Mo Tzu was a noted Chinese writer, philosopher, military strategist, and founder of Mohism, a school of thought that preached "universal love, or the love of all human beings" (Austin 253) . In Against Offensive Warfare, one of three works written by Tzu in opposition to China's ongoing civil wars, he criticized man's ability to praise offensive warfare and laud it as just, while condemning lesser acts of civilian crime and violence and denouncing them as unjust. He argued that all acts of offensive war and aggression against another human being should be considered unjust and that no distinction should be made between the two. As a military strategist, Mo Tzu was no stranger to the atrocities of military conflict and adhered to the belief that war should be avoided unless fought in self-defense. Mo Tzu believed that war was a sin and that the immeasurable sacrifice of both life and resources was a waste that would ultimately destroy the world (Osborne). War is a horrible and dangerous affair that destroys the lives of millions of people and breaks the threads that hold our society together. It separates families and divides countries, leaving only death, disease and destruction in its wake. While war is always terrible and should be avoided at all costs, sometimes war is necessary to restore order and freedom to a lost and destroyed world. Mo Tzu lived and taught during the tumultuous Warring States period (475–221 BC) in ancient China. He believed that people should only do what benefits themselves or others and that ongoing civil wars were a waste of time and resources. At the time, Mo Tzu's teachings were highly controversial and differed from popular belief......middle of paper......c, and Patty Campbell. War is... Soldiers, survivors and storytellers talk about war. Cambridge: Candlewick, 2008. Print.Austin, Michael. Reading the world: ideas that matter. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2010. Print.Churchill, Winston. “We will fight on the beaches.” Ed. Sempa, Francis P. "The speeches that helped save Western civilization." American Diplomacy May 26, 2009. Academic OneFile. Network. April 4, 2014. "Declaration of Independence." The United States Government Manual. Washington: Office of the Federal Register, 2013. Web. April 4, 2014.Osborne, Evan. "China's First Liberal." Independent Review 16.4 (2012): 533+. Academic OneFile. Network. April 4, 2014.Sherrow, Victoria. The Righteous Gentiles. San Diego: Lucent, 1988. Print.Tzu, Mo. Against offensive war. Ed. Michael Austin. Reading the world: ideas that matter. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2010. 254-255. Press.