Like Little Army Men...

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade April 2001

download word file, 7 pages 0.0

"War! Good God ya'll! What is it good for?! Absolutely nothing! Listen to me!" To whomever have heard the lyrics of Edwin Starr's War is likely to have had some opinion formulated about how war is a destructive force in itself. In a world where power is absolute and idolized like an omnipotent force, it is easy to see how even an innocent person can be swept up in a race for supremacy. There are many underlying factors in why wars are started. Ranging from economic struggles, to territoriality, from religious beliefs to world domination, it all boils down to one common denominator, our need for greed makes us blood thirsty. That being said, this essay will focus on the aforementioned underlying factors. Each element brings its won unique aspects to catastrophic devastation. Also, the degree of destruction depends on the multiple inclusion of these elements. First up, are the socioeconomic causes of war which push governments to declare war on others to increase their revenue and wealth.

Secondly, our differing belief structures, like ideology and religion, are often the reason for conflicting views which may incite "˜jihads' or religious wars. My third point is territoriality, the need that some groups try to fulfill by taking over others' lands. As a fourth and final element, world domination with a foundation of prejudices creates mass genocide of past populations.

Economic competition and improvement that existed and still exists creates a great tension between countries. Just like the arms race that was part of the Cold War and World War II, competition generates rivalries. Both the United States and the Soviet Union tried to out do each other and the battle escalated. Since each country wanted to protect themselves against a threat, retaliation lead to overproduction of weapons on each side. The...