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Re: War is the enemy of civilisation

Posted by Bromios on 2026-March-30 17:30:11, Monday
In reply to War is the enemy of civilisation posted by diogenes on 2026-March-29 19:02:55, Sunday

I think you are quite wrong that somehow we cannot have civilisational achievement, art and philosophy and so forth, without warfare.

First time I've seen you erect a strawman, if you'll pardon my French. I never said that. I said that the competitive, aggressive instincts that lead to war will never go away. Aggressive instincts are involved in everything, in activities like road rage, marketing phone-call fury, chat-group flame wars, football matches, and the composition of poems.

Civilisation, once won through war, brings about leisure. It can be successful in sublimating and redirecting the will to war into art, philosophy...and even capitalism. Robber barons building shopping center empires beats the medieval equivalent.

You're either not admitting the existence of a basic instinct, or you're determined to snuff it out. History shows us man's nature - the best and the worst. Ameliorate the worst where possible, but avoid the lure of virtuous extremes. They lead to violence.

“Almost everything we call 'higher culture' is based on the spiritualization of cruelty, on its becoming more profound.”

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