What Are The Different types of Pacifism?
Pacifism opposes any war or violence as a means of settling the differences. According to the pacifists, a war declared by a state and the participants that fight the war on the behalf of the country is wrong. They strongly believe that any sort of conflict can be resolved without resorting to war.
There are multiple types of pacifism practiced by people across the world, but all of them say that the violence and the war to resort to an issue is unjustifiable.
Why Do People Practice Pacifism?
There are different reasons for that as well. Some people practice it for religious reasons, while others practice it to maintain the sanctity of life.
There is yet another group of people who considers that war is a wasteful affair that destroys both human life as well as the environment. According to these people, most of the time war does not resolve the main issue. Instead, it keeps the issue alive for years, if not centuries.
What Are The Different Types of Pacifism?
Absolute pacifism
The pacifists who believe in this type of pacifism think that taking part in a war is never right. They believe that people should not consort to violence even in self-defence. According to them, the lives of humans are extremely valuable, and there is absolutely nothing that can justify the act of killing another human being.
Conditional Pacifism
People who practice this type of pacifism are against violence and war in principle. However, they accept the reality and acknowledge that there might be some cases where the alternative to the war can be worse.
Selective Pacifism
There is yet another group of pacifists who consider the degree of violence and war and oppose them accordingly. These pacifists only oppose the war that involves weapons and leads to mass destruction. They strongly oppose the use of the nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in a war. Most probably, because of the level of the destruction and the reason that these ways are not winnable.
Active Pacifism
These are the pacifists who are heavily involved in political activities to promote peace. They often weigh the political impact of the war and argue against some particular ones.
During the war, while some of the pacifists will refuse to go to the war, others will try to take every step to reduce the harmful effects of the war. It is the act of the pacifists at the critical moments that will help you to identify their ideological differences.