Module 2 Essay

Civilization that we know of started 3000 BCE and from that point until the present day, history is full off wars. Between 1740 and 1897, there were 230 wars and revolutions in Europe, and during this time countries were almost bankrupting themselves with their military expenditure. Warfare actually became slightly less frequent during the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, but this was only because of the awesome technological power which nations could now utilize, which meant that wars were over more quickly. In actual fact, the death toll from wars rose sharply. Whereas only 30 million people died in all the wars between 1740 and 1897, estimates of the number of dead in the First World War range from 5 million to 13 million, and a staggering 50 million people died during the Second World War.

War is the outcome of tension between two or more nations. In fact, wars do not happen instantaneously, but rather the outcome of long periods of tension and conflicts.
All wars have benefits, the principal two being technological advances and advances in medical science. War accelerates both technological and medical advances because all sides are attempting to invent better ways of killing and better methods of preserving the lives of combatants, and some of these advances benefit the civilian populations, assuming they survive the war.

It is reasonable to conclude that all wars are bad, but, in rare cases, war is forced upon the participants by the actions of one or all parties. It is also reasonable to believe that the negative effects of war, in all cases, far exceed the potential benefits. The fact is there are no good wars.