War - what is good for?

Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Absolutely nothing.
US Military Industrial Complex: Some trillion dollars since 911.
Social Darwinists: Prevention of overpopulation.

In modern times, let's say in the last 3000 years or so, war served business purposes. On a macro-economic scale, however, war just wastes valuable resources and yields hardly more luxury than agricultural ways of living. But the inventiveness of mankind increased the usefulness of the limited resources available, so that the average wealth increased, and thus made wars ever more profitable.

Predatory animals need a relatively high level of aggressiveness just to pursue a living, and this evolutionary successful instinct exists in human beings as well. A small number of highly aggressive people can subordinate a large number of others to make their own life more resourceful, the Aryan Brotherhood poses an interesting example in our time.

Although we lack evidence of war in prehistoric times, it unlikely looked like heaven, all peaceful and good. In a hunter and gatherer society other groups of humans could have easily been considered as prey, and cannibalistic tribes have survived until the last two centuries (or even until today). Scarcity of resources might lead to "wars" as well, killing another tribe for survival.

Interspecies aggression happens a lot, among sea anemones, ants, monkeys and humans. Yet, if we understand evolution, we can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Aggression, the innate animal survival strategy, and war, its commercial brother, belong to the memes of life. But if consciousness distinguishes humans from other animals, we can transcend this animalistic past by conscious control.

If we see our planet as finite economic system, warfare loses all justification. It destroys valuable resources, concentrates wealths in the hands of few, and generally prevents a more equitable distribution of the planet's resources.

Nowadays, the major information distribution outlets have very strong ties to the military industrial complex, and glorifies past and present war efforts. The mainstream media encourages a local perspective (better us then them) and neglects the global insanity of war, and especially who makes most money out of it.

Instead we read about ideological or religious differences that caused wars. Have you never wondered why you hear rarely about the costs of war? You can see a lot of heroes, sometimes victims, hear stories with little evidence. War allows our capitalistic world a break from the dreadful money to destroy our empathy with permanent pictures of human madness.

Lethal intergroup competition such as wars have most likely their place throughout human history, but without cooperation no bounty could have ever been scored. Civilized societies transformed this instinct into sports, a vicarious fight without lethal victims. Unless, of course, hooligans get encouraged to fight their own battle.

If acted out aggression belongs to the animal kingdom, mankind could prove its godlike status by evolving beyond the urge to kill each other. As Buckminster Fuller said: There is enough for everyone.

Evolution has never stopped. We won't speed it up by genetic engineering but with the conscious control of our individual and collective evolution.