Anthony Soluren
Mark Tallman
Human Conflict
1 May 2012
Future Conflict: Friend or Foe
From the beginning of civilization to the modern times of society, conflict has flourished with no sense of extinction. Violence has created and generally solved many problems for individuals or benefitted a larger group. Fighting for resources has been the most common strategy for earlier civilizations dating back thousands of years ago. In modern times, conflict is created by two individuals who do not like each other, or on a larger scale, two countries going to war simply because they don’t like each other. Two parties fight basically for the same reason, “us” vs. “them”. Deadly conflict is carried out by a military force with weapons of destruction and a strategic plan to defeat the enemy. There are many reasons of war and conflict. In the past, conflict arose from resources, trade, and expansion. Over time conflict has changed tremendously. Weapons of mass destruction are being created more sophisticated and deadlier than ever. Since the first atomic bomb during World War II, chemically enhanced weapons have shot through the roof. The reasons of conflict haven’t changed much over time but the weapons and artillery have made incredible leaps due to advancement in technology. Although there are security systems, anti-air missiles, and defense mechanisms are the outcome of war on terror and is only adding to the atrocity of human beings. Society plays a huge role in restraining and engaging in conflict. Humans have aggressive instincts which society restrains, and this leads to a reduction in psychological problems. Society encourages conflict by allowing millions of people to interact amongst one another and leaving individuals prone to violence. Society does restrain conflict, thus creating an order or “idea” of order that everyone follows and obeys. These rules of society help individuals benefit and prosper without the worry of deterrence. Valuables such as technology, automobiles, property, and any other items also create conflict because they are seen as precious and worthwhile. When people cannot afford many valuable things, it creates tension and inequality which leads to individuals committing a crime in order to obtain what they consider to be valuable and worthwhile. Free trade has encouraged stability throughout the world due to the positive-sum theory, which allows many individuals or parties to prosper off one another. Technology has changed the game since pre-modern time. It is now impacting the world at a rate that seems uncontrollable. The Facebook Revolution connected the world in all aspects and made the world shrink. People are now able to communicate across the world with just the click of a button. On a larger scale, technology has made is possible to destroy an enemy thousands of miles away simply with one push of a button. The further we advance our technology in society; the military has already advanced their own technology in weapons, homeland security and interests in new resources. As we see it, technology has made our lives much easier but has it made it safer? Are the benefits of weapons of mass destruction worth the consequences? Apparently it is in our favor as a powerful country to control most of the weapons the world has ever seen.
In times like today, conflict is at a