Almost all of us believe that war is part of human nature, and therefore inevitable. But the evidence points away from that, and also shows us becoming less, not more, violent in modern times, according to an article in the latest New Scientist.
Briefly, war first became a useful option in the very last stages of the human nomad's two-million-year history. The advent of agriculture meant people had more invested in where they lived, and the first evidence of warfare appears 14,000 years ago: mass graves, rock paintings and defended settlements. Since then, levels of warfare have differed radically in different areas and periods, which would not happen if war was hard-wired into our nature. Instead, war seems to be a "response to environmental conditions such as swelling populations and dwindling food supplies."
Again counter-intuitively, we are currently getting less, not more warlike. Since World War II, there have been no wars between developed nations. Democracies (up from 20 to 100 in the last 50 years) almost never vote to wage war on each other. Modern conflicts are, in the words of political scientist John Mueller, the "remnants of war." So how can we keep moving toward the end of war, and not backslide back into it?
Reduce global warming, control population and find alternatives to fossil fuels. We are more prone to violence if we think we can prevail, so we should reduce "imbalances of power between nations." We should nurture democracy. And empower women, which leads to lower birthrates and brings more women--less violent than males by nature--to politics. It is comforting to think that everything we do in our lives toward the above goals also takes humankind one step further away from the horrors of war.
--Julian
we are not made for war and we have had less war,the mass media being some help with this ,that they report every military operation almost before it get's started and stick it on the front page is good..now if we can just stop from nucking each other to oblivion we should make it..
Posted by: ken | 07/27/2009 at 06:54 AM