Why Do Humans Go to War so Frequently Essay

Why do humans go to war so frequently? This question has always been one of the most important because it touches the major reasons of war actions which create havoc and lead to enormous human losses. Of course, there may be a great deal of different reasons why humans go to war. Some humans want to take revenge on something while others go to war because of the territorial issue. Another reason is connected with the desire to make their life better. Some people think that if they capture the treasure of other people they will live happily. Other people go to war because they want to protect their way of life, their traditions and culture.
It is clear that war ruins everything around. Moreover, war actions lead to killing people including the innocent ones who even do not have weapons to protect themselves. It is wrong. Killing people is a crime. The above mentioned facts prove that the common reason of war actions is human violence. War actions take place when humans cannot come to an understanding. Violence prevents them to find a common language with each other.
My goal in this essay is to discuss the major reasons why humans go to war so frequently and for what reasons they are engaged in genocide basing on two significant sources which represent a great deal of useful information on the issue.
EXPLANATION OF MALE VIOLENCE IN THE DARK SIDE OF A MAN BY MICHAEL GHIGLIERI
Michael Ghiglieri, the author of the book The Dark Side of Man pays special attention to genetic differences between men and women. He argues that men have more violence in their character than women. The author, a biologist by profession who decided to analyze the biological roots of humans’ bad behavior discussed such important issues as rape, murder, war and genocide. He uses the latest researches and his huge experience of a good primatologist and a skilled soldier in order to explain the nature of violence.
Michael Ghiglieri is sure that in most cases “male violence is innate” because it is a so called “product of evolution” which lasted millions of years. It is interesting to note that the author used primates as an example when he studied the above mentioned issues: “Wild chimps reveal the natural contexts of territoriality, war, male cooperation, solidarity, sexism, murder…” (Ghiglieri, 2000, p.174)
The scientist states that none of the chimps learned violence from TV programs and movies. None of the chimps was a victim of economic situation because none of them had “poor homes, bad fathers, illegal drugs, easy weapons, and other sociological conditions”. (Ghiglieri, 2000, p.176)
It means that aggression is a part of genetic history. Males will always show their violence.
Speaking about war actions and genocide it is necessary to say that the author touches upon this issue in his book rather seriously. He argues that all the soldiers are “willing a war” because they leave a lot of dead bodies of their enemies. The other fact that proves males desire to go to war is “the ownership of those enemies’ territory, resources, women” and so on. War is a so called “reproductive gamble” of humans.(Ghiglieri, 2000, p.209)
Genocide is a type of war where “natural-born genocidal maniacs” are at the head of the army. There are a lot of examples of genocide in the history. One of them is World War II which lasted for about six years, Adolf Hitler was a “natural born genocidal maniac”. The other genocidal wars took place in Sri Lanca, in Liberia, in Sudan and others. Racial hatred is one of the major reasons of genocide. (Ghiglieri, 2000, p.210)
Terrorism is also a type of genocide because its war tactic is “to kill or violate victims so as to instill fear in the majority of the citizens”. However, the major goals of terrorism are political ones such as to change political regime or to rectify some grievances and so on. (Ghiglieri, 2000, p.232)
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE BY STEVEN PINKER – ANOTHER APPROACH TO UNDERSATNDING OF VIOLENCE
The famous psychologist Steven Pinker called his lecture A History of Violence because he discussed the major features of human minds which can lead to violent actions. He also states that there is an obvious decline of violence “from Biblical times” to the present day life. He tries to prove the fact that today, we are living “in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence”. (Pinker, 2007, para.2)
Steven Pinker represents a great deal of examples from the past which show that violence took a special place in the society of those days. One of them is a historical evidence of the violence – cat burning, a popular entertainment in France in sixteenth century. He states that today, such form of violence is prohibited. Moreover, it is unthinkable in the whole world. It means that “violence has been in decline over long stretches of history”. (Pinker, 2007, para.1)
The famous psychologist states that humans became “kinder and gentler” in many ways. Such acts of violence as “slavery as a labor saving device”, “genocide as a means of acquiring real estate”, rape, homicide and other forms of violence are rear in the present day world and in most countries they do not exit. He also argues that “global violence has fallen steadily since the second part of the twentieth century”.(Pinker, 2000, para.6)
However, according to the psychological researches, human nature remained the same. In other words, humans “have not lost their taste for violence”. Violence can be found in the movies, TV programs, video games but civilized world increased self-control and sensitivity to the feelings of other people.(Pinker, 2000, para.15)
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is necessary to say that violence still exists in our society. Humans go to war so frequently because they have a lot of reasons but one and the same common trait of character – violence which lives practically in all the people. Although men are more violent than women, today, all the people try to control their feelings and thoughts. The decline of violence is based on the development of “civilized society”. Genocide as a form of violence is condemned in the modern society.