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War as metaphor

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"Thousand-yard stare", a 1944 illustration by Thomas C. Lea III

The use of war as metaphor is a longstanding literary and rhetorical trope. In political usage, war metaphors are used to manage a perceived societal problem, with the concept taking the place of an individual or state enemy in true war. The war metaphor is sometimes invoked to pursue ordinary domestic politics.[1]

Philosopher James Childress describes the use of war as a metaphor as a dilemma: "In debating social policy through the language of war, we often forget the moral reality of war."[2] One fundamental problem is that it is often unclear when the "war" is over.[3] Simon Jenkins, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, said that "Never, ever, should a government use war as a metaphor in a time of peace."[4]

Examples

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Examples of war used as a metaphor, often on the form "War on..." or "War against...":

Some wars are not proclaimed but rather a label used by adversaries:

See also

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Further reading

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  • Childress, James F. "The war metaphor in public policy"[2]
  • Steinert, Heinz. 2003. "The Indispensable Metaphor of War: On Populist Politics and the Contradictions of the State's Monopoly of Force," Theoretical Criminology 7.3 (2003) p. 265-291.
  • Thomas, Ruth P. 1984. "War as metaphor in La Princesse de Montpensier", Forum for Modern Language Studies 20.4 p. 323-332.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Matthew Crawford. "Covid was liberalism's endgame", UnHerd, 30 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b Childress, James F. (2001). "The War Metaphor in Public Policy: Some Moral Reflections" (PDF). In Ficarrotta, J. Carl (ed.). The Leader's Imperative: Ethics, Integrity, and Responsibility. Purdue University Press. pp. 181–197. ISBN 9781612491394. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Vad har Kina lärt av kulturrevolutionen?", professor Michael Schoenhals in Godmorgon världen!, Sveriges radio, 18 May 2016. Retrieved 23 maj 2016. (In Swedish)
  4. ^ Simon Jenkins. "Why I'm taking the coronavirus hype with a pinch of salt (archived)", The Guardian, 6 March 2020.
  5. ^ Xing Lu (January 2004), Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: The Impact on Chinese Thought, Culture, and Communication, Univ of South Carolina Press, p. 91, ISBN 978-1-57003-543-2
  6. ^ Radley Balko. "Once again: There is no 'war on cops.' And those who claim otherwise are playing a dangerous game.", The Washington Post, 10 September 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  7. ^ Sidky, H. (2018). "The War on Science, Anti-Intellectualism, and 'Alternative Ways of Knowing' in 21st-Century America". Skeptical Inquirer. 42 (2): 38–43. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  8. ^ Mooney, Chris (2005). The Republican War on Science. Basic Books. ISBN 9780465046751.
  9. ^ Rym Momtaz. "Emmanuel Macron on coronavirus: 'We're at war'". 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), politico.eu, 16 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Pressure grows on Macron over French vaccination 'fiasco'", france24.com, 04 January 2021.
  11. ^ "PM says Greece at war with 'invisible enemy' coronavirus". Reuters, 17 March 2020.
  12. ^ Eszter Zalan. "EU struggles to contain corona economic fallout". 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) euobserver.com, 17 March 2020.
  13. ^ Emma Newburger. "Trump activates National Guard in California, New York and Washington state: 'This is a war' (archived)", cnbc.com, 22 March 2020.
  14. ^ Quentin Letts. "Quentin Letts: Sunak holds court with pain relief (archived)", thetimes.co.uk, 18 March 2020.
  15. ^ Tom Phillips "'It's a war on the people': El Salvador's mass arrests send thousands into despair" (archived) The Guardian, 8 June 2022.