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War And Peace Essay This paper will talk about war and will examine whether war is a natural condition and is inevitable or whether war is just an invention of mankind and can be avoided if so desired. The paper will also discuss the consequences of war and some of the factors which trigger and initiate confrontation. Margaret Meade defines war or warfare as a â€Å"recognized conflict between two groups as groups, in which each group puts an army (even if the army is only fifteen pygmies) into the field to fight and kill, if possible, some of the members of the army of the other group. † (Meade, Margaret) Man has been addicted to war for centuries. In ancient times, man did not even need a very strong reason to go to war. He was used to hunting tribes, killing men and women and looting villages. Strength was perceived to be equivalent to the number of lands one could conquer or the number of people one could kill. Men killed in cold blood and considered this way of living to be exciting and glorious. (James, William) This attitude has changed to a large extent in the modern world. One can’t just go out and kill. At least in principle man cannot kill or loot or damage another human being. According to William James, war is permissible â€Å"only when forced upon one, only when an enemys injustice leaves us no alternative. † Nevertheless, the senseless wars and destruction we see all around us today indicates that man’s thirst and fascination for war and bloodshed has not decreased but is simply manifested differently. In other words, â€Å"modern man inherits all the innate pugnacity and all the love of glory of its ancestors. No wonder man has engaged in so many senseless and irrational wars bringing pain and horror to hundreds and thousands of people. (James, William) Man has been a constant supporter of war. This is evident from the numerous conflicts prevalent all around the world. From World War I and II to the Korean War, Vietnam, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Columbia, West Bank and Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Algeria, Gulf, Turkey, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sarajevo and so on, thousands of people are engaged in combat all across the globe and millions are being killed and injured. If one only looks at the fatalities during the 1990s, one would see that there are nearly â€Å"2 million people dead in Afghanistan, 1. 5 million dead in Sudan, around 800,000 dead in Rwanda, half a million dead in Angola, quarter of a million dead in Bosnia, 200,000 dead in Guatemala; 150,000 dead in Liberia; a quarter of a million dead in Burundi and 75,000 dead in Algeria. † There are hundreds and thousands of people dying in conflicts between Israel and Palestine, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Columbia, Chechnya, Sri Lanka, Kosovo, Ireland, Turkey and not to forget the Persian Gulf. According to statistics, nearly 62 million civilians have died in the wars of the twentieth century. This is nearly 20 million more than the number of military personnel that have been killed during the same time period. According to Will Durant, a historian, â€Å"there have been only twenty nine years in all of human history during which a war was not underway somewhere. † (Hedges, Chris). Since September 11, a new type of war has begun triggered by attacks on America when New York’s World Trade Center was destroyed by two passenger planes being flown into them. Pentagon was also attacked and it is believed that a similar attack had been planned for the White House but did not materialize. This started the War against Terrorism with the United States taking the Taliban head-on and attacking Afghanistan in search of Osama Bin Laden. A similar war was initiated against Iraq accused of carrying weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein was removed as the head of the state, put on trial and executed for his various crimes against humanity. However, the war against terror appears to be never ending. Although many would agree with the cause of this war, the immense destruction and death that has been observed depicts the senselessness of taking on such a conflict. There are extremists at both ends – Islamic fundamentalists on one side and aggressive leaders on the other. There is no hope for any resolution if both parties refuse to listen to each other and refuse to make any efforts to attain peace. It becomes apparent from the never ending bloodshed in Afghanistan and Iraq that man is indeed thirsty for bloodshed otherwise there is simply no reason why such a battle would last this long. No one is winning and there seems to be no conclusion in sight. The theory that because man is a war animal and has been so for centuries is no excuse for the destruction of so many countries and the death of so many soldiers and innocent civilians. In fact there are many societies and people who have never undertaken any conflicts in their lives. These include the Eskimos and the Lepchas of Sikkim. None of these people understand the concept of warfare. Lepchas are gentle and un-quarrelsome people while Eskimos, though not mild, see no necessity of going to war for any reason whatsoever. It may be argued that Eskimos do not possess any land or any assets to have any reason to wage war. That may be true but the fact still remains that the theory than man is biologically designed to wage war appears to be untrue if one looks at certain groups of people that have survived for centuries without waging any war. Thus, war is actually an invention by mankind and even civilized or mild people may go to war if they are aware of this invention. However, those who do not know of war will simply not go to war because they are not yet aware of the invention. They may be violent or civilized; war will never be an option for them. According to Margaret Meade, â€Å"people who do not know of dueling will not fight duels, even though their wives are seduced and their daughters ravished; they may on occasion commit murder but they will not fight duels. Cultures which lack the idea of the vendetta will not meet every quarrel in this way. † (Meade, Margaret) Thus, war is not a necessity but an invention. War can be avoided if human beings see the absolute absurdity of the whole exercise. There is never any positive outcome of war. One party always ends up losing and there is no one to judge whether the side which emerges victorious is the one in the right. War is the worst possible activity mankind can engage in and human beings should collectively work towards outlining alternatives other than war to resolve conflicts. Works Cited James, Williams. The Moral Equivalent of War. From The Best American Essays of the Century, Joyce Carol Gates, ed. , and Robert Atwan, coed. 2000, 45-49, 52-55. Meade, Margaret. Warfare: An Invention—Not a Biological Necessity. Asia. 1940. Hedges, Chris. War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. Anchor, 2005.