THEORY OF CONFLICT

• NCJ Number: 63553
• Author(s): B CROZIER
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 263 pages
• Corporate Author: Charles Scribner's Sons
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: BOOK OUT OF PRINT

Annotation

THIS EXAMINATION OF CONFLICT ARGUES THAT THE STATE IS NECESSARY BUT THAT INTERNATIONAL AND INTERNAL CHALLENGES TO IT ARE INEVITABLE DUE TO FIVE AXIOMS OF HUMAN NATURE. EVENTS OF THE 1970'S ARE USED TO ILLUSTRATE THE THEORY.

Abstract

MAN BY NATURE IS OBSTINATELY UNEQUAL, AND THE FACT THAT HUMAN NATURE IS TAINTED WITH AGGRESSION AND ENVY ENSURES A STRUGGLE BETWEEN STRONG AND WEAK ELEMENTS IN A SOCIETY. THE STATE IS NECESSARY AND JUSTIFIABLE SINCE ITS PRESENCE IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE WEAK AND TO USE FORCE TO AVOID CONSTANT VIOLENCE. BUT BECAUSE STATES ARE NOT ALWAYS JUST, CITIZENS WILL REVOLT. THIS REBELLION IS JUSTIFIABLE WHEN THE STATE CLEARLY IS NOT DOING ANYTHING TO REMEDY INJUSTICES, IS UNNECESSARILY REPRESSIVE, OR ALLOWS NO OUTLET FOR NORMAL DISSENT. IN ANY CASE, SOME REBELLION, MAJOR OR MINOR, IS INEVITABLE SINCE (1) MAN IS INNATELY ENVIOUS AND AGGRESSIVE; (2) HIS NATURE IS NOT SUBJECT TO CHANGE, (3) HIS BEHAVIOR IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CHANGE FOR BETTER OR WORSE, (4) HE HAS AN OVERWHELMING NEED OF ORDER, AND (5) HUMAN PROGRESS IS DEPENDENT UPON FREE INQUIRY. USING THESE IDEAS AS A BASIS, THE BOOK GOES ON TO EXAMINE THE STATE AS FACT AND THEORY, DRAWING UPON THEORIES FROM ARISTOTLE TO J.S. MILLS AND THROUGH TO MARX AND HIS FOLLOWERS. THEN EVENTS IN THE 20TH CENTURY AND IN THE 1970'S IN PARTICULAR--LENIN'S POWER SEIZURE, FASCISM AND NAZISM, JAPANESE MILITARISM, TECHNOLOGICAL YIELDS OF WORLD WAR II, IRRELEVANCE OF THE UNITED NATIONS, THE GUERRILLA WARS OF VIETNAM, LATIN AMERICA, AND AFRICA, AND TERRORISM IN WESTERN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST--ARE VIEWED IN LIGHT OF THIS PHILOSOPHY. TECHNIQUES OF A REVOLUTION (TERRORISM, GUERRILLA WARFARE, FINAL OFFENSIVES), COUNTERMEASURES, AND REPRESSION BY THE STATE IN REACTION TO REBELLION ARE EXPLORED. THE FINAL SECTION USES PAST AND PRESENT EXAMPLES OF REVOLUTIONS AND JUDGES THEM BY THEIR LEADERS' STATED AIMS AND CLAIMS. PRECONDITIONS FOR A CONFLICT AND SUGGESTIONS FOR CONFLICT REDUCTION ARE PRESENTED. AN INDEX IS PROVIDED. (DAG)