The Pope should also tell us which powerful people didn't want peace not that long ago and whether their successors have changed that much. The Crusades, the inquisitions and the like were commissioned by the Popes. Now the Leopard wants to lose his spots? Don't think that will happen. If only the Catholics outnumbered everyone as they did not long ago, I'm sure that we'd have the old wars sanctioned by the Church. Now [that] their "wings" are broken, all they can do is talk, make accusations . . .
The idea behind war is greed. A lot of money is made off wars and the people at the top know that. There is a natural side to humans that lust for power, which is the reason for colonialism. In the history, people did not travel around the world to make friends. They wanted to gain power and anybody that stepped in there way would have to join them or be moved out by force. War is obsolete now because humans have the ability to negotiate peacefully. There will always be war because some people have more greed than others and are not willing to settle matters in a peaceful way.
I'm not a fan of the Pope at all. Some of his statements border on Marxism and conspiracy theories. Having said that, I don't think he's completely off in this statement. I do believe there are of course evil men in the world who don't want peace. I don't think that's a stretch at all. It's just common sense. The world is full of bad actors who wish do cause misery and conflict.
The reason why there must be war at times is because you can't negotiate with some people. Would any talking make any difference? Would people submit to Sharia, embrace their ideology and swear allegiance to their "Caliph" so they can lay down arms? Not likely. The wars which are instigated all for the sake of creating a market for weapons . . . those are an entirely different matter. The Ukrainian crisis for example could have caused lots of problems had Merkel and a few other leaders not stepped in to defuse what would have drawn several nations into the conflict. Funny thing is the Pope, save for denouncing the Ukraine conflict as war amongst Christians, didn't do anything more.
The greatest technological advancements in human history came during a war effort, and immediately after one. Even still, war sells. We're a violent species, quick to anger and hard to stop, and we'll wage war on anything that displeases us and that's before money gets involved. These conflicts keep popping up because there's money to be made in suffering, and even in easing suffering. If all wars stopped tomorrow, a massive portion of our industrial machine would rust and crumble because there would be nobody left to buy their guns or drive their tanks. It's not a crazy conspiracy, either - look at what Dole (Well, United Fruit Company then) and friends did when they created the Banana Republic. They overthrew a democratically elected leader and helped install a dictator in its place. So I agree - powerful people do keep conflicts going, or create them out of whole cloth when it's profitable.
Fact though is there always is a reckoning. A few individuals may profit from the shedding of blood but look at the history of the world. Kingdoms come and they disappear only to be remembered by historians as corrupt and cruel. Those who profit from war today might be the victims tomorrow. Karma always has a way of getting those responsible for "hurting" others. Even if they do get away in this lifetime, their descendants will pay for their [ancestors] actions.
The Pope knows what he's talking about and this is pretty obvious as the weapon industry makes billions. And you are right, the allies from yesterday are today's enemies.
Sadly I also think it's true that a lot of powerful people don't want peace in the world. If you look at how much money is made through war and conflict, a lot of companies will be out if business if nobody went to war any more.
That sure is true. But then we've had violent conflicts from days long gone. Times when the all the weapons a Kingdom used in war were made [within the kingdom] by "native" smiths. I don't think that weapon manufacturers actually need wars for them to sell weapons. They can use propaganda. Drive up tensions by spreading rumors about a world war. Rumors about planned terrorist attacks. Then they'll from time to time tell everyone about the sophisticated new weapons they've built. Weapons which assure those who use them victory in the battlefield. Countries would up arm believing that the "sophisticated" weapons will help them subdue their enemies. That's what weapon manufacturers have done for decades now.
The Military Industrial Complex is a monstrous addition to the United States economy, and I assume many other companies follow a similar pattern. There is profit to be had in waging wars in America. I wouldn't even say that it is a conspiracy theory it is just true. The Military Industrial Complex is quinessential to the U.S. economy. It adds a large amount to the economy, so yes I agree many powerful people don't want peace.
