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Why is There War?

 Why is there so much war?

Here are a few short answers, all of which you will not like.

A. Evolutionary. Humans evolved from the predator class of subspecies. It is natural for us, therefore, to consider predation, i.e. war, to solve problems. Had we evolved from, say a prey species, war possibilities would be much diminished, but so would our relentless quests for power. Even the Meerkats wage wars, the cute little things - but predators.

B. Deistic. If you believe in a creator, you must then consider why did God create such an aggressive creature as the human being. However, who can speak for God?

C. Pragmatic. Most agree that humankind is pragmatic, and certainly you can view war as a pragmatic solution to problems.

D. Algorithmic. In the language of algorithms, humankind solves problems using greedy algorithms, that is, it tends to optimize the shortest term solutions to a conflict, to kill.  How many wars were thought to last only a few week, when begun? Many.  If man had a predilection to long-term solutions, wars would be judged as less than optimal.

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