Introduction
The article analyzes the problem of violence and social conflict, rejecting simplified narratives in favor of "civil paths to peace." Contrary to popular belief, the source of the problem is not a lack of force, but the inability to effectively utilize collective intelligence in the face of information overload and conflicting narratives. The key is the multidimensionality of identity, which forms the foundation of social resilience. Drawing on Amartya Sen's report, the article exposes the mechanisms of cognitive simplification, structural humiliation, and the monopolization of channels of expression that fuel violence. It proposes specific institutional solutions, from pluralistic education to information market regulations, to make violence unprofitable and cooperation and mutual recognition lucrative. The true fight for peace is a battle for minds that requires a systemic approach encompassing law, economics, and technology.
A Simplified Vision of the World: The Fallacy of Reductionism
Amartya Sen rejects the vision of the world as a "ready-made tale" because it reduces complexity to a single axis of conflict, making it easier to manipulate people through fear. A key threat is the illusion of unidimensionality (the solitarist illusion)—the error of reducing a human being to a single identity, most often ethnic or religious. Such reduction turns neighborhood into betrayal and discussion into surrender.
In this view, violence is not a side effect but a designed process—the cold engineering of hate based on murky sentiments. The "clash of civilizations" thesis is debunked as a logical fallacy and a toxic business plan that acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sen also warns against the trap of focusing exclusively on interfaith dialogue. Paradoxically, it can legitimize the extremist dogma that the world is divided only by faith, destroying other crucial civic, professional, and cultural bonds.
Public Discussion and the Foundations of Humiliation
The foundation of peace is government by discussion. In Sen's view, democracy is not just an act of voting, but the institutional capacity to correct errors and give a voice to excluded groups. The report proves that poverty and inequality do not automatically breed terrorism; rather, they provide the ground for structural humiliation. This is a systemic message of non-recognition that makes violence appear as the only channel of expression and method for restoring dignity.
The key links in the infrastructure of peace are women and youth. Youth are the battlefield for the mental map of the world, while women maintain invisible social capital—the network of relationships ensuring the continuity of life where formal structures have failed. Without their participation in decision-making processes, pluralism loses in the daily microeconomics of humiliation, and society loses the ability to reproduce peace.
The Battle for Minds and Information Architecture
The modern "battle for minds" is not just a matter of education, but a hard business risk. A lack of social cohesion raises transaction costs and destabilizes supply chains. Global business increasingly treats social resilience as an element of operational strategy. At the same time, current information architecture amplifies polarization because platform algorithms reward extreme content that increases user retention.
Civil paths to peace require systemic methods, not just force. A forceful approach often removes the symptoms but strengthens the sense of humiliation. An effective strategy requires technology regulation and laws that shift the costs of disinformation onto the entities profiting from it. Multidimensionality of identity must become a permanent resilience technology—a dense network of connections (work, language, procedures) that neutralizes violence by making it institutionally unprofitable.
Summary
In a world of algorithmically designed polarization, does the appeal for rationality sound like a naive utopia? Perhaps the real challenge lies in creating information architectures that make peace as engaging and profitable as inciting conflict. Otherwise, we will be condemned to putting out fires that we ourselves unconsciously fuel.
Civility is not the absence of norms, but the primacy of norms over violence. It requires investment in long-term assets: political inclusiveness, the reduction of humiliation, and a legal system that understands the mechanisms of digital content diffusion. Only a multidimensional perception of the human being allows for the building of societies resilient to the engineering of hate.
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