Are you a war pessimist? Odds are you are. For almost a decade now, I’ve been asking people if they think war will ever end. I’ve surveyed thousands of people, young and old, liberal and conservative, hawks and doves, male and female. Almost nine times out of 10, the answer to my question is “No,” and often, “Hell no!” as if the question itself is silly. Of course war will never end! It’s part of human nature! In our genes! It’s the inevitable consequence of our religious/ethnic/economic/political differences, of male competition for females/land/oil/prestige/power. And so on.
I wrote The End of War , published last month by McSweeney’s Books, to challenge this fatalism, which I believe is wrong empirically and morally. Empirically because research into war’s roots shows that deadly group violence is a relatively recent cultural “invention” an especially vicious, self-perpetuating meme that culture can help us overcome. Morally because our fatalistic acceptance of war as a permanent part of the human condition can impede efforts to achieve enduring peace.
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