Ethics, Security, and the War Machine : The True Cost of the Military

If pacifists are correct in thinking that war is always unjust, then presumably we ought to eliminate the possibility and temptation of ever engaging in it; we should not build war-making capacity, and if we already have, then demilitarization—or military abolition—would seem to be the appropriate course to take. On the other hand, we tend to assume that if going to war can sometimes be justified, then it must be permissible to prepare for these “just wars” by creating and maintaining military establishments. This is a mistake. Even if war can be morally permissible, this is not enough to ethically justify the creation and upkeep of institutions devoted to it. Militaries are exceedingly costly—financially, culturally, and morally—not to mention dangerous. In some ways a civilian population compromises its own security by having a war-machine attached to it. This book shines a light on the costs and risks associated with militarization, and asks if they are really worth bearing, all things considered. The question is not whether it is ever appropriate for a political community to use its war-making potential. The question is whether, and under what circumstances, it is appropriate to amass such potential in the first place