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"non violent societies is a relatively recent phenomenon" There has always been war waged somewhere since humanity has been capable of defining the word "war".

"non violent societies is a relatively recent phenomenon" There has always been war waged somewhere since humanity has been capable of defining the word "war". There have never been non violent societies, recently or otherwise. Can you name a country or society or population that has not been involved in a war within the - say - last 100 years?

manmal 3y ago
Switzerland.
- gerdesj 3y ago
  I have a brother in law from Switzerland from a previous relationship. His family were very involved in WW2. Have another roll.
  - dukeyukey 3y ago
    A person from a country being involved in a war doesn't mean the country itself was.
  - manmal 3y ago
    The question was about countries, not individuals.
- DyslexicAtheist 3y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold
  - manmal 3y ago
    To me that’s vile and all, but not “involved in a war”.
- SllX 3y ago
  Switzerland did shoot down both Allied and German aircraft in World War II that trespassed their airspace. Neutral doesn’t mean non-violent. They weren’t one of the belligerents engaged in WWII but they did defend their neutrality and were a target of actions by the Nazis that didn’t amount to much by the end of the War.
  - manmal 3y ago
    Appreciate the subtleness of the distinction you are making, I fully agree there.
m_eiman 3y ago
Sweden. Switzerland? There was a civilization in South America whose city/cities didn’t have defensive structures, don’t remember the name though. Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav%C3%ADn_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav%C3%ADn_culture Warfare does not seem to have been a significant element in Chavín culture. The archaeological evidence shows a lack of basic defensive structures in Chavín centres, and warriors are not depicted in art, in notable contrast to the earlier art at Cerro Sechín. Effective social control may have been exercised by religious pressure, and the ability to exclude dissidents from managed water resources. The climate and terrain of the neighbouring areas outside the managed land were a daunting option for farmers wishing to flee the culture. Evidence of warfare has been found only in contemporaneous sites that were not influenced by Chavín culture, almost as if those other civilizations were defending themselves via warfare from Chavín cultural influence.
- DyslexicAtheist 3y ago
  Switzerland doesn't count being one of the main beneficiaries of Nazi ideologies and literally hording the gold that used to be part of the teeth of the jews getting killed in concentration camps. Nazi Gold is a synonym to Swiss banking. A visit to Auschwitz or Mauthausen might help to get some perspective. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold
  - zdragnar 3y ago
    Don't forget the fights between the Protestants and Catholics, including the second war of Kappel
  - anon84873628 3y ago
    Plus I'm not convinced you can carve out any individual European country and call it a "society" in this context.
- gerdesj 3y ago
  Sweden are joining NATO right now due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and so did Finland. Both of them border Russia and did not join NATO in the past to try and avoid any form of escalation. Switzerland may have been formally neutral during WW2 but some individuals had other ideas. Was Switzerland neutral through WW1? My 100 years thing goes back to 1924, so post 1914-18.
usrusr 3y ago
Easy: Switzerland comes to mind for example, unless you also count as involvement looming starvation from supply chain issues and accidentally getting bombed due to navigation failure and/or preventing that by violent means. How many of the Caribbean states have been involved in wars? (I know Cuba had a civil war that occasionally appeared more external than civil wars reasonably should) A hundred years isn't a very long time.
- gerdesj 3y ago
  "A hundred years isn't a very long time." That's why I chose it.
mistrial9 3y ago
this is hilariously myopic that no one can imagine a non-aggressive society at all. No they did not all hunt and kill other humans methodically, no they did not. The winners on a large scale did hunt and kill other humans methodically, with very fancy costumes on at the time, actually. Therefore most everyone alive is yes, descended from those winners. Genghis Khan at 100 children or something? yes, true. No not everyone did that.
memen 3y ago
'A country that has been in a war in the last 100 years is a violent society' That is quite the stretch. There are many countries that live in peace with each other and within for most of the time. Only occasional defensive operations might have been violent, but does it make the society as a whole 'violent'?

manmal 3y ago

Switzerland.

gerdesj 3y ago
I have a brother in law from Switzerland from a previous relationship. His family were very involved in WW2. Have another roll.
- dukeyukey 3y ago
  A person from a country being involved in a war doesn't mean the country itself was.
- manmal 3y ago
  The question was about countries, not individuals.
DyslexicAtheist 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold
- manmal 3y ago
  To me that’s vile and all, but not “involved in a war”.
SllX 3y ago
Switzerland did shoot down both Allied and German aircraft in World War II that trespassed their airspace. Neutral doesn’t mean non-violent. They weren’t one of the belligerents engaged in WWII but they did defend their neutrality and were a target of actions by the Nazis that didn’t amount to much by the end of the War.
- manmal 3y ago
  Appreciate the subtleness of the distinction you are making, I fully agree there.

m_eiman 3y ago

Sweden. Switzerland? There was a civilization in South America whose city/cities didn’t have defensive structures, don’t remember the name though. Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav%C3%ADn_culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav%C3%ADn_culture Warfare does not seem to have been a significant element in Chavín culture. The archaeological evidence shows a lack of basic defensive structures in Chavín centres, and warriors are not depicted in art, in notable contrast to the earlier art at Cerro Sechín. Effective social control may have been exercised by religious pressure, and the ability to exclude dissidents from managed water resources. The climate and terrain of the neighbouring areas outside the managed land were a daunting option for farmers wishing to flee the culture. Evidence of warfare has been found only in contemporaneous sites that were not influenced by Chavín culture, almost as if those other civilizations were defending themselves via warfare from Chavín cultural influence.

DyslexicAtheist 3y ago
Switzerland doesn't count being one of the main beneficiaries of Nazi ideologies and literally hording the gold that used to be part of the teeth of the jews getting killed in concentration camps. Nazi Gold is a synonym to Swiss banking. A visit to Auschwitz or Mauthausen might help to get some perspective. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold
- zdragnar 3y ago
  Don't forget the fights between the Protestants and Catholics, including the second war of Kappel
- anon84873628 3y ago
  Plus I'm not convinced you can carve out any individual European country and call it a "society" in this context.
gerdesj 3y ago
Sweden are joining NATO right now due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and so did Finland. Both of them border Russia and did not join NATO in the past to try and avoid any form of escalation. Switzerland may have been formally neutral during WW2 but some individuals had other ideas. Was Switzerland neutral through WW1? My 100 years thing goes back to 1924, so post 1914-18.

usrusr 3y ago

Easy: Switzerland comes to mind for example, unless you also count as involvement looming starvation from supply chain issues and accidentally getting bombed due to navigation failure and/or preventing that by violent means. How many of the Caribbean states have been involved in wars? (I know Cuba had a civil war that occasionally appeared more external than civil wars reasonably should) A hundred years isn't a very long time.

gerdesj 3y ago
"A hundred years isn't a very long time." That's why I chose it.

mistrial9 3y ago

this is hilariously myopic that no one can imagine a non-aggressive society at all. No they did not all hunt and kill other humans methodically, no they did not. The winners on a large scale did hunt and kill other humans methodically, with very fancy costumes on at the time, actually. Therefore most everyone alive is yes, descended from those winners. Genghis Khan at 100 children or something? yes, true. No not everyone did that.

memen 3y ago

'A country that has been in a war in the last 100 years is a violent society' That is quite the stretch. There are many countries that live in peace with each other and within for most of the time. Only occasional defensive operations might have been violent, but does it make the society as a whole 'violent'?