroup conflicts. In order for norms to provide a basis for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, socialization of the individual is necessary. A democratic state requires a more socialized kind of human material than a social order based on suppression and coercion. In considering Freud's statement that wars result from man's innate destructiveness, it should be borne in mind that human aggression frequently finds sublimated outlets. There are two important conditions for peace: (1) human beings must be united in one large, well-integrated social organization; (2) there must be a technique for settling conflicting interests. It is scarcely conceivable that these conditions can be realized until one powerful group subdues the weaker ones and coerces them to participate in a larger organization. A future league of nations must recognize the necessity of coercion until consensus is established. Although the democracies should lead this super-national organization, they are averse to the use force. They must, however, recognize their call to assume leadership.