BF2S Forums War and the Military, a necessity?

Some people live in a dream world.   Not sure how many countires, if any, do not have a military, or protection from someone else.

nearly all of the technological advancement in the 19th and 20th centuries were originally created for military purposes.

As they say, necessity is the mother of all invention, and nothing necessitates more than an inbound enemy army.



As the human population becomes even larger, war may eventually become necessary as a form of population control (don't fool yourselves people, the Earth can't handle 100 billion hungry mouths)

No more wars is an illusion, the day we as a race won't have wars anymore is when we're all dead, that's one.

Secondly - in a war or critical situation you get to see the best, and the worst of people around you. It's true that many technological advances made in war seem to be useful in civilian lives when adjusted a little bit, though we have proven to be pretty succesful without wars too. Europe hasn't really been in any major war since nazi germany went on a rampage, but still our technological advancements have been going up a steady pace.

I can't say wether we will be less succesful without war, neither can I say we are with. Most advancements made in war are solely for the purpose of winning the war, just years after that when adjustments are made to certain inventions do these have a use in civilian lives. Without a time of peace inbetween wars we would only make technological advancements on the goal of defeating the opposition. In order to make these advancements somewhat useful in civilian lives you need a time of peace.

Or you could prevent wars, as much as possible. Which leads to the fact, that you don't need any of those fancy military equipments. You can still build it - but not use it, especially if the war is based on speculations.

r'Eeee wrote:

Or you could prevent wars, as much as possible. Which leads to the fact, that you don't need any of those fancy military equipments. You can still build it - but not use it, especially if the war is based on speculations.

illusions. wars won't dissapear ever, neither be preventable in it's entirety.

usmarine wrote:

r'Eeee wrote:

Or you could prevent wars, as much as possible. Which leads to the fact, that you don't need any of those fancy military equipments. You can still build it - but not use it, especially if the war is based on speculations.

unless your tactics and equipment have been put to the test in combat, then they are pretty much useless.  just one big dog and pony show,

Well, fuck it then. I am not gonna start a war, just to test my bombs.

r'Eeee wrote:

usmarine wrote:

r'Eeee wrote:

Or you could prevent wars, as much as possible. Which leads to the fact, that you don't need any of those fancy military equipments. You can still build it - but not use it, especially if the war is based on speculations.

unless your tactics and equipment have been put to the test in combat, then they are pretty much useless.  just one big dog and pony show,

Well, fuck it then. I am not gonna start a war, just to test my bombs.

you dont have to.  people gas their own people and call other countries bluffs.  so it all works out in the end.

r'Eeee wrote:

Well, I'm pretty damn sure, I saw him getting executed. But surely, there were other ways - no man will last forever, right?

As long as we don't get involved physically it's all good right?

r'Eeee wrote:

dayarath wrote:

r'Eeee wrote:

Well, I'm pretty damn sure, I saw him getting executed. But surely, there were other ways - no man will last forever, right?

As long as we don't get involved physically it's all good right?

With a proper plan, you could. But you don't have to.

sometimes, you have to. the pacifist way doesn't always work.

r'Eeee wrote:

dayarath wrote:

r'Eeee wrote:

With a proper plan, you could. But you don't have to.

sometimes, you have to. the pacifist way doesn't always work.

Since, we are talking about Iraq(obviously)...I can't imagine that it worked...or did it?

Well.. Iraq, I didn't support the war at the start, but now we're there I don't think we should leave either.

M.O.A.B wrote:

I've often heard claims of how all war should be abolished along with the armed forces in the hope of attaining peace.
But then I wondered, without war, would we have many of the things we take for granted today? Technology advances most rapidly during times of war, medicine one of the fields heavily influenced by war, Penicillin just one example. The jet engine, computers, helicopters, satellites, space travel, nuclear power, all derived from military projects in some form.

Although war's are not pleasant things to have occur, would you see them as possibly the largest area of creating advancement?

Technological advances are beside the point. While mankind competes for resources, there will be war, and in order to survive war, you need a military.

/argument

PuckMercury wrote:

reference Communism and Malthusian theory

Conflict is the largest area of creating advancement.  That is why I've long held the theory that the end of the cold war was one of the worst things that could possibly have happened for not only the USSR and the USA specifically, but the world at large.

I'm happier with waiting a few more years for a trip to Mars than risking another Cuban Missile Crisis.

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2008-04-10 14:15:49)

I wouldn't really worry too much about whether or not war is a necessity.  It's an inevitability.

Even if war is completely unnecessary, it still happens a lot.