Just War
- Submitted by: RJJTJO
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- Category: Other
- Date Submitted: 09/15/2015 08:54 PM
- Pages: 6
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1. What is the purpose of Just War? Explain.
The purpose of a just war is to correct or prevent a wrong whose consequences are so great the incredible devastation of war is better than the consequences of action the war is waged to stop, or prevent. The commonly accepted criteria before a war can truly be a just war are; just cause, right intention, publicly declared by a proper authority, war needs to be the last resort, war must have some probability of success, and proportionality. When looking at these commonly accepted criteria it is important consider that they place a heavy burden on the entity looking to engage in a just war. If any of these criteria are not met, potentially the war may not be just.
It would be easy, in some cases, to have a just cause for war and have the right intention, but not meet the other criteria. An example of this would be if one of the Southwest Border State engaged in acts of war against Mexico, and Mexican citizens who illegally cross their border. The state could very well have a just cause, to recapture the security of its border in order to stop the influx of illegal drugs and persons crossing daily. The state could have a good intention. The intention would be to safeguard the citizens of their state and reduce the drug related crimes in their state. If those two criteria were the only ones we should consider in order to engage in a just war, then it could reasonably be argued a border state could launch a just war based on the facts above. If we were, however, to consider the other criteria, it would be difficult to make such an argument. Would a state have the proper authority to wage war? The answer is, obviously, no. Within the system of government in the United States, only Congress can declare war. Is war the last resort? The answer no, there are several viable, non-violent options.
In conclusion, we must look objectively at a situation in its entirety to determine if it is a just war....
The purpose of a just war is to correct or prevent a wrong whose consequences are so great the incredible devastation of war is better than the consequences of action the war is waged to stop, or prevent. The commonly accepted criteria before a war can truly be a just war are; just cause, right intention, publicly declared by a proper authority, war needs to be the last resort, war must have some probability of success, and proportionality. When looking at these commonly accepted criteria it is important consider that they place a heavy burden on the entity looking to engage in a just war. If any of these criteria are not met, potentially the war may not be just.
It would be easy, in some cases, to have a just cause for war and have the right intention, but not meet the other criteria. An example of this would be if one of the Southwest Border State engaged in acts of war against Mexico, and Mexican citizens who illegally cross their border. The state could very well have a just cause, to recapture the security of its border in order to stop the influx of illegal drugs and persons crossing daily. The state could have a good intention. The intention would be to safeguard the citizens of their state and reduce the drug related crimes in their state. If those two criteria were the only ones we should consider in order to engage in a just war, then it could reasonably be argued a border state could launch a just war based on the facts above. If we were, however, to consider the other criteria, it would be difficult to make such an argument. Would a state have the proper authority to wage war? The answer is, obviously, no. Within the system of government in the United States, only Congress can declare war. Is war the last resort? The answer no, there are several viable, non-violent options.
In conclusion, we must look objectively at a situation in its entirety to determine if it is a just war....