Session Alignment

Making war has been one of the most persistent of human activities in the 80 centuries since men and women settled in cities and became " civilized , " but the modernization of the past 80 years has fundamentally changed the role and function of war .

In pre-modern societies , successful warfare brought significant material rewards , the most obvious of which were the stored wealth of the defeated .

Equally important was human labor — control over people as slaves or levies for the victor 's army .

War has escaped the battlefield and now can , with modern guidance systems on missiles , touch virtually every square yard of the earth 's surface .

War has also lost most of its utility in achieving the traditional goals of conflict .

Control of territory carries with it the obligation to provide subject peoples certain administrative , health , education , and other social services ; such obligations far outweigh the benefits of control .

If the ruled population is ethnically or racially different from the rulers , tensions and chronic unrest often exist which further reduce the benefits and increase the costs of domination .

Large populations no longer necessarily enhance state power and , in the absence of high levels of economic development , can impose severe burdens on food supply , jobs , and the broad range of services expected of modern governments .

The noneconomic security reasons for the control of territory have been progressively undermined by the advances of modern technology .

The benefits of forcing another nation to surrender its wealth are vastly outweighed by the benefits of persuading that nation to produce and exchange goods and services .

In brief , imperialism no longer pays .