The Biology of War

This book is very interesting. It is a book on the ecological and environmental underpinnings of politics and war. Basically, this book is interested in how humanity's historical (and civilized) time has been shaped by Biology; that is, human reproduction. (I mean, of course, the political consequences of human reproduction.) Expanding population often (but not always) translates into expanding power.
...If this is true, looking at both postwar (WWII) population flows and postwar birthrates, one could argue today that it appears southern Europe is likely lost to Islam.

Now, an expanding power? What does that require?
1. Popular hope. Usually, a rising standard of living across all segments of the population that must be maintained.
2. A growing population, This is an almost inevitable consequence of rising hope.
3. Aggressive wars fought to support this rising standard. Ecologically, this is what is meant when people say they are fighting for 'Liberty'. That is, Liberty entails fighting to either maintain or expand a rising standard of living given a growing population.
4.Non-aggressive efforts to increase the standard of living have reached the point of diminishing returns.
5. Also, (of course) "there must be a suitable victim." Someone that is inferior in technology or organization is best.Think of ancient Romes expansion against her neighbors or Britains expansion into North America or Australia.
--Usually, things are no where near as easy as Britain had it.
6. And since things are most usually not that simple, one needs military superiority (in tactics, technology, weapons, etc.) of some sort.

This is a fascinating book that deserves to be on the shelf of anyone interested in understanding the deep structuring forces of World History. It is a shame that it is out of print.

Thoughts

Expanding populations (usually with rising living standards) need expanding resources (land, material, energy, food) and that will be the driver of the next world war. Looking at the map today, I would guess this means the Middle East / Europe. (This book was written forty years ago, long before the first Iraq war. And a bit before the Gulf War.) I think that much that is happening there today has to do with the upsetting of the historical trend of rising standards by the Iraq wars. -Remember, it is not simply rising standards that trigger conflict, it can also occur because one is fighting to maintain rising standards that are in jeopardy. And thanks to the American wars, and also the so-called Arab Spring, they are in jeopardy.