Peace Without Agreement

Would identical beliefs end conflict — or only give rivalry a new language?

Some articles begin with an answer. This one began with three questions from Alan, one of my readers, whose comments often carry the discussion beyond the article itself.

Under my previous article, he asked:

Why don’t we all have exactly the same beliefs? What would be the consequence of every person in the world having all the same beliefs? If we could all believe whatever would cause perpetual peace, would that be good?

I did not know the answer. But the questions stayed with me because they seemed to offer an obvious solution to one of humanity’s oldest problems: if beliefs divide us, perhaps identical beliefs would finally allow us to live in peace.

The longer I considered that possibility, however, the less obvious it became. Alan’s questions appeared to be about religion, politics, and philosophy. Beneath them, I found a more uncomfortable question:

Do our beliefs create conflict, or do we use beliefs to explain a rivalry that was already there?

Perhaps Rivalry Comes First

We usually explain conflict by pointing to its object.