IS HUMAN nature essentially warlike? Beyond War: The human potential for peace will reassure anyone who thought humans incapable of peace. In a broad look at our species with a special focus on hunter-gatherers, social anthropologist Douglas Fry documents groups of people that have lived entirely without war for decades or more. So war is not inevitable. Furthermore, when war does happen it takes a variety of forms depending on how the societies involved are organised. Such unpredictability, Fry claims, justifies a major conclusion: war does not have evolutionary roots and can therefore be stopped.
This is a passionate book…
