Never again

After World War II, people introduced the phrase "never again". Never again should the whole world fight a war against each other. Never again should Germany, Japan, and Italy attempt to get rid of people from other countries. Or as Elie Wiesel wrote: "Never again' becomes more than a slogan: It's a prayer, a promise, a vow ... never again the glorification of base, ugly, dark violence."

As a thought experiment, how can we ensure that this never happens again? "territorial integrity" seems to me like a great start. Allowing nations (read: groups of people) defend their border to me seems to go a long way in protecting people from each other. Sovereignty also plays an important role. It ensures that people are allowed to rule themselves. What is the point of a fixed border if someone else makes decisions for you?

NATO also states human rights and international law as basic preconditions. Human rights includes protection against enslavement and freedom of expression. International law includes laws for armed conflict (humanitarian law) and for example the principle of mutual recognition.

With these basics set, things become more complicated. The first question for example is: "What exactly do we never want again?" Do we never want again one country invading another? Do we never want again "ugly, dark violence"? Do we never want again hatred of one group of people against another?

Suppose we say that one country invading another should never happen again. We could build enormous walls and defense systems so that everybody is protected. But what if the other country then starts using artillery to shoot over the wall? In our modern day and age, we can hit targets at enormous distances. So this aim does not solve all problems.

Suppose we say we never want the violence again. We could make rules that ban violence. But unfortunately there is such a thing as "manipulation" and it can work. In an extreme example, maybe one country has the best manipulation tactics in the world, and convince the people in another country to just move away. This contradicts sovereignty since the people in this case do not really rule themselves. It is not completely unimaginable that one group of people takes over all the media via non-violent means and then uses that to convince people of things like leaving the country. So it seems this aim also does not solve all problems.

Suppose then that we never want hatred of one group of people against each other? This one is the trickiest one to defend against because what does "hate" mean exactly. We cannot read each other's minds so in the end it boils down to actions? Then we are maybe back at no violence or manipulation ever again?

These are difficult questions. Maybe it's just not possible to come up with an answer. Maybe the only thing we can do is keep talking and try to find compromises that work for everyone.