Peace, at any cost?

[everythingsxen]

I know many DUers are strongly anti-war and I often see "Peace at any price" (et.al.) bandied about frequently. My question is not about any of the current situations, but rather a hypothetical situation.

Suppose a dictator/oligarchy/whatever seized control of the Earth and took over all nations. War was, essentially, wiped out. On the downside, religion is non-existent (let's say for our purposes that having a religion is legal, actually attending religious services is not. Or perhaps the state directly runs the services, so there can be no dissent), dissent is brutally crushed, as is crime.

So, you have world peace, but there is a lot of censorship and many things you are not allowed to do. Aside from that, there is peace and tranquility. A soldier on every street corner and your spouse may be an informant, but there is peace.

Would that be acceptable? Would you tolerate peace at the price of some freedoms?

[babylonsister]

1. No. We Americans are spoiled that way. Without this idiot at the helm,

peace for everyone would be much more viable.

[Wonk]

2. Channeling John Lennon? You had me until the 2nd last paragraph.

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
Nowhere below us
Above only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

[everythingsxen]

3. And that would be nice..

but I was curious if "Peace at any price" actually means just that.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. What you describe is similar

to conditions in Turkey after the rise of Ataturk. Sufi orders had their meeting places closed, and were forbidden to conduct ceremonies. It is still illegal to do so, in fact. It may interest you to know what the response has been from teachers in the various Sufi orders found in Turkey. Basically, they continue their practices, but in secret. But instead of becoming political, some teachers from there advocate not getting politically involved but to devote time to spiritual practices, many of which can be done on an individual basis. I think they are advocating this because peace starts from within.

[gristy]

5. I wonder if you are misinterpreting what someone said

Taken literally, "peace at any cost" makes no sense whatsoever. This means that we should spend everything on order to achieve peace. Even, for example, all of our national Medicare budget (or what's left of it), all of the money we spend on environmental protection, all the money we spend on national defense, etc, etc, etc.

Your question at the end of your post makes more sense and is worth debating, though I would ask "is security at the price of some freedoms acceptable"? "Peace" is a very nebulus, unobtainable concept, I'm afraid.

[everythingsxen]

6. Well that was the point..

Like I said I frequently see it said that peace should be attained by any means necessary. Peace is nebulous, but I tend to see it as the end of war. If there is no war, there is peace.

[MoseyWalker]

7. Just because one desires peace

doesn't necessarily lead to the conclusion that one also desires it at "any cost".

What is the cost of peace? What is the cost of war?

The cost of peace, attained in a responsible, rational, human manner, is nothing.

What is the cost of war?

[everythingsxen]

8. I wasn't asking about the cost of war...

I was asking whether people who say "Peace at any price" actually mean it. It's that simple. Yes, or no. Would *you*, MoseyWalker, accept a totalitarian regime if there was no more war? Would you give up freedoms to ensure peace.

That was my question. My question was not "Is peace possible" or "Why is peace better than war"; I was asking a difficult question regarding peace, specifically, would you trade freedoms for it?

[AlienGirl]

9. "I know not what course others may take..."

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

10. Peace Comes In Many Forms. Peace Of Mind Is One Of Them. That Would Be

absent from your scenario.