Citation

Hand J. J. Aggress. Confl. Peace Res. 2010; 2(4): 44-56.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing)

DOI

10.5042/jacpr.2010.0536

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The thesis of this commentary is that the institution of war could be abolished through a combination of constructive programmes and obstructive programmes. Good works alone won't end war. To transform dominator, warring cultures into egalitarian and nonwarring ones, constructive programmes are needed to prepare the way, to establish the groundwork for a new lifestyle. But, alone, they will not result in a paradigm shift on earth to a Gene Roddenberry-style Star Trek future in which there is gender and racial equality, poverty has been eliminated and conflicts are resolved by the rule of law instead of through military force. Paradoxically, unless paired with the force of obstructive programmes, constructive programmes can enable dominator cultures to remain firmly in place. Moreover, to bring about a major social transformation, we will need leaders to unite men and women as full partners in shaping a massive cultural shift to a more egalitarian, just and nonwarring future.Can the people of Earth bring an end to the barbaric practice of war? Or is making war - assembling armed groups that go forth to indiscriminately kill members of other groups - something that evolution built into our biology, an inescapable, inevitable curse that at best can only be managed and mitigated?