[extropy-chat] can't war protesters do better?

[Keith Henson]

At 02:22 AM 07/08/05 -0400, you wrote:
>On 8/7/05, Keith Henson <hkhenson at rogers.com> wrote:
> > Last few years I have developed a *really twisted* way of looking at wars
> > and related behavior such as terrorism.
> > ...
> > So the psychological mechanisms that turn on war mode in humans will stay
> > on till the conditions that turned on war mode are perceived as having 
> changed.
> > ...
> > So, what would shut off the war in Iraq?  Besides an outright orgy of
> > killing, a major epidemic would do the job as would a major
> > famine.  Eventually things will be in such bad shape for so long that
> > people get used to the horrible conditions as the norm.  Then a small up
> > tick can have positive feedback because an improving economy from a low
> > base will tend to shut off war mode.
> > ...
> > PS.  If anyone can pick holes in the model, please brighten my day and 
> do so.
>
>Sub-Saharan Africa?
>
>I mean, despite having a sizable portion of their population knocked
>out by famine, genocid, AIDS, etc, many regions are still very much in
>"war mode."

Given the local technology has the population reduction resulted in "a time 
of plenty" for the remaining population?  I don't think that's the case.

One of the sad effects of wars is that the disruption from wars makes 
people poorer which keep them in war mode longer.

This wasn't a problem in hunter gatherer times.

But when the Southwest native American corn farming tribes went to war, 
their response of moving into forts denied them access to much of their 
farming lands.  That made them more stressed and likely to stay in war 
mode.  The effect of staying in war mode was that 24 of 27 groups just 
vanished.

Keith