LH: '...war is part of the human condition. It is
a fact of life.'
Simon: Whose life though? Is war a neceassary
condition of modern society? No, since modern wars
are almost exclusively fought in underdeveloped
regions of the world - the exceptions being those
states and areas that have an underlying racial
tension that has lain dormant.
Eric: Depends what you mean by modern. High
modernism in literature for example begins around
1910. By that measure, "modern societies" would
include the great industrialized world wars of the
past century.
And have things changed irreversibly? I think not.
Without adequate force to counter aggression
(Saddam invading Kuwait for example) all the
wonders of our modern world could vanish in a
couple years. Any collective progress we have made
is tenuous, is partially enforced militarily, and
could easily be undone.
Take away the Pax Americana and what would you
have? Much more international piracy. Dozens of
nuked-up little despotisms. Tiny wars, some of
them nuclear, and a possible quick slide into
barbarism and despair.
If we could replace Pax Americana with something
else, it could be better (e.g., well-maintained
spheres of regional influence) or worse (e.g., a
world run by China). But the point is that
whatever entity imposes world order does so in
part by military force.
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