War! What Is It Good For? by Ian Morris
Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
This work contends that, despite its horrors, warfare has historically been the chief engine for creating larger, stronger states that impose order, reduce rates of violent death, enable trade, and foster innovation. Drawing on archaeology, history, and data, it argues that as societies scaled up through conquest and state-building, everyday violence declined and living standards improved. Yet it also maintains that the advent of industrialized and especially nuclear conflict changes the calculus, making large-scale war too destructive to yield net benefits, and points toward international cooperation and robust institutions as the better path to security and prosperity.
Purchase from
Bookshop.org
- Published
- 2014
- Nationality
- British
- Length
- Long
- Pages
- 512-544
- Original Language
- English
- Avg User Rating
- No ratings yet
- Alternate Titles
- None
This book is not currently on any lists.