La pace come bene comune globale

Abstract

The control of private, collective and public violence has been a major concern of social and political philosophy since antiquity. Contrary to widespread public perceptions, modern historical and statistical research supports the hypothesis of a decrease in private violence whenever states have acquired a sufficient degree of monopoly over legitimate violence. After the end of World War II, the division of the world into two blocs each armed with nuclear weapons prevented the outbreak of a Third World War. After the February 22, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the possibility of a new war involving much of the world cannot be ruled out, and peace movements are trying to mobilize public opinion against this outcome. The intentional or accidental or mistaken use of nuclear weapons and a possible planet-wide military escalation are not to be ruled out. The author believes that only a monopoly on the use of nuclear weapons by a reformed United Nations Organization could avoid the risk of collective suicide of all humanity.