CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>Pacifism - RationalWiki</title> <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":!1,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"Z-xeLBEMwwdkV0UqpgdkDwAAAEA","wgCSPNonce":!1,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":!1,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Pacifism","wgTitle":"Pacifism","wgCurRevisionId":2618005,"wgRevisionId":2618005,"wgArticleId":71779,"wgIsArticle":!0,"wgIsRedirect":!1,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Pages using DynamicPageList parser function","Philosophy","Bronze-level articles"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Pacifism","wgRelevantArticleId":71779,"wgIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[], "wgRedirectedFrom":"Peace","wgMediaViewerOnClick":!0,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":!0,"wgInternalRedirectTargetUrl":"/wiki/Pacifism"};RLSTATE={"site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles.legacy":"ready","mediawiki.toc.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["mediawiki.action.view.redirect","ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.legacy.js","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","mmv.head","mmv.bootstrap.autostart"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.options@1hzgi",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); });});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cmediawiki.toc.styles%7Cskins.vector.styles.legacy&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.35.6"/> <meta name="description" content="Pacifism is the opposition to violence as a means of settling disputes. This opposition may range from the belief in peaceful resolution of international conflicts to personal rejection of a tradition of violent activity."/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit"/> <link rel="edit" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="RationalWiki (en)"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="RationalWiki Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Pacifism"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="RationalWiki"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Pacifism"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Pacifism is the opposition to violence as a means of settling disputes. This opposition may range from the belief in peaceful resolution of international conflicts to personal rejection of a tradition of violent activity."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Pacifism"/>  </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Pacifism rootpage-Pacifism skin-vector action-view minerva--history-page-action-enabled skin-vector-legacy"> <div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"> <a id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice" class="mw-body-content"><div id="localNotice" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div id="2025_RationalWiki_.27Oregon_Plan.27_Fundraiser"> <table role="presentation" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width: 60%; text-align: left;"><big><center><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">2025 RationalWiki 'Oregon Plan' Fundraiser</a></b></center></big> <p><b>There is no RationalWiki without you.</b> We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. We will never allow ads because we must remain independent. We cannot rely on big donors with corresponding big agendas. We are not the largest website around, but <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">we believe we play an important role in defending truth and objectivity</a>. </p> </td> <td style="width: 40%; text-align: center;"><big><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">Fighting pseudoscience isn't free</a>.<br />We are 100% user-supported! Help and donate $5, $10, $20 or whatever you can today with <img alt="PayPal Logo.png" src="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/61px-PayPal_Logo.png" decoding="async" width="61" height="17" srcset="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/92px-PayPal_Logo.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/122px-PayPal_Logo.png 2x" data-file-width="883" data-file-height="244" />!</b></big><a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=67BJMQC85CUFW" title="Donate via PayPal" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/100px-DonateButton.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="32" srcset="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/150px-DonateButton.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/200px-DonateButton.png 2x" data-file-width="759" data-file-height="241" /></a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div role="progressbar" style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; position: relative; padding: 2px; border-radius: 18px;"> <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; left: 0%; margin: 0 0 0 10px"><b>Donations so far: $8765.50</b></span></a><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; right: 0%; margin: 0 10px 0 0"><b>Goal: $10000</b></span></a><div style="height: 28px; border-radius: 14px; background-color: hsl(70.124,100%,45%); width: 87.655%;"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div class="mw-indicators mw-body-content"> <div id="mw-indicator-bronze" class="mw-indicator"><a href="/wiki/Category:Bronze-level_articles" title="Category:Bronze-level articles"><img alt="Bronze-level article" src="/w/images/thumb/3/3d/Copperbrain.png/25px-Copperbrain.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="25" style="vertical-align: baseline" srcset="/w/images/thumb/3/3d/Copperbrain.png/38px-Copperbrain.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/3/3d/Copperbrain.png/50px-Copperbrain.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="800" /></a></div> </div> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading" lang="en">Pacifism</h1> <div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content"> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From RationalWiki</div> <div id="contentSub"><span class="mw-redirectedfrom">(Redirected from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Peace&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Peace">Peace</a>)</span></div> <div id="contentSub2"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav"></div> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#mw-head">Jump to navigation</a> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#searchInput">Jump to search</a> <div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><table class="infobox" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #47374a; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#47374a"><b>Thinking hardly<br />or hardly thinking?</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy"><font size="4" color="White"><b>Philosophy</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#f8feff;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Philosophy" title="Category:Philosophy"><img alt="Icon philosophy.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/d/d0/Icon_philosophy.svg/100px-Icon_philosophy.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/d/d0/Icon_philosophy.svg/150px-Icon_philosophy.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/d/d0/Icon_philosophy.svg/200px-Icon_philosophy.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#47374a; text-align:center;"><b>Major trains of thought</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#f8feff;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Logic" title="Logic">Logic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Morality" title="Morality">Morality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reality" title="Reality">Reality</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#47374a; text-align:center;"><b>The good, the bad,<br />and the brain fart</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#f8feff;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dualism" title="Dualism">Dualism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reality" title="Reality">Reality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophy_of_religion" title="Philosophy of religion">Philosophy of religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-Overlapping_Magisteria" title="Non-Overlapping Magisteria">Non-Overlapping Magisteria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utopia" title="Utopia">Utopia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Intellectual_honesty" title="Intellectual honesty">Intellectual honesty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anti-Oedipus" title="Anti-Oedipus">Anti-Oedipus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fallibilism" title="Fallibilism">Fallibilism</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#47374a; text-align:center;"><b>Come to think of it</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#f8feff;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">Science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophy_of_science" title="Philosophy of science">Philosophy of science</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethics" class="mw-redirect" title="Ethics">Ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology">Psychology</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Philosophy" title="Template:Philosophy">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Philosophy" title="Template talk:Philosophy">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Philosophy&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Pacifism</b> is the opposition to violence as a means of settling disputes. This opposition may range from the belief in peaceful resolution of <a href="/wiki/War" title="War">international conflicts</a> to personal rejection of a tradition of violent activity. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Definitions"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Definitions</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Some_well-known_pacifists"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Some well-known pacifists</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Pacifist_movements"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Pacifist movements</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Religious"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Religious</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Secular"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Secular</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Pacifists_in_war"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Pacifists in war</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#Phoney_pacifists"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Phoney pacifists</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#Criticisms"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Criticisms</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#Influence_on_children.27s_television"><span class="tocnumber">6.1</span> <span class="toctext">Influence on children's television</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="#Pacifist_bashing"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Pacifist bashing</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Definitions">Definitions</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Definitions">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>While pacifism is defined as "opposition to war" or "opposition to violence," some militarists have attempted to say that they are pacifists because they prevent violence by being violent, e.g. the U.S. Air Force motto "Peace is Our Profession." (See <i><a href="/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four" title="Nineteen Eighty-Four">Nineteen Eighty-Four</a></i>.) </p><p>A common question that is used in attempt to trip up pacifists is "What would you do if you found a man raping your wife?" It is widely and erroneously believed that the "correct" pacifist answer to this gotcha question would be to either do nothing or to try to interpose oneself between the parties. Some pacifists, therefore, choose a different self-definition where pacifism is <i>the refusal to prepare for war or for acts of violence</i>. This definition addresses the attempt to trap people into the culture of violence by giving a different answer to the old draft board question, namely "I don't know. But I do know this: I will not own a gun or make other preparations to do violence to another human being." This kind of pacifism is, probably, more widespread and palatable to the masses than the classic definition. </p><p>Some philosophies, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohism" class="extiw" title="wp:Mohism" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Mohism">Mohism</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, oppose wars of aggression but firmly support violence in self-defence; likewise since the Kellogg–Briand Pact in the 1930s and enshrined in the international system around the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>, wars of aggression are against international law but most nations reserve the right to fight in defence of themselves or their allies.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> However active preparation for self-defence or fighting a defensive war is not normally considered compatible with pacifism. </p><p>Pacifism does not necessarily imply nonresistance. Nonviolent activists did not, for example, do nothing while the <a href="/wiki/Nazis" class="mw-redirect" title="Nazis">Nazis</a> rounded up <a href="/wiki/Jews" class="mw-redirect" title="Jews">Jews</a> for the concentration camps and, in fact, Quakers (see below) helped many Jews flee <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> before the beginning of hostilities between the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> and Germany. The use of the Holocaust as a rebuttal point against pacifism becomes, in this context, a <a href="/wiki/Straw_man" title="Straw man">straw man</a> argument: pacifists do not endorse doing nothing; they create resistance without guns or other tools of manslaughter. </p><p>Politicians who apply pacifism to situations such as conflict are frequently know as having 'Dovish' policies as apposed to the opposite term. 'Hawkish' </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Some_well-known_pacifists">Some well-known pacifists</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Some well-known pacifists">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li>Mohandas Gandhi</li> <li>Tenzin Gyatso: Current <a href="/wiki/Dalai_Lama" title="Dalai Lama">Dalai Lama</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[note 1]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jesus" title="Jesus">Jesus</a>: But you wouldn't know it today from some of His purported followers.</li> <li>Robert LeFevre: An otherwise influential early <a href="/wiki/Libertarian" class="mw-redirect" title="Libertarian">libertarian</a> theorist whose pacifism has not particularly carried over into the modern libertarian movement.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr." class="mw-redirect" title="Martin Luther King, Jr.">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bertrand_Russell" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi" title="Aung San Suu Kyi">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>, except when it comes to violence affecting Rohingya people.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dennis_Kucinich" title="Dennis Kucinich">Dennis Kucinich</a> has proposed a new US Department of Peace.</li> <li>Norman Thomas: several-time <a href="/wiki/Socialist_Party_USA" title="Socialist Party USA">Socialist Party</a> candidate for President of the United States</li> <li>Leo Tolstoy: <a href="/wiki/Russian" class="mw-redirect" title="Russian">Russian</a> writer and <a href="/wiki/Anarchist" class="mw-redirect" title="Anarchist">anarchist</a>, who influenced the development of Gandhi's passive resistance.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[note 2]</a></sup></li> <li>Guillermo del Toro: <a href="/wiki/Atheist" class="mw-redirect" title="Atheist">Atheist</a>, writer, and <a href="/wiki/Films" class="mw-redirect" title="Films">film</a> producer/director. Wears some huge <a href="/wiki/Irony" title="Irony">irony</a> blinkers because of the violent nature of some of his movies.</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Pacifist_movements">Pacifist movements</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Pacifist movements">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Religious">Religious</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Religious">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a> is known for its strong emphasis on pacifism. Thich Nhat Hanh, the <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnamese</a> Buddhist monk, was a member of the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Accords and was nominated for the <a href="/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prize" class="mw-redirect" title="Nobel Peace Prize">Nobel Peace Prize</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Society_of_Friends" title="Society of Friends">Society of Friends</a> (aka Quakers) are the most well-known pacifist <a href="/wiki/Christian" class="mw-redirect" title="Christian">Christian</a> group, affirming their pacifism as early as the <a href="/wiki/English_Civil_War" title="English Civil War">English Civil War</a>. Some Quakers have been prosecuted for their opposition to war and <a href="/wiki/MIC" class="mw-redirect" title="MIC">militarism</a>. In the United States, they had great influence on the creation of conscientious objector provisions in the now-abolished draft laws, and many of the Quakers and other pacifists drafted for the <a href="/wiki/Vietnam_War" title="Vietnam War">Vietnam War</a> consequently either served their commitments in non-military organizations or in nonviolent military roles, e.g. as combat medics. The colony of <a href="/wiki/Pennsylvania" class="mw-redirect" title="Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania</a> was founded by Quakers who managed fairly peaceful dealings with the natives until the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War" class="extiw" title="wp:French and Indian War" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: French and Indian War">French and Indian War</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>. In the UK they have been active in campaigning against the arms trade.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[3]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[4]</a></sup> Other "peace churches" include the Mennonites, Hutterites, <a href="/wiki/Amish" title="Amish">Amish</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventism" title="Seventh-day Adventism">Seventh-day Adventists</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses" title="Jehovah's Witnesses">Jehovah's Witnesses</a> have been jailed throughout their history for rejecting conscription of any form, even as noncombatant conscientious objectors. In addition they don't believe in blood transfusions, so they can't be medics.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christian_pacifism" title="Christian pacifism">Christian pacifism</a> in general.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jainism" title="Jainism">Jainism</a> is so peace-loving that its adherents refuse to kill the smallest <a href="/wiki/Animal" title="Animal">animal</a>, even a <a href="/wiki/Mowse" class="mw-redirect" title="Mowse">mowse</a>. They are even afraid of farming because it might kill organisms in the soil. Aww. :)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sikh" class="mw-redirect" title="Sikh">Sikhs</a> <i>might</i> be considered pacifists. Though their faith requires them (the men, anyway) to carry at least a ceremonial weapon at all times, they adhere to the same principle of <i>ahimsa</i> (nonviolence) as the <a href="/wiki/Jain" class="mw-redirect" title="Jain">Jains</a>, though in a <a href="/wiki/Utilitarian" class="mw-redirect" title="Utilitarian">utilitarian</a> interpretation rather than the Jains' <a href="/wiki/Deontology" class="mw-redirect" title="Deontology">deontological</a> one. The Sikh view of nonviolence rests on minimizing the consequences of violence that actually occurs, rather than absolutely avoiding a particular individual's participation in it.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ra%C3%ABlism" title="Raëlism">Raëlism</a> is included in <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a>'s article on pacifist religions. Because of course it is. Apparently, "even if the Elohim asked them to kill someone they should refuse."<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[5]</a></sup></li></ul> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Secular">Secular</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Secular">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Campaign_for_Nuclear_Disarmament" title="Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament">Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament</a> was the major anti-<a href="/wiki/Nuclear_weapons" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear weapons">nuclear weapons</a> movement in the West during the <a href="/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a>.</li> <li><i>Welsh v. United States</i> (1970) decided that <a href="/wiki/Atheist" class="mw-redirect" title="Atheist">atheists</a> could claim <a href="/wiki/Conscription" title="Conscription">conscientious objector status</a>.</li> <li>A peace movement flourished in Europe and North America after the Napoleonic Wars concluded in 1815. This included the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Peace_Society" class="extiw" title="wp:New York Peace Society" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: New York Peace Society">New York Peace Society</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> (founded 1815) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Peace_Society" class="extiw" title="wp:London Peace Society" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: London Peace Society">London Peace Society</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> (1816), and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Peace_Congress" class="extiw" title="wp:International Peace Congress" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: International Peace Congress">International Peace Congress</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> in London in 1843. However the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a> and Crimean War dampened their prospects.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[6]</a></sup></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Pacifists_in_war">Pacifists in war</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Pacifists in war">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Historically, pacifists have not been unwilling to walk the battlefields. During <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>, for example, Quakers and other pacifists organized ambulance corps that patrolled no man's land and took the wounded to the hospital. This kind of activity was thwarted during <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> by the Starnes Rider which prohibited pacifists from participating in battlefield rescue efforts. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Phoney_pacifists">Phoney pacifists</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Phoney pacifists">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Most religions appear to embody some pacifist principles. <a href="/wiki/Christian" class="mw-redirect" title="Christian">Christians</a> and <a href="/wiki/Judaism" title="Judaism">Jews</a> are supposed to obey the <a href="/wiki/Ten_Commandments" title="Ten Commandments">Sixth Commandment</a> ("thou shalt not kill"), and Jesus arguably advanced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/turning_the_other_cheek" class="extiw" title="wp:turning the other cheek" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: turning the other cheek">turning the other cheek</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, but only a minority translate that into actual pacifism. Hindus subscribe to <i>ahimsa</i>, doing no harm, but the Rig Veda explains that war is OK as long as you shoot people in the front with non-poisoned arrows.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[7]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Criticisms">Criticisms</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Criticisms">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span><a href="/wiki/Hitler" class="mw-redirect" title="Hitler">Hitler</a> killed five million Jews. It is the greatest crime of our time. But the Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher’s knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs… It would have aroused the world and the people of Germany… As it is they succumbed anyway in their millions.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Gandhi, 1946, Interview with Louis Fischer<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[8]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Edmund Burke</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Pacifism is not something to hide behind.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Walter Sobchak</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><br /> Pacifism, though often considered an unassailable position on <a href="/wiki/Morality" title="Morality">morality</a>, is not without its critics. <a href="/wiki/Sam_Harris" title="Sam Harris">Sam Harris</a> believes pacifism is a system which allows millions to die for the hope that they might receive some benefit in the next life or that one day their murderers might doubt the goodness of their actions.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[9]</a></sup> Such a system of course only gets worse as it becomes more prevalent, and those without moral scruples have more opportunity to continue their actions unopposed. In this way, a single <a href="/wiki/Sociopath" class="mw-redirect" title="Sociopath">sociopath</a> with a knife could, in a world of pacifists, kill or force into hiding every other being on the planet without meeting any material opposition. </p><p>It has also been criticized as an inadvertent tool in the oppression of minorities, specifically being criticized as a system which advocates that those suffering under <a href="/wiki/Racism" title="Racism">racism</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sexism" title="Sexism">sexism</a>, or other forms of oppression in a society should merely peacefully protest and wait for their overlords to give them <a href="/wiki/Equal_rights" class="mw-redirect" title="Equal rights">equal rights</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[10]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> was an especially difficult time for pacifists, leaving them in the position to either support a conflict that would lead to the deaths of nearly a hundred million people, or let the <a href="/wiki/Nazis" class="mw-redirect" title="Nazis">Nazis</a> have a <i>carte blanche</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[note 3]</a></sup> </p><p>Even Gene Sharp, a major <a href="/wiki/Academic" class="mw-redirect" title="Academic">academic</a> figure usually associated with pacifism, has expressed qualms about the very terminology itself, preferring to use terms like "non-violent conflict" instead.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[note 4]</a></sup> The criticism here being that pacifism is more often than not presented as a moralistic and ethical principle that tends to conjure up feel-good <a href="/wiki/Idealism" title="Idealism">idealism</a> (if not <a href="/wiki/Utopia" title="Utopia">utopian</a> visions). And yet according to him, such a <a href="/wiki/Worldview" title="Worldview">worldview</a> disregards the socio-cultural contexts on the ground, the nature of power<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[note 5]</a></sup> and pragmatic realities like logistics, planning, organizing and so on; in other words, one doesn't have to even <i>believe</i> in pacifist ideals to use non-violence.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[11]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span id="Influence_on_children's_television"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Influence_on_children.27s_television">Influence on children's television</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Influence on children's television">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>During the late 1960s and 1970s, a lobbying group called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_for_Children%27s_Television" class="extiw" title="wp:Action for Children's Television" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Action for Children's Television">Action for Children's Television</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> launched an extended <a href="/wiki/Moral_panic" title="Moral panic">moral panic</a> about "violence" in children's cartoons. By the early 1970s, the group had succeeded in driving <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Ghost" class="extiw" title="wp:Space Ghost" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Space Ghost"><i>Space Ghost</i></span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Herculoids" class="extiw" title="wp:The Herculoids" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: The Herculoids"><i>The Herculoids</i></span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, <i>The Fantastic Four</i>, and many other superhero cartoons off the air.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">[12]</a></sup> They were replaced by cartoons such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo" class="extiw" title="wp:Scooby-Doo" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Scooby-Doo"><i>Scooby-Doo</i></span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, which featured a familiar plot device in which a fearsome <a href="/wiki/Ghost" title="Ghost">ghost</a> or monster in a horror fiction scenario always turned out to be a merely mortal miscreant unmasked in the final scene. When superheroes finally returned in the 1970s in the form of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Superfriends" class="extiw" title="wp:The Superfriends" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: The Superfriends"><i>The Superfriends</i></span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, they appeared in a curiously bowdlerized form, where even Superman was not allowed to <b>punch</b> anybody, and the villains were likewise forbidden from threatening to kill anyone.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[13]</a></sup> </p><p>During the <a href="/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" title="Ronald Reagan">Reagan administration</a>, <a href="/wiki/Deregulation" title="Deregulation">deregulation</a> led to a renaissance in children's animation with more adventuresome themes, starting with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kirby" class="extiw" title="wp:Jack Kirby" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Jack Kirby">Jack Kirby</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Toth" class="extiw" title="wp:Alex Toth" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Alex Toth">Alex Toth</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> designed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thundarr_the_Barbarian" class="extiw" title="wp:Thundarr the Barbarian" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Thundarr the Barbarian"><i>Thundarr the Barbarian</i></span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He-Man_and_the_Masters_of_the_Universe" class="extiw" title="wp:He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe"><i>He-Man and the Masters of the Universe</i></span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>. He-Man and Thundarr were at least allowed to punch the bad guys, although they never disembowelled anybody with their signature magic swords.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">[14]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Pacifist_bashing">Pacifist bashing</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Pacifist bashing">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>...voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of <a href="/wiki/Patriotism" title="Patriotism">patriotism</a> and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Hermann_Goering" class="mw-redirect" title="Hermann Goering">Hermann Goering</a><sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[15]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In what should come as no surprise, anti-pacificism is sometimes taken to absurd levels, especially by those <a href="/wiki/Jingoism" title="Jingoism">eager to go to war</a>, for whatever reason. A favorite pastime of "pacifist bashers" is to treat pacifists like <a href="/wiki/Liberal_boogeymen" class="mw-redirect" title="Liberal boogeymen">boogeymen</a> who want to <a href="/wiki/Nationalism" title="Nationalism">weaken the nation</a> to both foreign and domestic threats. This is fairly common in <a href="/wiki/Authoritarian" class="mw-redirect" title="Authoritarian">authoritarian</a> governments but it may happen in open <a href="/wiki/Democracies" class="mw-redirect" title="Democracies">democracies</a> as well, especially among the hard-right. The political influence of pacifists may also be exaggerated, which is a cowardly tactic since pacifists do not have all that much influence in politics. In America it is common for <a href="/wiki/Wingnut" title="Wingnut">wingnuts</a> to conflate <a href="/wiki/Liberalism" title="Liberalism">liberalism</a> with "<a href="/wiki/Snarl_word" class="mw-redirect" title="Snarl word">pacifism</a>," which ignores the fact that most, if not nearly all, liberals are not pacifists; they're just less hawkish than <a href="/wiki/Neoconservative" class="mw-redirect" title="Neoconservative">neoconservatives</a>. </p><p>One may also notice that those who foam at the mouth over pacifists often forget to mention many of the above listed pacifists (especially MLK), and that many pacifists who were drafted in both World Wars served as medics, one of the most dangerous jobs in the field. Also, <a href="/wiki/Ike" class="mw-redirect" title="Ike">Ike</a>. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Passive_resistance" class="mw-redirect" title="Passive resistance">Passive resistance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Isolationism" title="Isolationism">Isolationism</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">There is some controversy whether he is pacifist. Some critics say that he wants to enslave <a href="/wiki/Tibet" title="Tibet">Tibet</a> if it got free (<i><a href="/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller:_Bullshit!" title="Penn & Teller: Bullshit!">Penn & Teller: Bullshit!</a></i>). However, he <i>has</i> acknowledged that the Lamas' "getting their corrupt asses kicked out of Tibet" was a <a href="/wiki/Karma" title="Karma">karmic</a> correction, to be welcomed by the <i>Sangha</i> (lost in the mists of absfg, a Usenet "alt" newsgroup).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">This is hilarious in many ways: When <i>War and Peace</i> was published in 1869 it was largely criticized by the Russian <a href="/wiki/Left" class="mw-redirect" title="Left">left</a> for <a href="/wiki/Romanticism" title="Romanticism">romanticizing</a> the <a href="/wiki/Tsar" title="Tsar">Tsars</a>, and at the same time praised by military generals for depicting an <a href="/wiki/Art" title="Art">artful</a> depiction of war. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.shmoop.com/war-and-peace/themes.html">Neither of them probably read the full thousand pages.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Take <a href="/wiki/Albert_Einstein" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a>, also well-known for his pacifist beliefs, who was <a href="/wiki/File:Einstein-cartoon1.jpg" title="File:Einstein-cartoon1.jpg">mocked</a> by those who believed he engaged in a <a href="/wiki/Double_standard" class="mw-redirect" title="Double standard">double standard</a> by warning the <a href="/wiki/US" class="mw-redirect" title="US">US</a> of what Hitler represented.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">According to him, there would still be struggles and wars even in a world without violence</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-15">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Which for Sharp is less Mahatma Gandhi and more <a href="/wiki/Machiavelli" class="mw-redirect" title="Machiavelli">Machiavelli</a>.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mohism/">Mohism</a>, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_aggression" class="extiw" title="wp:War of aggression" rel="nofollow">War of aggression</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.quaker.org.uk/our-work/peace/arms-trade">Ending the Arms Trade</a>, Quakers in Britain website, accessed Oct 25, 2019</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://twitter.com/disarmquaker">Peace and Disarmament</a>, @disarmquaker, Twitter</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacifism" class="extiw" title="wp:Pacifism" rel="nofollow">Pacifism</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacifism" class="extiw" title="wp:Pacifism" rel="nofollow">Pacifism</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/hinduethics/war.shtml">Hinduism and war</a>, BBC Religions, 2005-07-04</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/303/gandhi,_his_grandson,_israel,_and_the_jews">Gandhi, his Grandson, Israel, and the Jews</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Harris, Sam (2004). <i>The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason</i>. W.W. Norton & Company.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://diybandits.com/2009/05/in-defense-of-revolutionary-violence/">"In Defense of Revolutionary Violence"</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/201112113179492201.html">Though ironically, he had a harder time convincing pacifists themselves on this.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-17">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=episode-guides/t-tnaos">"The New Adventures of Superman"</a>, <i>The Superman Homepage</i>, accessed Nov. 7, 2017.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">"“One Dimensional Goodness: The Super Friends and the Good Old Days” ", special creator commentary feature on DVD, <i>The All New Superfriends Hour: Season 1, Volume 1</i> (Warner Brothers, 2008)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-19">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Hollis, Tim (2001). <i>Hi there, boys and girls! : America's local children's TV shows.</i> Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. p. 20. ISBN 1578063965.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.snopes.com/quotes/goering.asp">The full quote</a> on Snopes</span> </li> </ol></div></div>    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&oldid=2618005">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&oldid=2618005</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Philosophy" title="Category:Philosophy">Philosophy</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Bronze-level_articles" title="Category:Bronze-level articles">Bronze-level articles</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden category: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_using_DynamicPageList_parser_function" title="Category:Pages using DynamicPageList parser function">Pages using DynamicPageList parser function</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-navigation"> <h2>Navigation menu</h2> <div id="mw-head">  <nav id="p-personal" class="vector-menu" aria-labelledby="p-personal-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-personal-label"> <span>Personal tools</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="pt-anonuserpage">Not logged in</li><li id="pt-anontalk"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n">Talk</a></li><li id="pt-anoncontribs"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y">Contributions</a></li><li id="pt-createaccount"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Pacifism" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory">Create account</a></li><li id="pt-login"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Pacifism" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o">Log in</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="left-navigation">  <nav id="p-namespaces" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-namespaces-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-namespaces-label"> <span>Namespaces</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected"><a href="/wiki/Pacifism" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c">Page</a></li><li id="ca-talk"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Pacifism" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t">Talk</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-variants" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" /> <h3 id="p-variants-label"> <span>Variants</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation">  <nav id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-views-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-views-label"> <span>Views</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-view" class="collapsible selected"><a href="/wiki/Pacifism">Read</a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e">Edit</a></li><li id="ca-history" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h">Fossil record</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" /> <h3 id="p-cactions-label"> <span>More</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="p-search" role="search"> <h3 > <label for="searchInput">Search</label> </h3> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform"> <div id="simpleSearch"> <input type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search RationalWiki" title="Search RationalWiki [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput"/> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> <input type="submit" name="fulltext" value="Search" title="Search the pages for this text" id="mw-searchButton" class="searchButton mw-fallbackSearchButton"/> <input type="submit" name="go" value="Go" title="Go to a page with this exact name if it exists" id="searchButton" class="searchButton"/> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-panel"> <div id="p-logo" role="banner"> <a title="Visit the main page" class="mw-wiki-logo" href="/wiki/Main_Page"></a> </div>  <nav id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal portal-first" aria-labelledby="p-navigation-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-navigation-label"> <span>Navigation</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-mainpage-description"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z">Main page</a></li><li id="n-recentchanges"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r">Recent changes</a></li><li id="n-randompage"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random mainspace article [x]" accesskey="x">Random page</a></li><li id="n-New-pages"><a href="/wiki/Special:NewPages">New pages</a></li><li id="n-All-logs"><a href="/wiki/Special:Log">All logs</a></li><li id="n-help"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="RTFM">Help</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-support" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-support-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-support-label"> <span>Support</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Donate"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Site_support">Donate</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-community" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-community-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-community-label"> <span>Community</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Saloon-bar"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Saloon_bar">Saloon bar</a></li><li id="n-To-do-list"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:To_do_list">To do list</a></li><li id="n-What-is-going-on.3F"><a href="/wiki/WIGO">What is going on?</a></li><li id="n-Best-of-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Contents">Best of RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-About-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki">About RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-Technical-support"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Technical_support">Technical support</a></li><li id="n-Mod-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:All_things_in_moderation">Mod noticeboard</a></li><li id="n-RMF-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:RationalMedia_Foundation">RMF noticeboard</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-Social media" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-Social media-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-Social media-label"> <span>Social media</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Twitter"><a href="https://twitter.com/RationalWiki" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></li><li id="n-Mastodon"><a href="https://mstdn.social/@rationalwiki" rel="nofollow">Mastodon</a></li><li id="n-Facebook"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rationalwiki/226614404019306" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></li><li id="n-Discord"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Discord">Discord</a></li><li id="n-Reddit"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Reddit">Reddit</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-tb" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-tb-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-tb-label"> <span>Tools</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="t-whatlinkshere"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Pacifism" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j">What links here</a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Pacifism" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k">Related changes</a></li><li id="t-specialpages"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q">Special pages</a></li><li id="t-print"><a href="javascript:print();" rel="alternate" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p">Printable version</a></li><li id="t-permalink"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&oldid=2618005" title="Permanent link to this revision of the page">Permanent link</a></li><li id="t-info"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pacifism&action=info" title="More information about this page">Page information</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" role="contentinfo" > <ul id="footer-info" > <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 16 January 2024, at 22:21.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Unless explicitly noted otherwise, all content licensed as indicated by <a name="Copyright" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights">RationalWiki:Copyrights</a>. <br> For concerns on copyright infringement please see: <a name="Copyright infringement" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyright_violations">RationalWiki:Copyright violations</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places" > <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Privacy_policy" title="RationalWiki:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:About" class="mw-redirect" title="RationalWiki:About">About RationalWiki</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimer"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:General_disclaimer" title="RationalWiki:General disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"><img src="/w/88x31.png" alt="CC-BY-SA 3.0, or any later version" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> </ul> <div style="clear: both;"></div> </footer> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.107","walltime":"0.249","ppvisitednodes":{"value":1327,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":15642,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":3705,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":10,"limit":40},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":100},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":7913,"limit":5000000},"timingprofile":["100.00% 212.248 1 -total"," 77.72% 164.952 2 Template:Reflist"," 12.56% 26.652 1 Template:Philosophy"," 9.82% 20.839 1 Template:Navsidebar"," 7.81% 16.575 2 Template:Navsidebar2"," 7.02% 14.897 1 Template:Randomarticles"," 2.09% 4.433 1 Template:Bronze"," 1.94% 4.125 15 Template:Wpl"," 1.67% 3.551 4 Template:Cquote"," 1.09% 2.310 3 Template:Wpa"]},"cachereport":{"origin":"apache5","timestamp":"20250401214412","ttl":86400,"transientcontent":false}}});mw.config.set({"wgBackendResponseTime":360,"wgHostname":"apache5"});});</script></body></html>