From Preparing for War to Preparing for Peace

In the face of ongoing wars and renewed confrontations between blocs, it seems humanity cannot escape the ravages of war. Calls for deterrence and “preparing for war” prevail, and global military spending reaches new record highs.

However, war is not inevitable. If we move beyond the surface of current debates and adopt a broader perspective, it becomes clear that war only became a social institution some 5,000 years ago, driven by resource scarcity. Therefore, the book’s central thesis is that peace in the 21st century can only be achieved in conjunction with sustainability and prosperity for all—that is, within a market economy based on the principles of environmentalism and solidarity. As scarcity disappears, war can also be overcome, just as slavery, considered normal for millennia, was overcome and its era as a socially acceptable institution ended.

To this end, the book presents a comprehensive picture spanning from prehistoric societies to current global crises. Drawing on extensive statistical and empirical data from evolutionary anthropology, archaeology, economics, as well as technology, climate science, and history, the book offers analyses and hypotheses about the current situation and prospects for world peace. It clearly demonstrates how our current unsustainable economic and production methods continually create new scarcity and inequalities, perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty, increasing resource consumption, and war.