WAR!

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

CONFLICT AND THE PROGRESS OF

CIVILISATION FROM PRIMATES TO ROBOTS

AUTHOR OF WHY THE WEST RULES—FOR NOW

IAN MORRIS

從靈長類到機器時代

文明的衝突與演進

「戰爭！它到底有什麼好處？完全沒好處」，知名歌手愛德溫．斯塔爾（Edwin Starr）在他1970年所演唱的經典反戰歌曲〈戰爭〉（War）當中如是唱道，然而，綜觀考古學、史學與生物學，卻在在顯示了實際上戰正在某些層面有所助益。這說法聽來令人訝異，但戰爭的確令人類更加安全與富裕。

在《戰爭！它到底有什麼好處？》這本書當中，知名歷史學與考古學家伊安．摩里士教授闡述一千五百年來關於戰爭陰森可怕卻又引人入勝的故事，深入各個戰場與諸多殘忍行徑，揭露戰爭對於世界所造成的傷害與貢獻。石器時代的人類居住在狹小、爭執不斷的社會當中，日日夜夜面對十分之一甚至五分之一慘遭橫死的機率。相對於廿世紀，即便遭逢兩次世界大戰、廣島核爆與大屠殺，人們橫死的機率卻遠小於百分之一。究其原因：戰爭，單憑這點就已經為人類創造了一個由政府組織所統治、更大且更為複雜的社會，並消除內在的暴力因素。說也奇怪，殺戮竟使得世界更為安全，而安全繼之讓人們將世界變得更加富有。

戰爭向來是歷史的最大悖論，然而透過這項徹底審視一千五百年來種種暴力的研究，卻意味著下半世紀將會是歷來最為險峻的時期。如果我們得以倖存，那人類長久以來終結戰爭的夢想或許將得以實現。不過，摩里士主張，只有當我們瞭解戰爭所帶來的好處，人們才得以瞭解它會將我們帶往哪個地方。

A powerful and provocative exploration of how war has changed our society—for the better

"War! . . . . / What is it good for? / Absolutely nothing," says the famous song—but archaeology, history, and biology show that war in fact has been good for something. Surprising as it sounds, war has made humanity safer and richer.

In War! What Is It Good For?, the renowned historian and archaeologist Ian Morris tells the gruesome, gripping story of fifteen thousand years of war, going beyond the battles and brutality to reveal what war has really done to and for the world. Stone Age people lived in small, feuding societies and stood a one-in-ten or even one-in-five chance of dying violently. In the twentieth century, by contrast—despite two world wars, Hiroshima, and the Holocaust—fewer than one person in a hundred died violently. The explanation: War, and war alone, has created bigger, more complex societies, ruled by governments that have stamped out internal violence. Strangely enough, killing has made the world safer, and the safety it has produced has allowed people to make the world richer too.

War has been history's greatest paradox, but this searching study of fifteen thousand years of violence suggests that the next half century is going to be the most dangerous of all time. If we can survive it, the age-old dream of ending war may yet come to pass. But, Morris argues, only if we understand what war has been good for can we know where it will take us next.

■伊安．摩里士／Ian Morris

Ian Morris teaches classics, history, and archaeology at Stanford University. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, in 1960, he now lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. He has directed excavations in Greece, and Italy, and has published 11 books and more than 80 articles.

作者：伊安．摩里士／Ian Morris

版本：First Edition

規格：精裝，16.3 x 23.4 x 4.3 cm，512頁

出版商：Farrar, Straus and Giroux

出版日期：2014年04月15日

語言：英文

ISBN-10：978-0-374-28600-2

War! What Is It Good For? 新書。

War! What Is It Good For?. Condition: New.

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