Reference no: EM132349218

Social Problems by John J. Macionis

War is one of the scariest social problems we deal with. Almost all of us have a relative or friend with stories of how terrible it is to be personally involved. This lesson focuses on the larger issues of it, while trying to keep in mind the individuals effected by being involved. 

The first thing to note about war is how the United States has the largest military in the world. Many see this as a social problem, as it takes funds away from other social programs (education, food, etc.). In any given year we spend more on military in the U.S. than the next 10 countries combined. Furthermore, certain groups of people have a vest financial interest in making sure we continue to spend amounts large amounts of money on the military. Private companies constantly develop multi-million dollar weapons that are never used, and higher ups in the military want to see their high position continue. These things can help the economy, but it can also hinder it, depending on the state of the economy at a given moment. 

The larger issue is, of course, the death and injury that comes from war. Soldiers are not the only people who can suffer, as civilians die in all warzones. In the U.S., we are lucky to have avoided this during our lifetimes. But other countries are not so lucky. Thus, a real social problem is considering how war directly touches the lives of everyday people. This becomes even scarier when considering nuclear weapons, of which there are enough to kill all of humanity several times over. And the number of countries with these continue to grow with North Korea recently joining these ranks (U.S., U.K., Russia, France, Israel, India, Pakistan, and China that we know of). This type of warfare means that we are ever closer to doomsday at a given moment. Take a look at the doomsday clock timeline in your chapter for reference to this thought process. 

One last thing to consider is terrorism. This is a specific type of warfare aimed at civilians. By scaring civilians with violence, groups look to gain politically. Of course you know of the famous groups like Al Queda and ISIS. But there are other examples, such as the Oklahoma City bomber in the 1990s (anti-abortion Christian) and the recent Orlando shooter (anti-LGBT Muslim). Another example from history is the IRA in Ireland. This was not based on religion as we usually think of. Instead the political aims were based on a fully independent Ireland, using car bombs and other weapons on civilians. Thus, it's always important to keep in mind that terrorism is not always Muslims.

Answer this questions

• What do you think of the Doomsday Clock timeline?
• What about the expansion of nuclear weapons since World War II?
• What are some of the human costs of war that are beyond the economy or politics?
• Why do you think the poor and minorities are overwhelmingly pushed into the military?
• What do you think the best or most interesting solutions to terrorism are?
• What theory of conflict is most interesting?