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Full Idea
The distinction between soldiers and civilians, which the pressure of circumstances has already almost obliterated, should be entirely abolished. Every individual in the population owes his country the whole of his strength, resources and life itself.
Gist of Idea
The soldier-civilian distinction should be abolished; every citizen is committed to a war
Source
Simone Weil (The Need for Roots [1943], II 'Nation')
Book Ref
Weil,Simone: 'The Need for Roots' [Routledge 2002], p.162
A Reaction
Written in London in 1943. The year carpet bombing seriously escalated. The facts of warfare can change the ethics.
23576 | Sacking a city is lawful if it motivates the attacking troops [Vitoria] |
20001 | The only right victors have over captives is the protection of the former [Montesquieu] |
23850 | The soldier-civilian distinction should be abolished; every citizen is committed to a war [Weil] |
23579 | Soldiers will only protect civilians if they feel safe from them [Walzer] |
23586 | What matters in war is unacceptable targets, not unacceptable weapons [Walzer] |
23591 | If the oppressor is cruel, nonviolence is either surrender, or a mere gesture [Walzer] |
23602 | Innocence implies not being morally responsible, rather than merely being guiltless [McMahan] |