Introduction

Just as we create new crimes, new victims, and other social problems, we create social policies to deal with them. Of course, rarely do we talk about "creating" social problems; we act as though our problems exist independent of our actions. Instead of acknowledging that "sexual harassment," for example, is a category created and brought to public attention through advocates' claims, we speak of "discovering" this problem as though it always existed and we have simply ignored it up until now. Indeed, the inappropriate use of power for sexual favors has existed throughout human history, but "sexual harassment" evolved as a result of concerted efforts to define the condition as a social problem. Once defined as a social problem, debates arise regarding what types of social policies might be effective in ameliorating the condition. Policy talk often has unintended, unexamined, and undesirable consequences for the well-being of society.

The War Metaphor and Social Policy

Declaring "war" on a social problem simply is one instance of a broader tendency to use militarized language to describe social problems and social policy. This fondness for military language reveals that declarations of war are part of a more general tendency to use war as a metaphor. In their most extreme form, social policies can be conducted in an overtly military manner; for instance, police paramilitary units, wearing military-style uniforms and equipped with assault weapons and other military gear, play an increasingly active role in policing some cities.

The Attractions of Declaring War

Declaring war defines the social problem as an enemy to be fought. Wartime propaganda routinely transforms human enemies into evil, inhuman abstractions. Because the enemy is evil, the war is justified. Of course, it can prove difficult to wage a prolonged war against an abstraction. Over time, a more specific enemies list often emerges. Official rhetoric in the current war on drugs, for example, variously blames foreign farmers and domestic growers, drug cartels and dealers, hopelessness, and public apathy. The advantage of this approach from a sociological perspective is that it expands the definition of the condition from just "troubled persons" (i.e., the drug users) to institutional arrangements that contribute to the problem. Another advantage of the war metaphor is that the fight is seen as a dramatic, uncommon step, a last resort taken by society as a whole; we're all in this together.

Why Wars Against Social Problems Fail

Declaring war on social problems enlists the U.S. public in a particular sort of enterprise. The metaphor invokes a complex set of meanings: a righteous cause, unity of purpose, commitment to the war's goals, and a clear-cut enemy, but also a concentrated yet relatively brief struggle, ending in ultimate victory. This is what war means to Americans; it is what we expect of war.

In practice, declaring war on social problems is very different from waging international war. Social problems are not simple. The war will not result in a clear-cut victory. It will not be brief. Social problems cannot surrender.

Most importantly, the causes of social problems are, in part, endemic to American society. The causes reside in the structure of our society; we do not necessarily want to change or even seriously address the causes. The enemy cannot be defeated because the enemy, in part, is us!

Because social problems have multiple, hotly debated causes, it is impossible to obtain unity of opinion or purpose in ameliorating them. The melodrama of the war metaphor, its insistence that social problems can be understood as a straightforward struggle between good and evil, constrains discussion of alternative causes and solutions.

Sound social policies seem relatively ineffective compared with battlefield victories. They seem partial, boring, and slow to achieve the desired results. Melodrama's simplicity is appealing precisely because it makes complex issues easy to understand. The limitations of this simplicity, however, become apparent in hotly contested social issues. Multiple causes and complex issues cannot be discussed; alternative solutions seem like wavering; policies become fodder for political rhetoric.

Declarations of war offer a means of rallying people around a common cause. But the war metaphor also encourages expectations of quick, decisive victories, expectations that inevitably lead to disappointment and disillusionment.