These will surprise most people because the highest values most people hold have been the causes of war.

First, what causes peace? Craig Biddle of The Objectivist Standard wrote about the causes of both war and peace (HERE).

His premises are that Wars are caused by: Religion; Statism, Collectivism and Altruism. How can that be? Most people associate Religion with good things.

But the  Roman Catholic Popes, responding to their religious codes organized the Crusades. They organized and sent many armies over roughly 200 years to invade, conquer and convert people to Roman Catholicism.

The Terrorists attacked the Israeli athletes in Munich  in 1988, 26 years ago.

The point is not when a war began, it’s about the cause. So mark down Religion.

Next is Altruism, the sacrifice of self for the state, the culture or something that is supposedly more important than your life.

Then comes Statism, the wrong idea that the state has rights, which no state does. States have power. With power, rights aren’t necessary. It’s the power that the idea of Rights is supposed to control. The power of the state is how Vladimir Putin invaded and conquered The Crimea region from Ukraine. Ukraine had no power that matched Russia so they lost the Crimea and all of the citizens.

Putin took the roads, the ports and all of the infrastructure. He just took it.

Morally under the doctrine of stopping evil, any country can invade the Crimea or Russia to get the Crimea back to Ukraine.

But the worst idea that ever was accepted by most people is Collectivism, the elevation of the group over the individual.

Unfortunately, the causes of war are stronger than the causes of peace. It doesn’t have to be that way but it is.

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