Жолбов. Английский билеты. 4-5 курс / The Root Causes of War

The Root Causes of War

The phenomenon of war has been thoroughly studied by researchers of different spheres – war theorists, historians, psychologists and politicians. The reasons for war are different, yet all of them lead to belligerence. But what is aggressiveness rooted in? Is it human nature that is to blame for warlike behaviour of individuals or is it society that makes monsters out of peace-loving people?

Practically no one will dispute that humans are successors of their evolutionary ancestors, which is why they are closely connected with them in their habits and instincts. Aggression is a normal pattern of behaviour in the animal world, but is it similar to human beings? Modern societies have learned to control bursts of belligerence of single individuals by punishing those who commit acts of aggression. It is normal in the developed world to put one’s emotions under control. Most people follow these rules and search for other opportunities to cope with problems that cause pugnacious behaviour.

This, however, is true only for wealthy societies, where living standards are quite high. In less developed states, where a person is constantly trying to survive, even the most peaceful citizen is likely to support war against another group of people. When the social situation is unstable and people have to deal with more and more problems, it is necessary for them to find a common enemy and to punish him for all the trouble. The role of an / the individual there is quite unimportant. People may acquire such characteristics as bloodlust, for example, for a short period of time. This doesn’t mean that they are aggressive by nature or that they like to manslaughter. It simple shows how social problems result in despair which changes a person completely.

All this makes me think that it is the society and social factors that make war possible. They include the state of economy and development, stability of the political system, equality of rights and other characteristics. When the policy of all countries is based on the idea of sustainable development and people get out of difficulty and poverty, the launching of wars in the world will be impossible.