1.5.1 The coercive factors in social life create injustice in the process of establishing peace, and it also creates intergroup conflict, that is, it destroys peace between communities. People within a community commonly indulge envy, jealousy, pride, bigotry and greed directed toward those not in their community. The power that keeps the peace at home encourages violence towards other groups. International conflict, for instance, is often spawned by pride, jealousy, hurt love, vanity, greed for more treasure, lust for power, petty animosities, and momentary passion. Napoleon's vanity could lead him to bathe all of Europe in blood, all the while posing as a democratic instrument of the French Revolution. Teddy Roosevelt started the Spanish-American War out of petty ambition and national vanity. Now we have industrial overlords fighting wars over raw materials. All groups tend toward imperial ambitions, and what starts as defensive instruments usually become tools of aggression. And when peace is obtained it is usually an uneasy one because it is unjust. Once again, power is at the root of suffering, and ultimately guarantees a cycle of rebellion, not peace.
NUT: Coercive power may be capable of maintaining internal peace for a while, but it encourages violence toward other groups, thereby guaranteeing a cycle of rebellion and suffering.
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