Competition, Expansion, and Reaction: The Foundations of Contemporary Conflict
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title
The Coming Age of Scarcity: Preventing Mass Death and Genocide in the 21st Century
Publisher
Syracuse University Press, Syracuse
Publication Date
1-1-1998
First Page
174
Last Page
193
Abstract
We live, in some ways, in fortunate times. In a book that concerns present and future calamities, such a statement may seem incongruous. Yet amid all the present misfortunes we have the opportunity to learn, better than any previous people, the reasons for our problems. Any human event or process is a mere moment of reaction to previous events and processes. It is impossible to predict the future consequences of present events without understanding how the present itself has come to be. Historical knowledge is fundamental to designing a sustainable future. We are fortunate to have more such knowledge than any people who preceded us. We can become the first people to know where we are in history.
Recommended Citation
Tainter, J. A. Competition, Expansion, and Reaction: The Foundations of Contemporary Conflict. In The Coming Age of Scarcity: Preventing Mass Death and Genocide in the 21st Century, edited by Michael N. Dobkowski and Isidor Walliman, pp. 174-193. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse.
