Phun-size Philosophy # 62 – War

Wars are the situations in which sides are pitting against each other and it is usually an armed conflict and can be perceived as an active struggle between competing entities. War usually occurs when there are strained relationships but can occur unprovoked and just happens because one side wants to forcefully take something from another. There are many motivations that can in a sense cause feuds and some include land, power, resources, and other finites resources that you can possibly run out of requiring you to get more from others. Two main reasons why war would break out could possibly be because one side wants something the other owns and they don’t negotiate for it or one side just has a straight up problem with another and will do anything to exterminate them. While the latter usually only occurs in extreme situations where genocide is likely to follow, the former is usually the underlying case for almost all armed conflicts. There are many transformations that occur from the beginning of war to the end. This process can have different locations and weapons that change as time progresses but the underlying themes and motivations explained above pretty much transcend time. When I talk about transformations I also refer to the individual sides and how certain sides or aspects may be flourishing but can get completely destroyed during the whole warfare progression. The economy of big business usually grows exponentially like defense contractors but the growths of other aspects that don’t relate to war get inhibited by all the fighting. Different sectors will inevitably prosper and others will be squandered by war. Big business related to governmental affairs like the defense contactors I said before will most likely benefit from killing but things like populate get reduced depending upon the chaos and destruction caused by war. The outcomes of wars can vary dramatically from case to case. Depending on the power of each side, the war can end quickly or result in a stalemate which are the worse because the destructions just spreads unless there is diplomacy involved or one side gives up. When you talk about wars you need to talk about the winners and losers involved. The winner is usually the one that forces another to surrender or defends successfully against the incoming attackers. If you are attacking and win, you will get in a sense “prizes” that can come in the form of money, resources, and other desirables that motivated you to fight in the first place. If you successfully defend an attack you will probably get to keep one of the most precious prizes of all which is your life. Regardless of which side wins of losses, the winner has the capability to write history the way they see fit because the losing side has no say in the matter. Finally, I think it is important to talk about the ending of war all together. I believe that it is the worst conflict resolution technique and should only be used in the extreme of cases which I believe are never really justifiable. However, I think that until we learn alternative behaviors and ways to deal and interact with each other we may be doomed to repeat history by not learning from our past mistakes. Check out more at http://humanpoweredpodcasts.squarespace.com/!

-Allan Nicholas