Marcus Garvey: Why War?

A world governed by confusion

In Philosophy and Opinions, Marcus Garvey portrays an imperfect and chaotic world in which one confusion follows another. He criticises international summits organised without inspiration, preparation or historical will: conferences that reshuffle the same cards while allowing the eternal present to prevail.

Such meetings, he argues, do not examine the sources of popular discontent deeply enough. They consequently fail to establish lasting peace or a stable world order.

The pattern of war

Drawing on history, Garvey identifies a recurring pattern. If the war of 1914–1918 was among the deadliest yet known, it foreshadowed still more destructive conflicts. The Second World War confirmed his warning with rockets and atomic bombs; thermonuclear weapons have since multiplied the possible scale of destruction.

The precise form of future wars remains uncertain, but their roots are recognisable: enduring injustice, unequal power, domination of the weak, exploitation of less fortunate nations and repression of parts of humanity. These conditions feed vengeance, hatred and discontent.

Peace is more than the silence of the masses

For Garvey, peace and political stability cannot be reduced to the silence of dominated populations. They require the correction of underlying injustices and power imbalances. Without fundamental change, the world remains trapped in cycles of conflict and upheaval.

Garvey’s analysis and contemporary Africa

Garvey’s argument resonates with an Africa marked by widespread poverty, mass youth emigration and recurrent struggles for power. Historical exploitation and unequal control of resources fuel frustration, while young people deprived of opportunity leave for regions perceived as more stable.

Coups d’état and political instability are not merely contests among leaders. They also express blocked democratic transitions, corruption and unresolved injustices. Addressing these causes could reduce poverty and forced emigration while strengthening political stability.

A question preceding Freud and Einstein

Garvey asked why war persists nearly two decades before the celebrated exchange between Freud and Einstein. He placed the question both within the global order and within Black communities, with Africa at their historical centre.

The involuntary exile of millions of Africans since the sixteenth century left wounds that remain active. Garvey’s question therefore links the causes of war to the long history of dispossession, injustice and unequal power that continues to shape the present.