The Futility of Peace

I have been reflecting on ‘types of power‘ recently, which has tipped me into thinking about peace. Some power is defined internally, by our ability to influence or command, whilst another type is defined in opposition: by holding the contrary view, we may hold a certain type of power. Conflict feels inevitable: when worldviews collide, when dogma meets fact, when cultures collide, when self interest differs.

We tend to tip to argument before debate: perhaps debate requires a humility to relinquish control of the story, whilst argument reinforces our position through a type of internal validity: i assert, thus believe, thus am validated. All the better if you believe in me. Losing an argument does not simply mean losing control of ‘facts’, it reflects a diminution of corresponding power too.