Can we justify war? Does Ethics have any role to play in any war? Recently in the Ethics paper, UPSC asked a question about a valuable argument regarding war and peace.

“It is not enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it; and it is not enough to believe in it, one must act upon it. In the present context, the major weapon industries of the developed nations are adversely influencing continuation of wars for their own self-interest all around the world. What are the ethical considerations of the powerful nations in today’s international arena to stop the continuation of ongoing conflicts?” (UPSC CSE Mains 2024 Ethics paper).

With international ethics at its core, UPSC’s ethics paper connected a theoretical topic with a contemporary issue. So it’s not just enough to read the ongoing war news from the World page of your newspaper and update your current affairs news but also go beyond the headlines and add an ethical dimension to your thinking. In such a question you must brush up on your basics of war ethics.

Relevance: The topic is a part of UPSC CSE General Studies Paper-IV Ethics syllabus. Concepts are particularly relevant in the theory section. Aspirants will also find the article useful for their Essay paper and situation-based questions in personality tests. Moreover, the article’s essence will help aspirants professionally and in life.

Before delving into war ethics, anything on war should remind us of Leo Tolstoy’s novel War & Peace which suggests that only ‘time and patience’ need to be taken care of in the middle of war or during peace initiatives. However, in this post-pandemic world, we have been witnessing that the world is becoming more vulnerable to war rather than to peace. World leaders are looking uncertain (sometimes unwilling) for derring-do steps for making people understand the meaning of life. Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed a lot for peace initiatives since last year, the world is still silent and indifferent to bomb blasts and innumerable deaths. We can hear a lot of noise which carries all the reasons for waging a war.

Peace is fading, and this is alarming.

Bertrand Russell in his article Ethics in War (1915) brings a thoughtful explanation of four kinds of wars:

1. Wars of Colonisation

2. Wars of Principles

3. Wars of Self-defense

4. Wars of Prestige

India has witnessed the wars of colonisation. Americans too have an experience of it in the way Europe treated them. In such wars, one population or race treats the other one with differences and prefers to drive out the complete population. There is no technical or moral justification for such wars. Moreover, the fundamental ethical quest of philosophers regarding the purpose of life fails to find a reason.

War of principles didn’t convince us that ideas can be propagated through the barrel of a gun. Still, in such wars, one country at least believes in removing the intolerant or inhuman conduct of other nations with fellow beings. The act can be in the name of a religion or other religious dogmas.

The third category, wars of self-defence is considered an acceptable version of war as it is a must for any type of government to save its citizens from any kind of threat or attack from others. These kinds of wars are always justified.

The last category, according to Russell, is wars of prestige, where the wars are fought for national pride. And here the results of winning or defeat don’t cross the mind or heart of leaders but only and only pride or prestige.

Despite all these categories Bertrand Russell writes, “The objects for men that have fought in the past, whether just or unjust, are no longer to be achieved by wars amongst civilised nations.” The objective of ethical society is to save the lives of human beings or save the planet Earth.

The best model of peace witnessed by this nuclear bomb-obsessed world was the time of the pandemic. Human society was completely ready to disengage from any kind of war from others or within. Peace saves both parties involved in conflict and in Covid time every citizen was working not only to save oneself but their fellow citizens too. The mask became the symbol of peace.

Going back in history, Mahatma Gandhi through his nonviolence or ‘Ahimsa’ principle taught everyone that even wars of self prestige or wars of principles can be fought through nonviolent means. Ahimsa was more an internal preparation of a being, like a Dhamma of Ashoka. It was more about the survival of all and most importantly believing that self-defence is equally important.

So when we analyse the present crisis of the world from an ethical perspective, we can easily conclude that man is used as a means by those who are aggressors as well as arms sellers. Wars are needed when the question of a country’s defence is at stake but most importantly within a moral framework. It can not be like communal riots or killing anyone or everyone. The Mahabharata war can be taken as an example. It was fought between two armies rather than citizens. If a country fights for its own citizens survival, then how can the same country become ruthless, and cruel to the common citizens (children, women, poor, elderly and others)?  

There is a golden rule of ethics followed even at the time of war or peace initiative, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The history of wars confirms that only peace survives. The world witnessed the higher form of social consciousness of Ashoka, Mahatma Gandhi and Vivekananda only when they realised profoundly the existence of self, others and of Mother Earth.

Wars can be categorised, but not Peace. It values human lives, and so we need leadership across the world which prioritises peace and believes in health, education, inclusiveness, women empowerment and universal values rather than borders and weapons. Ethics is all about choosing the right conduct/ behaviour/ decision aligning with the values of humanity. And so Bertrand Russell said, “War does not determine who is right, only who is left.”

On both sides of the borders of war-affected countries, there will be many who will promote hatred. But at the same time, there will be few who would choose peace in such difficult situations. Let’s act for those who are victims of war. Our world needs more peace-loving leaders, irrespective of race and caste. 

Discuss: “Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.” — Ernest Hemingway, 1946

(The writer is the author of ‘Being Good and Aaiye, Insaan Banaen’ and ‘Ethikos: Stories Searching Happiness’. He teaches courses on and offers training in ethics, values and behaviour. He has been the expert/consultant to UPSC, SAARC countries, Civil services Academy, National Centre for Good Governance, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), etc. He has PhD in two disciplines and has been a Doctoral Fellow in Gandhian Studies from ICSSR. His second PhD is from IIT Delhi on Ethical Decision Making among Indian Bureaucrats. He writes for the UPSC Ethics Simplified (concepts and caselets) fortnightly.)

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