As far as we know, war and conflict between human tribes dates back 14,000 years. No civilization has ever been spared the brutality of wars of conquest. And most empires and nations in their long histories spanning centuries have been both victims and aggressors.
Humans are almost in a perpetual state of conflict. It is in our nature to fight. To spread our beliefs. To push our limits. Changing from one system to the other can be a result of this. I don’t remember Satoshi asking governments for permission to release Bitcoin. Conflict is in our businesses, our politics, even in our family relationships (children fighting with their parents).
The United States isn't the exception in perpetrating conflict, they are the rule. And in time, some other nation will take its place as the largest power and proceed to project that power for its own gain, China comes to mind in the first half of the 21st century.
And just as the US, the UK, the Dutch, the Germans, the Persians, the Romans, the Macedonians, the Mongols, the Egyptians, the Mali Empire, the Mayans, and the dozens, if not unrecorded hundreds of dominate “powers” that have waged wars of conquest through the mesolithic, neolithic, bronze and iron ages...China will do the same.
As far as the business side of war, the growing sophistication of weapons of war could not be sustained without a permanent armaments industry...therefore a business.
And since all large endeavors are about efficiently allocating resources to build something, business is almost always a direct result for something to persist. And since humans have plenty of fight in them, I don't see the military industrial complex diminishing anytime soon.
I think hypocrisy and duplicity are staples of the human psyche, not just Americans. It's just more visible now because Americans have been the sole superpower for many decades. Going back 150 years, people said the same thing about the British. 200 years before that, the Dutch. And a 100 years from now, the Chinese.
I share your sentiment though, war is a nasty business. Humans have both Angels and Devils on their shoulders...and we should always encourage the better angels of our nature.
That said, war and conflict in its simplest form is a zero-sum game. Sometimes people aren't willing to compromise and war is usually the result. And when the dust settles, and the dead are buried, and people have no more fight in them, peace ensues...and people then live under the new system that is created from the destruction.
Unfortunately, humans sometimes can't help themselves going this route. And I fear that in the next 20 to 30 years, most of us will pay the price as we slip into another world war.
Hi @fijimermaid
When I read comments like this I am truly grateful. Because they are very intelligent comments, that you make a historical cut, and always from respect, something that makes it even better.
Even being in disagreement we can communicate calmly, it is of mature people that is so.
Grateful with your contribution, because they provide very important data that complement my publication, and it is something I appreciate.
I agree, most probably China will be the next power to dominate, the history of mankind is marked that way, power, money, and I think it will never change.
Thank you very much for commenting.
Have a great weekend.
Thank you @josevas217 :)