COULD war ever become history? Even asking that question seems like starry-eyed idealism, yet this is to misunderstand the nature of warfare. The urge to wage war is not a fixed aspect of human nature but actually a rational response to certain environmental conditions, based on a cost-benefit analysis (see 鈥淭he end of war鈥�).
Over the past century the balance of that equation has shifted. Technological and social change 鈥� not least the spread of democracy and education 鈥� have made wars between nation states increasingly irrational. Warfare is on the wane worldwide; modern conflicts are largely insurgencies, terrorism and guerrilla activity. It is within our power as a species to shift the balance of the equation even further. We鈥檝e had a war on cancer, a war on drugs and a war on terror. Why not a war on war?