Review Of William James 'Essay The Moral Equivalent Of War'

William James’ essay The Moral Equivalent of War is an attempt to impress upon the audience the way the positive virtues of war can be useful in founding a peaceful coexistence among nations, if realized in a positive and constructive way. War shapes hardihood of men, disciplines them, imparts in them endurance, valor, and a sense of pride. These are the positive virtues which can be put in bringing about peaceful and prosperous coexistence among diverse nations let alone a single country or nation. Commenting upon James focal point in his essay, Jane Roland Martin comments that James’s proposal is that, “ war of man against nature be substituted for that of man against man” (32) and further says that, “James' contribution to our understanding of peace and war lies not in the particular formula for peace he develops in ‘The Moral Equivalent of

His love of glory, pride and courage were directed to wreak havoc upon the enemies. But these horrors of war formed the aesthetic and romantic concept of war for, “The horrors make the fascination. War is the strong life; it is life in extremis; war taxes are the only ones men never hesitate to pay, as the budgets of all nations show us.” James’ psychological insight into the human love for war is further elaborated in his examples from the ancient Greek and Roman history. He tells how the stories in the great classical epics present exploits of war and its related horrors without sparing the minutest details. He points to a very important fact that wars spoil the intellectual capacity of a civilization when he says, “Greek history is a panorama of jingoism and imperialism --war for war’s sake, all the citizens being