[extropy-chat] Back to Causes of War

[BillK]

On 4/27/07, Keith Henson wrote:
>
> It's not absolute deprivation but *relative* that trips the
> detectors.  This is characteristic of animals in general.  In _Influence:
> the new psychology of modern persuasion_ Dr. Cialdini discusses this in the
> classic example were a bucket of warm water feels cold to one hand and hot
> to the other when left and right hands have been presoaked in cold and hot
> water.
>
> Even more significant (or so I think) is *anticipation* of bleak
> conditions.  My case for this is the logic of gene selection.  It would pay
> genes for the warriors to kill neighbors *before* they were gaunt and weak
> from hunger.
>


Well, that pretty well covers all options.
Either:
1)  the warrior group is suffering deprivation and this causes war.
or,
2) if they're not suffering deprivation, then they are probably
worrying about possible future deprivation and this causes war.

You do realize that this is a meaningless unfalsifiable argument?


> "At the time of Hitler's release [from jail], the political situation in
> Germany had calmed and the economy had improved, which hampered Hitler's
> opportunities for agitation."
>
> snip
>
> "The political turning point for Hitler came when the Great Depression hit
> Germany in 1930."
>


Selective political quotations can prove anything.
The Great Depression hit the USA far worse that Germany


Try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_II

Many people view World War II as a continuation of World War I.
After World War I, the German State had lost land to Lithuania,
France, Poland, and Denmark. Notable losses included the Polish
Corridor, Danzig, the Memel Territory (to Lithuania), the Province of
Posen and the most economically valuable eastern portion of Upper
Silesia.

The result of this loss of land was population relocation and
bitterness among Germans who wanted to get revenge and reclaim the
lost territory.


BillK