Disarmament | The Suicide Spiral

By what right do states and their so-called representatives presume to close borders and prohibit young men from leaving because they don't want to die or want to shoot other men? This happened recently in Ukraine, for example. And after the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, wouldn't Israeli politicians have had other options to fight the terrorists than to let innocent civilians die and suffer? Norwegian journalist and sociologist Linn Stalsberg poses such questions in her angry "Essay on Peace."

"Israel is destroying Gaza to crush Hamas. But at the same time, so much more is being destroyed: the hope for a future of peaceful coexistence in the Middle East, the belief in a two-state solution, trust in the authority of the United Nations, and what we like to think of as the modern idea of ​​the worth and dignity of all human beings." She wrote this before the now impending ceasefire in the Middle East, which will hopefully hold.

The title of this book is also a fundamental confession: "War is contempt for life." Stalsberg desperately wonders where the peace movements that organized mass demonstrations in earlier years have disappeared. She looks back and delves into the history of pacifist protests and forms of resistance in the 20th century, provides an overview of religions, ideologies, and political movements that promote peace, and quotes US President and former World War II general Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower, who, upon his departure in January 1961, warned of the "military-industrial complex": "Every rifle manufactured, every warship launched, every missile fired represents a theft from those who are hungry and have nothing to eat, and from those who are cold and have no clothing."

Stalsberg explores the social roots of violence. Peace will come as soon as capitalism is abolished, it was once said in the organized labor movement. "To function, capitalism depends on the constant demand for goods," writes Stalsberg, "and the arms industry has the advantage that, in a world where wars are constantly being waged and where we place our security in armed hands, the demand for weapons never dries up." This does not mean that capitalism actively seeks war, the author argues. "But for capitalism as a system, war or the threat of war, rearmament, and the arms industry are economic advantages."

Stalsberg deals with war propaganda and lobbying. She opposes female conscription, arguing that it does not lead to women's liberation but rather reinforces male dominance. "Female conscription may be good for gender equality: equal opportunities to kill and die in war or to be drafted as a soldier. But for women's liberation, which represents a much higher goal than equality, it represents a significant setback." A setback for the peace movement and "a slap in the face to all those women who have stood up for peace throughout history."

In the penultimate chapter, "War in Times of Climate Crisis," Stalsberg provides shocking figures: In 2022, global military spending was estimated at $2,240 billion (just under two trillion euros), accounting for approximately 2.2 percent of global gross national product. "According to the World Food Programme, 12 percent of this amount would be enough to end global hunger." And a comprehensive study in the journal "Nature Climate Change" found that "the emission reductions needed to keep global warming below two degrees" would require roughly the same amount of money spent on armaments worldwide.

Stalsberg has written an angry book against the brash zeitgeist of a time of rearmament. A book that shifts perspectives, reminds us of both peacemakers and war resisters, and aims to galvanize us into the present. She relies on reason, but finds herself primarily oblivious to the irrationality of ruling political circles. "It's hard to comprehend that in an era in which the world is threatened by climate change, which threatens all life, we are spending vast sums on the development of weapons that destroy people and the environment. It's as if humanity has unconsciously entered a kind of suicide spiral in which war and the climate crisis reinforce each other."

Linn Stalsberg tries to write against widespread apathy and powerlessness, to rouse people to action. She insists that war is not part of human nature and that it is in all of our hands to stand up and fight back loudly.

Linn Stalsberg: War is Contempt for Life. An Essay on Peace. Translated from Norwegian by Andreas Donat. Kommode-Verlag, 312 pp., hardcover, €24.