warfare

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Thumbs up for War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges. Philosophy.

A beautifully-written book about a horrible subject, by someone who has seen it from a very short distance indeed. Hedges explores what war does to humanity (both in the sense of the human race, and our humane-ness), using stories from his own experience to provide context and structure for his philosophy.… >> Read more

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Thumbs up for Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War by Barbara Ehrenreich. History/Psychology.

If Ehrenreich’s thesis is that the deep root of warfare is (I quote the jacket) “the blood rites early humans performed to reenact their terrifying experience of predation by stronger carnivores,” then I don’t think she sells it. The fact that I had to refer to the jacket flap tells you how much impact the idea had on me.… >> Read more