Peace Betrayed?
Essays on Pacifism and Politics
Posted: Monday, January 1, 1990
In his highly controversial 1988 book Peace and Revolution, political scientist Guenter Lewy charged that since the Vietnam era the four major American pacifist organizations—American Friends Service Committee, Fellowship of Reconciliation, War Resisters League, and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom—have moved from singleminded devotion to the principles of non-violence and reconciliation to a defense of “the moral legitimacy of armed struggle and guerrilla warfare.” This provocative collection begins with a summary of Lewy's argument. Then fifteen respondents—pacifists and non-pacifists—join the discussion. Some decry Lewy's account as prejudiced and incomplete; others applaud it as a long overdue exposure of the subversion of a noble purpose. In a final chapter, Lewy replies to his critics.  [Full Story]