Ask HN: Why must there be war?

War is a racket: https://ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html

There are fewer wars than there used to be. The percentage of the population for whom violence is not a regular part of daily life is much greater than it has been for most of history. OTOH, when violence does happen, the weapons available are far greater, able to cause far more death and destruction, than in the past.

All wars are economic in nature. Scarce resources and growth are at odds. Some societies have been peaceful and found balance in the resource usage. They tend to get overran one way or another.

"War is simply the continuation of policy by other means."

Let us digress a moment and ask, by what do you mean “war”? In our time, we may cite so many unlawful conflicts.

Of unlawful warfare, what may be said of the other side?

Life feeds upon life.

Power is savage.

War is a savage writ. The last recourse before subjugation. Where law fails and tenacity of wills prevail.

The question should be, what is lawful warfare?

Or at what point do we call a circumstance war? When bullets fly or when law of domain becomes contested among bodies of power?

Because there are scarce resources

There should not be .. its a complete waste of everything. But it is being thrust on you, whether you want it or not… now what are you going to do?

Because the regime demands it. I believe it should be possible to live without wars. That makes me a member of a small and shrinking minority.

Because when dark forces are on the move, there is no choice between war and peace, only between fight and surrender.

Depending on how deep you want the answer to be?

On one of the levels without ww2 and the cold war afterwards — there would never be the Internet and modern computers as we know them [1]

On a philosophical level — as long as there is a dualism, there is a constant battle and interplay between the sides. So war in one form or another is as inevitable as peace.

In a sense the whole life itself is a constant battle between good and evil, chaos and order, entropy and information [2]

On the surface — scarced resources, justice, religions are just silly stories that people create for themselves to sugarcoat and rationalize those (or other) deeply embeded into the reality drivers.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1732265119/

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Into-Cool-Energy-Flow-Thermodynamics/... and other similar books

Also Jordan Peterson “maps of meaning” and any serious book on roots of religious myths and stories.

Human nature

There's so many of us

Because territories must be defended.

Cuz weapon producers need to make money …