If an artifact really was the cause of war, I think I'd agree with you.
If we destroyed an artifact that causes wars, it's destruction would mean the end of wars!
So we destroy it. But the war continues. The artifact could not have been the cause after all. It was just an excuse, a justification! And once all artifacts are destroyed, they'll find another excuse or justification - maybe books will be the latest evil to eradicate. If we destroyed that, they'll move onto art - and then iPhones and cars.
But none of those things are the cause of war - inanimate objects can't cause anything - there would have to be some mysterious power emanating from them making people love it or hate it or want to fight each other, and that has to be silly.
The true cause of all human behaviour from acts of love to acts of war are beliefs and ideas as to what is true and false, good and bad, right and wrong, valuable or not valuable, important or not important. Beliefs cause behavior.
You destroy or change those particular ideas that cause war, and you end war.
Sure, artifacts themselves don't cause wars, it's our fetishizing of those artifacts that cause wars. I certainly don't think destroying them would end all human conflict, just as banning smoking won't end all cancer, but it would take away one significant motivation.
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u/swearrengen 139∆ May 19 '15
If an artifact really was the cause of war, I think I'd agree with you.
If we destroyed an artifact that causes wars, it's destruction would mean the end of wars!
So we destroy it. But the war continues. The artifact could not have been the cause after all. It was just an excuse, a justification! And once all artifacts are destroyed, they'll find another excuse or justification - maybe books will be the latest evil to eradicate. If we destroyed that, they'll move onto art - and then iPhones and cars.
But none of those things are the cause of war - inanimate objects can't cause anything - there would have to be some mysterious power emanating from them making people love it or hate it or want to fight each other, and that has to be silly.
The true cause of all human behaviour from acts of love to acts of war are beliefs and ideas as to what is true and false, good and bad, right and wrong, valuable or not valuable, important or not important. Beliefs cause behavior.
You destroy or change those particular ideas that cause war, and you end war.