Every idea in the Medical Approach to Peace, from the market as the cell of political life to law as medicine. Open a concept to read its definition and every article that applies it.
The state as a body
The state is man-made: an artificial organism that lives on taxation, its food, and on legitimacy, the air it breathes. Its institutions are its organs.
2 articles
The state as a body
Market
The cell of political life. Political, economic, religious and cultural markets each have producers, consumers, values and goods.
1 article
The state as a body
Institutions
The organs of the state: markets organized to do one job. They take in taxes, votes and consent, and deliver security, justice and peace.
2 articles
Authoritarianism
The disease: the dysfunction of at least one institution, when it is captured, centralized or left unchecked. It can be endemic, epidemic or pandemic.
2 articles
War as a symptom
War, terrorism, corruption, poverty and brain drain are symptoms of dysfunctional institutions, not root causes.
2 articles
Law as medicine
Law is to society what medicine is to the body. It should be indicated, precise and tested, and it comes in four kinds.
3 articles
Law as medicine
Preventive law
The vaccine: a republican constitution neutralizes conflict before it forms.
1 article
Law as medicine
Curative law
The cure: constitutional amendments treat conflicts between institutions after they arise.
1 article
Law as medicine
Palliative law
The painkiller: treaties such as the UN Charter hold violence back for a while without curing its cause.
2 articles
Law as medicine
Rehabilitative law
The therapy: measures such as UN peacekeeping help a society recover after the harm is done.
2 articles
Law as medicine
Just law
A law is just when it respects individual dignity, preserves fairness between markets and works in the open.
1 article
Accountability
Engineering, not moralism: no body may be both judge and defendant, and oversight must be independent of the institution it oversees.
4 articles
Global certification
An independent medical board for states that audits institutions and certifies them by how they perform, not by their politics.
3 articles