War, Peace, and "the System": Three Perspectives

Authors

Paul Adams, University of Iowa

Abstract

Social workers have sometimes seen war as part of a larger system and as linked to other forms of violence or social evil. This article considers three kinds of analysis which identify different systems (capitalism, patriarchy, and exterminism), see the links in different ways, and lead to different practical conclusions. Each perspective is examined in terms of its capacity to explain the phenomena it describes and to identify a social change strategy that can eliminate them. It is suggested that social workers may be professionally predisposed to select among these perspectives for reasons other than their explanatory power or strategic utility.

Recommended Citation

Adams, Paul (1991) "War, Peace, and "the System": Three Perspectives," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 18: Iss. 3, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.1990
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol18/iss3/6