Paths to Peace

Peter Clayborne argues that common stories about human history are misleading. He contrasts Hobbesian and Rousseauian views with David Graeber’s claim that humans have always lived under diverse social arrangements, and he uses several societies to show that peace is maintained through culture, autonomy, and mediation rather than coercive institutions.

Reading notes

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• Hobbes and Rousseau are presented as two misleading ways of telling the story of history and modernity.
• Graeber’s third way treats humans as self-conscious political actors capable of many social arrangements.
• The anthropological record is used to argue that change is the constant and that human societies cannot be reduced to one pattern.
• Rotuman society is described as nonviolent, with respectful childrearing, rare physical punishment, shame used instead of punishment, and conflict resolution through mediation.
• Rotuman households and villages avoid contact with imposed government, and public apology carries major weight.
• The Rotuman example is used to show that police, prisons, and courts are not necessary for conflict resolution.
• Two Zapotec communities are compared through homicide rates, with La Paz linked to nonviolent childrearing, women’s economic independence, and less violent play among children.
• A cross-cultural study is cited as finding that warm and affectionate socialization correlates with low levels of conflict.
• The Semai and the Norwegians are compared because both have homicide rates under 1 per 100,000.
• Norway is described as relying on mediation rather than punishment, with most disputes in 2001 resolved without going to court.
• The Semai are described as stateless, using a gift economy, avoiding violence, and relying on self-control and public opinion.
• The letter argues that conflict resolution means building a peaceful culture through nonviolent childrearing and dismantling violent systems.
• Peter Gelderloos is cited to say that many causes of violent crime would decrease or disappear in an anarchist society.
• Crime is reframed as harm to social bonds rather than simply violation of law.
• The letter closes by saying that peace and conflict resolution require ongoing work, not the replacement of violence with nothing.