Description

In a Nutshell provides another great narration and cartoon discussing a very difficult issue – war and violence in our modern world.  The video addresses the concerns that war is as prevalent as ever, for instance, there are dozens of violent conflicts going on, economic colonization is a kind of war, and war has always been with us.  The video makes its argument showing statistics covering centuries, giving a historical analysis of modern war, and a discussion of the mechanisms that make peace more profitable for countries.

Discussion Questions

• What do you think?  Does the prevalence of violence suggest war is as it always was or is it getting better?
• What are some counter arguments he discusses?  Are there others
• What are his four arguments that war might someday soon be over?
• Do you think we’ll ever be war-free or is it written in human nature?

Keywords: human nature, politics, economics, war, violence, history, capitalism, democracy, globalization, modern, sociology, group conflict