The difference between negative and positive peace

It’s around 5pm and I’m cooking dinner in the kitchen, when I am interrupted by shrieking from the living room. The kids are at either end of the sofa, kicking at each other and hollering accusations. Someone has had five minutes more Minecraft than they are entitled to. It’s not their turn any more, but they won’t surrender the controller. Or something.

I intervene. Parental Authority is deployed and the kicking stops. There is a begrudgingly muttered exchange of “sorry”. I return to the ki...