Quote Originally Posted by Fuchs View Post
When a monkey hits a key and gets an electric shock in response, he's not going to repeat that often. He's not going to try to do it better often. (S)He'll finally settle with the understanding that this key is bad.


Could someone please tell my why humans have so much trouble learning that war isn't profitable and cannot really be done 'right', so it should be avoided unless forced on you?
It can't possibly be a lack of memory, for I see people discussing here in the general tone of 'do small wars right / wrong', and these people are still trembling due to recent electroshocks.
Fuchs, I'm not sure there is a shock or it doesn't get sent where you think. In the last few hundred years war has been fought primarily by the populace who take on the death, destruction, and general mayhem aspects (the shock). The rewards though go to the merchant political class and they are the one deciding who/when goes to war. They garner reward and general pleasure from the war in a variety of ways.

Not sure I can put a full faith in evidence argument together but it seems there is a substantive disconnect between who puts their finger on the button, and who gets shocked.