Kantian War Abolition Pacifism: Kant’s Critique of War and the Regulative Ideal of World Peace

Abstract Kant is a war abolitionist. He suggests that war is unreasonable, while critiquing the economic, social, and political systems that give rise to war. For Kant, the pursuit of world peace requires the abolition of the systems of war. In describing Kant as a war abolitionist, this paper aims to breathe new life into the scholarly question of whether Kant was a pacifist or a just war theorist. The paper also builds upon recent discussions in the literature on pacifism and nonviolence to suggest that war abolition is a kind of pacifism. The paper also argues that Kant’s call for war abolition should be understood as a regulative ideal. Kant was not naïve. He did not think that war would end immediately. Nonetheless, given the fundamental irrationality of war, he called upon us to work to approach the ideal of war abolition.