Mike H.
William Winwood Reade published a little know book in 1872 - The Martyrdom of Man - that describes the history of war beginning with the Egyptians, and discussing Western Asia, the Greeks, Macedoinians, Alexandra (Alexander the Great), Phoenecians, Carthage and Rome, Africa, and the Arabs. This book tells the story of WHY men have wars, and there are many different reasons and complexity. So your question about the inevitability of war requires a much more complex discussion about Politics, Religion, Geography and resources, Power, and Wealth. All of those factors in different complex combinations have led to war.
John
War is inevitable. The forces of power and money are far too powerful for common sense to prevail. There is too much ego, testosterone, honor - not to mention money - involved.
Does common sense win the day when it comes to budgets, global warming, energy use ? No.
Do those in power (e.g.-Robert Mugable, other African dictators, Vladimir Putin) voluntarily give it up in the sense of fair play ? No.
...... so why do we have optimism that war will end ? We can only hope that it doesn't affect us directly.
Carol
1/ Of course it is INEVITABLE! Why else would so many groups persist in engaging in activity that kills, maims and impoverishes entire countries? We even invent falsehoods to rationalize and popularize such wars (e.g., Iraq). Plus, it's a lot easier for people to get rich by making armaments than by not making them; making money is a powerful incentive to making war.
2/ No, humans will not stop FIGHTING WARS – not ever! Not while men have testosterone streaming through their bodies. In fact, they can't even stop fighting with one another in general, and even occasionally attack women!
Sad comment on the state of human affairs? Or perhaps just the flip side to sex and procreation? In the end, it doesn't matter much... War is the single greatest impediment to the welfare of mankind.
Rose Garden
Yes. Until and unless human beings give up their apparently universal addiction to religion and the notion of an afterlife, war will be with us. As long as we can maintain a moral justification for war -- i.e., god is on our side and the enemy is the devil -- as well as believing in an ultimate heavenly reward for dying -- we will continue to massacre each other. And religion's first cousin, nationalism, would have to go by the wayside too. Religion and nationalism going away? Not likely. War? Inevitable.
Jamal
Right Mahendra , you mean like the Hindus having a caste system and butcher each other. There is absolutely no warfare between sunnis and shias unless provoked by non muslims. The persians are a weirdly independent unpredictable bunch , they refer themselves as Shia which means separation from Islam , so they are not Muslims just as you have in PAGAN idol worshipping India, BORA , Khojas, Memon, etc. who refer themselves as Muslims but are not. LOL
Steve
Not just wars but endless wars. First it was the native Americans then the annihilation of slaves, then the nukes on Japs , then another 5 million yellow people wiped out and then the attention turned against the Brown people.
The end result is to create all the orphans ,kill the men and turn the women into prostitutes as we see it in Iraq.
Peter
Over 1000 US military bases worldwide.
Versus 196 nation of the world (including South Sudan).
It is nice 'belief' America is a peaceful nation.
But the numbers don't lie.
Mahendra
What is the difference between WAR and social and religious differences?
How can bloody class difference be solved i.e. Sunnis and Shiite?
Blumenthal
Yes Erin Burnett is a good example as to why war is inevitable, she is controlled by Wall st , definitely
Jack
I agree with Cohen.He hits the hammer on the head. Erin Burnett is a good example.
Marcia Dover Hoffman
I'm bewildered that this series is called
"End of War" when it should be titled "End of War as We Know It". War in all the definitions currently being discussed is obsolete. We will not have
"boots on the ground", we are approaching a worldwide situation where groups of people have been raised from childhood with a hatred of the Western way of life and determined to extinguish
us. This means the use of technology,
special ops, emphasis on intelligence. You will not see one wearing blue, the other grey or a Nazi across the Maginot
Line---Best to adjust.
Cohen
War is inevitable unfortunately due to as Norman puts it PMI - prison military infrastructure , that suffers from moral conspitation
Crush wall st and wars will end
Erin Burnett a transplant from CNBC a wall street channel to CNN pimps war every night against Iran. Stop her.
Bert Gossen
NO, war is not inevitable. The last thing that people want is war. Wars are instigated by people who profit from that, look at Bush and Cheney, the Carlyle Group, look at Krupp supporting Hitler early on, look at them selling weapons to every party and then reaping the spoils. Normal people have nothing to gain and to lose everything. Take away the power and the hate propaganda sponsored by the people who profit and there will be no more wars.
peter
It is ridiculous to say that more democratic nations are more peaceful.
Case and point:
the world's largest war monger...
America
Norman
As long as Wall st exists wars are never going to end.
When General Casey a general under Bush cheney crime syndicate comes out and says " the NY money people are pushing us into another war " ( with Iran) then there is no doubt that wars will continue without end.
General Eisenhower refers to the Military industrial infrastructure as the cause for wars. Who runs it - wall st which has corporate america in its pocket.
Now referred to as PMI - prison military infrastructure which suffers from moral constipation.
Evie Elman
War will cease once the people causing it feel loved.
Norman
As long as Wall st exists wars are never going to end.
When General Casey a general under Bush cheney crime syndicate comes out and says " the NY money people are pushing us into another war " ( with Iran) then there is no doubt that wars will continue without end.
General Eisenhower refers to the Military industrial infrastructure as the cause for wars. Who runs it - wall st which has corporate america in its pocket.
Now referred to as PMI - prison military infrastructure which suffers from moral constipation.
Melissa
My heart says no, but my head says yes. I think Barbara's thesis is a strong one; however the data is stacked against her.
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