How war shapes nations — and destroys them
FROM
Mark Kukis
December 2, 2017
Organized violence — the term war boils down to — has long been a unifier of peoples. Archeological evidence shows that nearly half those who lived during the last part of the Stone Age in Nubia, an area along the southern reaches of the Nile River, died violent deaths. Many other tribal societies through the ages have shared this mortality pattern, which suggests large-scale mobilization for killing rather than widespread random violence. Orchestrating raids on neighboring Nubian settlements took coordination among villagers, as did fending them off. Attackers and defenders alike had to marshal resources, make plans and build trust among one another in order to fight effectively. Cooperation, mutual dependence, trust — even in killing others — are building blocks of political order, the foundational elements of states.
http://theweek.com/articles/738039/how-war-shapes-nations--destroys
