Was either side in WW1 morally right?

[RealRockingham]

Well? What is your opinion on the matter?

[Thanatos]

Very few wars contain a side that is morally right, and then just barely.

[Simonius]

Quote by: RealRockingham Well? What is your opinion on the matter?

In world war one? I've never seen anyone try and add a moral dimension since the war finished.

World War One was not a moral war, it was not a war to liberate the oppressed, it was not a war to spread democracy, it was not a war to avenge any wrong apart from insults to national pride.

It was simple power politics thats all, Austria-Hungary needed to crush Serbia because growing Serbian nationalism would have infected her slavic subjects and tore that ill concieved Empire to shreds. Russia needed to take Serbia's side because to have no done so would have made her seem impotent. Every other nation got involved purely for national politics and power.

[Clarence]

...and industry and perhaps population control.

[Gods_Mercenary]

WWI was the product of Imperial rivalries, and, on a macro scale, the power imbalance created when Bismarck overthrew the hundreds of years French strategy of ensuring a weak Germany ( a well thought out strategy, as Germany would invade their obvious rival 3 times). Any moral dimension was created by propagandists (especially british, in the case of america) and the Russian revolution's allowing wilson to call the war a fight for democracy.

[SoylentGreen]

Agree with Gods_Mercenary, Hopefully WW1 will be the last of imperial wars , and as such morality did not exist on either side. Fighting a war by attrition is definitly not morally acceptable to the ones dying in large numbers Sigh! Unfortunately they always come up with another bad reason for starting one.

[Simonius]

Quote by: SoylentGreen Agree with Gods_Mercenary, Hopefully WW1 will be the last of imperial wars , and as such morality did not exist on either side. Fighting a war by attrition is definitly not morally acceptable to the ones dying in large numbers Sigh! Unfortunately they always come up with another bad reason for starting one.

How can you hope it is the last of the Imperial wars? America is involved in at least three as we speak.

[grandpa]

Quote by: Simonius How can you hope it is the last of the Imperial wars? America is involved in at least three as we speak.

Militarists are attempting to hijack America, and they've been quite successful.

Grandpa h.

[Morality Games]

The blatant amorality of World War I is fairly representational of war in general.

[SoylentGreen]

How can you hope it is the last of the Imperial wars? America is involved in at least three as we speak.

Imperial as in the last war held by the royal families of europe.
Hitler wasn't a king of germany when he declared war. Neither is Bush (barely)

[Simonius]

Quote by: SoylentGreen Imperial as in the last war held by the royal families of europe. Hitler wasn't a king of germany when he declared war. Neither is Bush (barely)

No, an Imperial war generally refers to one in which ones intentions are Imperialistic.

[Gods_Mercenary]

Quote by: SoylentGreen Imperial as in the last war held by the royal families of europe. Hitler wasn't a king of germany when he declared war. Neither is Bush (barely)

France was democratic, as was Great Britain, and both were bigger imperialists than Germany or even Austro-hungary. America was imperialist as well. Imperialist wars in the sense of building empires aren't even what we're talking about, wwI was a war between empires, not an empire and a small power.

[SoylentGreen]

Quote by: Simonius No, an Imperial war generally refers to one in which ones intentions are Imperialistic.

correct but the excuse for starting WW1 was the assasination of royal person.
And that is hopefully the last time a world war will be started on such an excuse.

[Simonius]

Quote by: SoylentGreen correct but the excuse for starting WW1 was the assasination of royal person. And that is hopefully the last time a world war will be started on such an excuse.

That was just a handy excuse, an Austrian declaration of war on Serbia was most probably inevitable.

I can't help but think that America would go to war for the assassination of a President.

[Gods_Mercenary]

If not for the Archduke it would have been for some other reason. The Serbian nationalists were determined to damage austria and the austrians were just as determined to crush their balkan neighbors, who were being eyed by russia. I don't see how the fact that the spark was the killing of a royal and his wife really matters. And Sim has a point, imagine a president elect was almost blown up and then gunned down with his wife.

[SoylentGreen]

Quote by: Simonius That was just a handy excuse, an Austrian declaration of war on Serbia was most probably inevitable. I can't help but think that America would go to war for the assassination of a President.

Which again will no doubt be just a handy excuse for something that is already inevitable.
As I said they will always find a good excuse to start wars.

[Gods_Mercenary]

I would think that america would go to war with someone based solely on an assassination, but, yes, usually you don't assassinate someone's president unless you already are settled to go to war. But there's still no reason why it matters that a royal's death started the thing.

[Simonius]

Quote by: Gods_Mercenary I would think that america would go to war with someone based solely on an assassination, but, yes, usually you don't assassinate someone's president unless you already are settled to go to war. But there's still no reason why it matters that a royal's death started the thing.

As an aside though it is perhaps not true to say that Serbia assassinated the Archduke, though a Serb did. I dont think it was orchestrated by the Serbian government though I am not 100% sure.

[Gods_Mercenary]

Serbian Nationalists,(Black Hand) and I seem to remember that the Serb government had complicity, though that could just be the austrians' accusation.

[SoylentGreen]

But there's still no reason why it matters that a royal's death started the thing.

Possibly any excuse would do, but these days the reasons are more political and economical to justify starting a war, Hopefully killing a useless parasite like royalty is not a good enough excuse anymore.