--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our first and most pressing problem is…" description: "\"Our first and most pressing problem is how to do away with warfare as a method of solving conflicts between national groups within a society who have d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/margaret-mead-982_conflict_our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-h_1603133.jpg" --- # Our first and most pressing problem is how to do away with… ![“Our first and most pressing problem is how to do away with warfare as a method of solving conflicts between national groups within a society who have different views about how the society is to run.” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/margaret-mead-982_conflict_our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-h_1603133.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/margaret-mead-982_conflict_our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-h_1603133.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/margaret-mead-982_conflict_our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-h_1603133.jpg) > “Our first and most pressing problem is how to do away with warfare as a method of solving conflicts between national groups within a society who have different views about how the society is to run.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She urges eliminating war as a means to resolve political and social disagreements within nations. **In simple terms:** Stop using war to settle disputes. Key Takeaway Seek peaceful conflict resolution. Themes peace conflict resolution politics society war Mood concerned determined Type political activist When to use this quote - government debates - community negotiations - international treaties - grassroots activism Key Concepts nonviolence diplomacy social contract Questions to Reflect On - How can societies replace war with dialogue? - What incentives encourage leaders to choose peace? A Different Perspective War may be entrenched in power structures, making change difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Conflicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflicts/) [Conflicts National](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflicts-national-6101063/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-views/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/method/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Solving Conflicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solving-conflicts-3958686/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Warfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warfare/) [Warfare Method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warfare-method-3958685/) ## Related quotes > [Our first and most pressing problem is how to do away with warfare as a method of solving conflicts between national groups or between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-how-to-do-away-with-warfare-as-2/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“People turned against each other cannot turn against those responsible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/people-turned-against-each-other-cannot-turn-against-those-responsible/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [“The more we're thrown into conflict with each other through engineered distrust, the less able we are to unite against those responsible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/the-more-we-re-thrown-into-conflict-with-each-other-through/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [Warfare ... is just an invention, older and more widespread than the jury system, but none the less an invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/warfare-is-just-an-invention-older-and-more-widespread-than-the-jury/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [ We \[with Donald Trump\] just have a different view about what's best for growing the economy, how we make investments that will actually produce… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-with-donald-trump-just-have-a-different-view-about-what-s-best-for/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Conservatives have a different view of a lot of issues versus our friends on the other side. The election determines how that shakes out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/conservatives-have-a-different-view-of-a-lot-of-issues-versus-our/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [I strive for perfection, but I'm not perfect. But what I can say is my morals are totally different than any other 24-year-old rapper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asap-rocky/i-strive-for-perfection-but-i-m-not-perfect-but-what-i-can-say-is-my/) [ASAP Rocky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asap-rocky/) > [“Who that prohibits two people who have different views about God to love each other?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aditia-rinaldi/who-that-prohibits-two-people-who-have-different-views-about-god-to/) [Aditia Rinaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aditia-rinaldi/) > [Lawyers are necessary in a community. Some of you...take a different view; but as I am a member of that legal profession, or was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-taft/lawyers-are-necessary-in-a-community-some-of-you-take-a-different/) [William Howard Taft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-taft/) > [We can be civil. We can still be friends, and be Democrats and Republicans, and have different views.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/we-can-be-civil-we-can-still-be-friends-and-be-democrats-and/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [If your political views define who you are as a human, and you can't stand to have friends that have different views than you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-marlow/if-your-political-views-define-who-you-are-as-a-human-and-you-can-t/) [Maddie Marlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-marlow/) > [It's okay to have different views and beliefs. But when it's all said and done, we are all human. Everyone is equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-okay-to-have-different-views-and-beliefs-but-when-it-s-all-said/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There will always be people with different views from yours. Learn to respect their right to a different view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-will-always-be-people-with-different-views-from-yours-learn-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We think the Puritans always dressed in black and white, which they didn't. They loved very bright colors. And there were other differences in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/we-think-the-puritans-always-dressed-in-black-and-white-which-they/) [Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/) > [It is okay to be have different views, its okay to do different things, its okay to be someone you want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-okay-to-be-have-different-views-its-okay-to-do-different-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Conflict quotes > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [There is a conflict in the Middle East between two entities, and they're both right, each in their own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuven-rivlin/there-is-a-conflict-in-the-middle-east-between-two-entities-and-they/) [Reuven Rivlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reuven-rivlin/) > [Conflict isn't negative, it just is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-crum/conflict-isn-t-negative-it-just-is/) [Thomas Crum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-crum/) > [I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/africa-being-the-major-target-of-colonial-plunder-therefore-becomes-a/) [Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/) > [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) > [The irrepressible conflict propounded by abolitionism has produced now its legitimate fruits - disunion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-irrepressible-conflict-propounded-by-abolitionism-has-produced/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/) [Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/) > [“While there is battle and hatred men have eyes for nothing save the fact that the enemy is the cause of all the troubles;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/while-there-is-battle-and-hatred-men-have-eyes-for-nothing-save-the/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/all-men-have-an-instinct-for-conflict-at-least-all-healthy-men/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [I didnt like the Survivor shows because of the mean-spirited aspect, and women certainly were part of whatever conflict they would create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lawrence/i-didnt-like-the-survivor-shows-because-of-the-mean-spirited-aspect/) [Sharon Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lawrence/) > [“How we traverse the space between us when conflict arises has a profound effect on the health and longevity of our relationships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/how-we-traverse-the-space-between-us-when-conflict-arises-has-a/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) [Browse all 3,969 Conflict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our first and most pressing problem is how to do away with warfare as a method of solving conflicts between national groups within a society who have different views about how the society is to run.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Mead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-how-to-do-away-with-warfare-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conflict" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-how-to-do-away-with-warfare-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/margaret-mead-982_conflict_our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-h_1603133.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/margaret-mead-982_conflict_our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-h_1603133.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09c/margaret-mead-982_conflict_our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-h_1603133.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our first and most pressing problem is how to do away with warfare as a method of solving conflicts between…” — Margaret Mead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Margaret Mead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our first and most pressing problem...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-how-to-do-away-with-warfare-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/our-first-and-most-pressing-problem-is-how-to-do-away-with-warfare-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```