Link to the Show / Show NotesAccording to Lawrence Keeley, "90-95% of known societies engage in
war". Why? What compels homo sapiens to kill each other? Why do we
fight? Part one will describe two hypotheses.
War is Necessary:
Aristotle
says in Nicomachean Ethics that "we fight war so that we may live in
peace". This notion is echoed by many other famous thinkers including
Marx (an advocate of a final proletarian revolution in order to
establish a worker's paradise) and Zoroaster (the first monotheist to
discuss the final battle of judgment between good and evil).
War is Logical:
Using
Darwin's logic, mankind continues to fight wars because it is the means
through which our species survives. Thomas Malthus adapted this into a
population argument, stating that humans fight wars in order to keep
populations small and manageable. Samuel Huntington took this one step
further by saying that war negates massive youth bulges. Lastly, John
Nash (the economist) proved, through game theory, that war is a more
logical choice than peace.
War is Accidental:
AJP Taylor
argued that all wars are unintended and unhappy escalations of smaller
conflicts. Warmongering is neither inherent nor unavoidable. Taylor's
ideas link closely to the pacifistic ideas of Tolstoy and Gandhi.
For more information, read:
Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
Communist Manifesto by Marx
Holy Avesta, Holy Bible, Holy Qur'an
Origin of Species by Darwin
An Essay on the Principle of Population by Malthus
Environmental Science by Richard Wright
Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington
Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine
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