there is a real contradiction between the content expressed above, ie: the human conditions' need to dominate each other and thus devalue life, weighed against all the advances tha are made and strived for in technology and science, which fall into 3 categories:
1. To make communication with each other easier and more effective, (eg: telephone, internet etc..)
2. To improve each others standard of living, (eg: all consume goods, housing, sanitation.)
3. To improve each others health, (advances in medical science.)
All these display an inherant need to talk to each other more and understand each other, whilst making life easier and improving each other's health, yet e still want to kill ach other over what are on a global scale, pretty petty squabbles.
I agree with the poster above who says that humankind is currently in a sustained period of examining itself and will come out of it better.
All wars are about one thing only: territory, and if you think about it 'nationalism' is a false and contrived concept. Just look at the post war european project; Europe is now a village with less and less boundaries to trade and movement. The concept of nationalism will dissapear and it is the integrationists that have got it right. If you bring all people togethor under a common identity the less chance they will wa with each other. (The 'united' states of America is another good example where peoples of all nationalities, creedds and colours live under a common identity, by and large peacefully.) In Europe this will be harder to achieve because the nations here have very long hsitorys as nations.
I live in Central London and kLondon itself is a microcosm of this, for example where I live, has very high numbers of Italians, Americanns and Arabs, and again by and large it works.
Integration and common identity is the key to prevent war and whlist some 'little englander isolationists' may not like it, we as a species are ultimtely compelled and heading that way. For my own part-long may that road continue.
best bbmac.