Materially, the difference between war and peace means the difference between physically killing (and injuring) people and not doing that.
Today we're talking about the Republican's War on Women. It's a real war, because it can end up sending women to die in "backroom" abortion facilities.
The Republican's War on Science could have a similar result. In denying global warming, they could end up killing future populations by preventing progress in addressing it.
The Budget War (exemplified by the Ryan budget proposal, but also including the War on "Obamacare") can result in whether the poor in America can get medical care.
Absent physical (and one can include psychological, which is a form of physical injury) destruction, there is peace.
But peace doesn't mean the absence of conflict. People will still argue ferociously over who should win American Idol, or over whether there is such a thing as free will.
This post is a response to Is Peace Just Internalized Conflict?, on the
Philosophers' Playground.
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