In Understanding War – A Philosophical Inquiry, John McMurtry provides a systematic critique of the conventional “military paradigm,” which normalizes mass homicide and mechanized killing as the primary means of achieving national security and defense. McMurtry argues that this model of war is a pathological deviation of a natural human capacity to struggle against threats. By deconstructing the basic assumptions surrounding national self-interest, the nature of the “enemy,” and the ethics of combat, the text reveals that ruling groups often use the pretext of national defense to advance their own economic and political power. The work asserts that the true enemy of contemporary civilization is the global military-industrial complex itself, which perpetually threatens the very citizens it claims to protect. Ultimately, the author advocates for non-military forms of war — such as society-wide civil disobedience, economic boycotts, and public shame — as rational, non-lethal, and highly effective alternatives to mass destruction.
