Resources.  Every country needs them and throughout history, wars have been fought and new lands conquered in the search of resources to power nations.  It’s an issue of great importance in today’s world as one casual glance around the globe will attest. China-Vietnam and the Spratley Islands – the US and its dependence on the Middle East – etc…  Here’s a short excerpt from an essay I wrote about how it all started.

Andrew Schmookler in his treatise on social evolution The Parable of the Tribes describes how early societies expanded their boundaries and extended their sphere of influence in order to overcome a lack of resources which threatened their very existence. As this happened, societies began to be limited by other cultures which were developing in a likewise manner.  As one group armed themselves as a means of protecting their interests, the other groups had no choice but to do the same or suffer the consequences of being destroyed or put under the yolk of another which makes peace an illusion and power a necessity.

The Yanamomo tribes of southern Venezuela have learned this lesson well.  They know the violent consequences of living too close to a neighboring tribe which is why they settled in small villages apart from each other as a means of limiting contact.  They have created a culture which values aggression and teaches every young boy how to be an aggressive warrior in order to earn marks of bravery on their elaborate point system.  This aggressive Yanamomo culture is taught to every subsequent generation in order to protect themselves from outside threats.

To read more about it, see:

John G. Kennedy. “Ritual and Intergroup Murder: Comments on War, Primitive and        Modern”.

Andrew B. Schmookler, Andrew B. “The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution”.