Man and Society in Calamity by Pitirim A. Sorokin Irving Louis Horowitz

Author:Pitirim A. Sorokin, Irving Louis Horowitz [Pitirim A. Sorokin, Irving Louis Horowitz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General
ISBN: 9781351507547
Google: 4R0uDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-07-12T03:26:59+00:00

C War

Like other catastrophes war produces both cowards and heroes, criminals and altruists, profiteers and self-sacrificing persons, libertines and ascetics, hedonists (of the Carpe diem or the “wine, women, and song” type) and stoics, atheists and religious devotees. Which of these two types are produced in greater proportion depends upon the character of the war and of the people concerned and upon various other conditions. But the central fact of the polarization of ethico-religious effects remains constant.

This follows from the very nature of war, which subjects both soldiers and civilians to the influence of two contradictory forces, the one impelling them to seek individual self-preservation, the other making for the protection of, and loyalty to, the community (in its broadest sense, the nation or people concerned). With some the egoistic stimulus prevails; with others the social stimulus. In some cases war releases the most bestial instincts of primitive aggressiveness, vis à vis not only the enemy but also one’s own fellows; in others it forges the strongest and most unbreakable social ties, evoking companionship in arms, brotherhood in defense of the community, and similar values. From this standpoint, war is perhaps the most potent altruistic stimulus that exists. As such it demands the highest altruism, self-sacrifice, and other forms of moral heroism, particularly on the part of the combatants. This aspect is usually overlooked by its detractors.

Let us now consider a few evaluations of the effects of war offered by certain technical observers of the phenomenon.

“Individualism declines at the outbreak of war and is superseded by mass reactions. . . . The feeling of sharing a common danger leads to a strengthening of community ties and to a levelling of differences and oppositions in social, economic, religious, and political spheres. In volunteers particularly, the increased community feeling leads to a surrender of privileges and to self-sacrifice in the service of the country. Conversely, in some individuals anxious endeavors to protect the ego lead to a ruthless increase in selfishness. In most people the increase in community feeling results in a disregard of minor physical ailments, although hypochondriacal reactions may be observed in some.”55

The established fact of the polarization of the ethico-religious effects of war refutes the claims of those who contend that they are wholly negative, as well as the contention that they are entirely positive. Here are a few samples of such theories.

“War, an appeal to brute force, is always a degradation, a descent into animalism that demoralizes the victors as well as the vanquished. . . . It brutalizes a man, strips him of all really human ethics, turns him into a beast, and entirely demoralizes him.”56

“Neither circumstances nor human beings improve in times of peace; it is to war that we must look for progress. From a biological standpoint, aggressiveness has been a condition necessary for progress.” A long peace makes men extremely egoistic—devoid of courage, virility, altruism, and self-sacrifice. Effeminacy, idleness, and corruption are bred by peace.57

It is evident that both theories are thoroughly one-sided. The

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