MIGHT IS RIGHT
Outline:
1. 1. Introduction.
2. 2. The history of this adage dates lock to the advent of
the universe.
3. 3. “Might is Right” is the law of nature that exists
everywhere.
4. 4. The dominance of males over females shows its
significance in our society.
5. 5. Anarchism and its critique on state and power.
6. 6. Neo-colonism is the manifestation of the inexorable
maxim.
7. 7. Capitalism believes in the principle of the “survival
of the fittest”.
8. 8. Exploitation of third-world countries by international
organizations.
9. 9. The UN and heart tearing case of Palestine strengthen
the idea of “Might is Right"
1. 10. USA and its
selective morality; Saudi Arabia and Israel.
1 11. The idea of
“pre-emptive strike doctrine” puts this axiom in the limelight.
1212. Russia, Ukraine,
and the concept of territorial sovereignty;
1313. Human Rights
Champion around the world and its drone theory shows only that might is right.
1414. Bertrand
Russell's analysis of power shows how evil power is.
1515. The only way to
decrease its wrath lies in the supremacy of law.
1 16. Conclusion.
Man lives in a society that is governed by certain laws with
time, some laws become obsolete and few remain relevant and valid. “Might is
Right" is one of those universal laws that always share a central stage It
is universally applicable. Its significance in the contemporary era is as
important as centuries ago Selfishness lies in the instinct of man. He always
tries to get power When one gets power, one rules the moral values. No
consideration of morality stands in the way of the mighty who, by and large,
rely on their strength to humiliate the weak. The mighty have their peculiar
ethics to justify aggression. Power and strength support aggression and
violence
According to Thomas Hobbes, “Man is selfish and mean by
instinct" Man's selfishness gives rise to a strong desire for supremacy in
him. He hankers after more and more power. The development of man has made him
civilized but, unfortunately, this development has failed to curb his selfish
desires That is why, one can say might is right.
The history of this notion dates back to the advent of the
universe. It all started with a blast. The energy that erupts from a single
speck transformed into the form of matter and constituted the creation of our
universe. The inception of life on earth is a usually significant event in the
cosmic process. The powerful species adapted to their circumstances and
survived through the process of natural selection. The stranger organisms
overcame the weaker ones and instituted the natural principle of struggle. The
genetic mutation of the human species inherited the bellicose nature of their
progenitors. And then the progression of history entered into a new phase.
This new phase started with mankind’s story of the tribal
epoch This epoch constituted the division of society into the stranger class of
hunters and a weaker class of domesticators. A society that created gender
imbalance and institutionalized sexism for millennia to come based on physical
strength. Then society grew in its finest and sophisticated form and imbued the
creation of private property. The idea of private property culminated in a
rigid gradation of social ranks. Let’s take an example of pre-modern times
where the Athenian aristocrats, in their attempt to build a mighty Greek
Empire, wrenched every drop of blood from their slave population. The Dark
Ages, where the Roman partisans fed their powerless plebeians to the gilded
kilns of the powerful noblemen. In the Middle Ages, the feudal elite snatched
lands from their local population but left their serfdom to perish at the hands
of the black plague. In the Age of enlightenment, the colonizers kept their
slaves. After the industrial revolution, the burgeoning elite surf their
industrial engines with the sweat and blood of the crippling proletariat. The
stranger ones invaded and plundered the weaker ones and called them barbaric
and uncivilized No one dared to question them what they did by following the
notion of might is right.
“Might is. right" is a law of nature. If it exists
everywhere. It is equally valid among all living organisms. It can be seen in
action in the jungle as well as in the ocean. Lions being the most powerful of
all the animals, remain afraid of man Sharks in the ocean do the same with
other small fishes. The one who has the power over the others keeps on
perpetrating atrocities on them. The desire for supremacy is also an innate
aspiration of man. This instinct of man has sought this law of nature into
practice in human society. “Might is Right” can be seen operating as the order of
the day.
Man has become civilized as time has passed, but. the
supremacy of males in society has not come to an end. Male chauvinism is
taunting most of the societies, especially the rural societies in developing
countries. Women are seldom given their rights despite all the efforts being
made for that purpose. Although, the movement of feminism succeeded in getting
various concessions the dream of equality is still unfulfilled. According to
the Gender Gap Index report of the World Economic Forum Pakistan is the 2nd
worst gender state in the world, where women cannot get to top jobs despite
having enough talent and credentials. That is why our society has become to
male-dominated society.
Anarchists believe that the best form of government is the
least form of government. It means no one has the right to reserve the right to
violence. States are formed to exploit the masses. It legitimates the use of
force. It limits the freedom of man based on national security. States run on
the principle of utilitarianism. This principle is inherently flawed. It
quantifies the value of life. The quantification of life is not justified in
any case. States dictate their societies because they hold power. Power leads
to exploitation. Despite having reservations, we surrender our freedom in front
of the state because it is mighty Hence proving, that the might is right.
The literature in the West portrays that developing countries
are poor because of their internal problems. Western countries are rich because
they work hard. It suggests that poverty in the global south is not a natural
phenomenon, but has been actively created. It casts Western countries in the
role not of benefactors, but of plunderers. When Europeans landed in Latin
America in 1492, the region might have been inhabited by between 50 million to
100 million indigenous people. They were slaughtered and starved to death and
the population was slashed to 3.5 million by the mid-1600s. It was like the
holocaust seven times over. Europeans extracted resources from the Americas and
shipped them back to Europe.
Europe was made by resources of the colonies when Europeans
seized control of India, its share in the global economy was 27%. But when they
left in 1947, India's share in the global economy was squeezed to 3%. All that
happened because Western countries were strong military and captured sovereign
lands despite having the Westphalian concept of state and sovereignty. Power
sometimes rules its own ’created motions as well. This shows the mighty' needs
no justification for any wrong done by him.
The world has witnessed different ideologies in different
times. Socialism tried to overrule the unjust system. It struggled for the
nourishment of an egalitarian society. Capitalism overcame this ideology and
exposed humanity to the wrath of its selfishness in the name of competition. It
lies on the principle of the survival of the fittest. Those who can bear the
pressure of the market, remain and the rest will be exterminated. It does not
care about the poor the weak one The situation is getting worse day by day. The
gap between rich and poor has increased multifold within the last few years.
836 million people are living below the extreme poverty line. On the contrary,
millions of tons of food are wasted daily in developed countries Haves are
continuously suppressing the Have Nots.
International organizations are the so-called guardians and
protectors of third-world countries. IMF and World Bank are at the top of the
list. These organizations are supposed to help third-world countries in the
management of their financial institutions. These organizations provide bans on
poor countries. Poor countries once entered into the vicious cycle of loans and
then never got freed. After some time, these organizations started dictating
their vested agendas. In this way, the powerful states start manipulating their
ruling elite. This is how neo-colonialism works even in the 21st century. And
the principle of “Might is Right” is still operating.
USA and the heat-tearing case of Palestine are evident enough
to prove the given resolve. The powerful is always devoid of moral values
Germans persecuted Jews in Europe. Jews are committing the heinous crime
against humanity in Palestine. The houses of the civilian population are
bombarded with the latest missiles and jet fighter planes. Jews corticated the
property of innocent pedestrians. USA preaches democracy and human rights
everywhere but when it comes to Palestine, the USA shows its bigoted This bigot
attitude of the USA shows the significance of the axiom of “Might is Right”.
In the postmodern era, mankind set certain values, after a
long history of suffering and pain, to regulate the relations among nations.
Human begins to learn a few fundamental rights that states have to protect in
any case. These rights are declared as Human Rights. The USA considers itself
the so-called guardian of human rights. But the USA, being the superpower of
the world, does the same as the powerful do in most cases. Powerful ones always
use moral arguments when it suits them. One can see the USA is selective
morality. The USA blamed Iran for the explicit Human rights violations. USA
ousted the regime of Gaddafi in Libya on the grounds of dictatorship. The
country, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is among the top violators of rights and
its dictatorial regime. KSA is considered a major ally of the USA. USA ignores
everything KSA does, due to their Petro-dollars nexus. So, human rights
violations are justified in this case because might is right.
The idea of a pre-emptive strike in international law is in
the interest of the mighty. This doctrine creates fear In the minds of weaker
states. This doctrine is also called as Bush doctrine after this doctrine says
that a state has the right to attack any other state if It feels a potential
threat of attack from any other state. The question arises, who would measure
the potential threat of attack? What are the criteria for defining the
potential? All these apprehensions are very genuine whenever a powerful one
feels it would breach the sovereignty of the weaker state. The same thing
happened in Iraq. The USA changed the legal regime of Iraq. Thousands were
killed. That military intervention created a vacuum that was filled by the
extremists. Subsequently, it led to the creation of ISIS, the biggest
existential threat to the security of the world. No one dared to give a shut-up
call to the USA because Might is always right.
The idea of the nation-state and territorial sovereignty of
states are among these major developments that are very useful in overcoming
conflicts between states. It was the blessing of the Treaty of Westphalia of
1648. It is the basic law of the United Nations as well. All states are equal
and they are completely sovereign in their territory. But history shows, that
powerful states never felt hesitation to overrule this concept. Russia’s
aggressive designs in Eastern Europe are clear signs in this context. Russia’s
annexation of Crimea and continuous meddling in Baltic states are bold
violations of international law.
The USA advocates the policy of drones and presents them as
the most effective weapon against terrorists. According to the United States of
America, it enhanced the security of its military personnel. According to the
reports of the US Senate although drones killed many top terrorists they also
caused a huge death toll for the civilian population. Out of 10 casualties, one
is found a terrorist. It is also against the theory of “just war”. The USA is
still pursuing its policy of drone strikes because it is powerful and it is
right
Power is susceptible to corruption; it disobeys any rules or code of conduct. Bertrand Russell believes that the idea of getting power is inherently problematic on its own as it is demanded by those, who want to pursue unfair things in the majority of cases. The process of getting power accelerates the evil side in man It corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” This shows that might is right.
The only way to decrease the wrath of “Might is Right"
lies in the supremacy of law. Man created laws by experiencing the long history
and its different phases. The creation of the constitution and the production
of just laws are the biggest achievements of mankind. The awareness of laws can
be enhanced by the production of quality education. Education plays a vital
role in toning down the violent nature of man. It creates compassion, empathy,
and love for humanity.
The sum and substance of the whole discussion is that man is
selfish and mean by instinct. I always try to get power. The powerful ones
demand the rights of the weaker ones. The creation of the universe and the
theory of evolution of Darwin says, it is a natural and theory evolution of
Darwin says, it is a natural law that is equally applicable from oceans to
deserts. However, the promotion of education and the creation of just laws can
easily overcome the power of law both at the domestic and international levels.
The UNO needs to be made an effective instrument to stop constant aggression
committed by the strong against the weak. In a democratic society, the rights
of the weak are protected by law. The wrongs done to people by the mighty can
be rectified through law Hence the remedy of tyranny and oppression lies in the
regime of law.
