Introduction
The origin of conflict can be stated to have been brought on by various factors according to historians. One of the people who have stated various assumptions of what brings about conflict is Adam Ferguson. He wrote about the assumption in the essay on the history of civil society especially in the section five. These assumptions can be perceived to be some of the key factors that lead to conflicts of nations.
Assumptions
One of the assumptions that can be seen is that all human beings have no interest in been referred to be inferior to one another (Ferguson). The essay also states that, not all people in the world want to be told that are equal to other people. This is what brings people to conflict in the nations because they are trying to prove their superiority to the other nation. The essay has the assumptions that the nations boast about their nation’s achievements in economy, its policies or the gardens.
The essay claims that people believe if those people who are unable to boast about their achievements in the nation then they are stated to be vain or perhaps ignorant. A good example can be seen from the Russians. The Russians had a belief that they upheld all the national honors in the world (Ferguson). This made them refers to other to be Nenei, which means that they were a dumb nation. The contempt they spit out can easily offend many nations thus brings about conflict between Russia and other nations. The need to have more conquest and increase the land territory of the nation is another assumption provided in the essay. People with more land and wealth are respected in the world. This is the reason why many people thrive more to acquire more land and wealth in order to gain honor and prestige in the world. The people will not care about how they acquired the lands and wealth.
According to the essay, it states that people have a tendency of asking questions about how powerful or wealthy a king or a person is in the society (Oz-Salzberger). According to Adam, virtue is brought on by the wealth of a nation and the power it possesses. When one does not have these virtues, they are claimed to be vice. The means in which the wealth was established that brought the people so much respect and admiration was through a vulgar means if looking at history. According to Adam, he believes that these people should feel a sense of shame but instead they portray themselves as the polished and distinguished people in the society. The people in the essay are claimed to continue with shameful acts in which they go to wars in order to increase their wealth and conquer more lands.
The value system
According to Adam, the value system that can be seen is that the human beings impulses and actions are brought by the inner self. According to the essay written, it states that the impulses that people have cause them to act in a manner that will prove to be criminal so that they can achieve greatness (Ferguson). People are usually interested in gaining respect and wealth in any way possible. This is what has caused many people to go to wars with different nations when one looks at the history. National spirit according Adam has been measured by the vigor and hard work one puts when pursuing the national prosperity of the nation (Oz-Salzberger). The spirit and courage will bring the nation to be in despair or developed especially in the economy. When there is a will power even if the measures that will be taken are disastrous the outcome is what people believe will make or break the nation. When the nation is able to conquer many states then it is believed to be the best and every nation will look up to them with admiration no matter how many lives are taken. It is obvious that the national spirit that people have is what causes the conflicts in the world.
In conclusion, Adam has produced some assumptions that are claimed to have brought about the origin of conflicts. Some of the assumptions that can be seen from the passage are that the people believe that the nation is more superior to others and that they are not equal to other nations. The nations also have a way of thinking that they are better than other nations because of the way their handle their nations policy and wealth. The other assumption is that the nations are well known for bragging about their wealth and conquest to people. The virtue of the inner mind is what brings about the conflicts that occur in the world (Oz-Salzberger). The reason for this is that when the inner mind agrees with the need for increasing economy then the consequence that will come from it will be devastating for other nations due to the wars they will be involved in at that time.
Work cited
Ferguson, Adam. An Essay on the History of Civil Society. Cambridge : Cambridge UP, 1996. Print
Oz-Salzberger, Fania. ‘Ferguson, Adam (1723–1816). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print
