Scarcity,
Ethnocentrism and the Causation of Global Conflict
by Slave Jesus
'In the past 3500 years, there have only been 270 in which major
wars did not occur.'[1]
Too often we think of war as some sort of abnormality in human
behavior, a sort of perversion on a grand scale. Yet it is very
clear to intelligent thinkers that war is the norm. So why do
nations go to war? The last century of global conflict has shown
us that the aggressor of all major conflicts ended up losing the
most, so why would a nation even attempt war if history shows
that they will most likely stand to lose. In virtually all wars
there is an element of improving the living standards of ones own
nation, or securing the national means of resources or commerce.
There is also strong feeling of ethnocentrism in practically all
wars; ethnocentrism defined as the belief that ones own culture
is superior to others. The nations tend to justify their
aggression on this form of cultural prejudice; that is, they feel
that they are more deserving of the existent resources than the
other nation states, whether it is based on having attained a
higher level of "civilization," or the belief that they
are following the "will of God." Another factor seems
to be a person at the forefront; someone who focuses the
grievances of the people onto other nations, using the other
nations as a scapegoat. After a close examination, one can
conclude that war is just another way that humanity tries to
solve the problem of scarcity; it is an invention, like
governmental systems.
The attempted conquest of Palestine by the European Christians in
the twelfth century demonstrates how aggressors will justify
their thievery of land resources on self-righteous superiority.
The Crusades can in part be blamed on the oration of Pope Urban
II in 1095 c.e.
'Since this land which you inhabit, shut in on all sides by the
sea and surrounded by mountain peaks, is too narrow for your
large population; nor does it abound in wealth; and it furnishes
scarcely enough food for its cultivators... Enter upon the road
to the Holy Sepulcher; wrest that land from the wicked race and
subject it to yourselves. That land which, as the Scripture says,
"floweth with milk and honey," was given by God into
the possession of the children of Israel. [2]'
The speech, given to the noblemen of France, was the
justification for the conquest of the Holy Land. This speech
resulted in the crusades, which would last for the next 200 years
and result in the deaths of many human beings. This war, like
most others, had three main elements: resources to gain,
ethnocentrism, and a person to spark it all. Ultimately, the
Christians gained nothing, suffering many losses, and in the end,
the defending Turks prevailed.
World War II, the war that would kill more people than all of the
wars it preceded, was a prime example of scarcity, ethnocentrism,
and how rabble-rousers can start a global conflict. The two main
antagonists of the conflict, Japan and Germany, were fueled by
three main things: the desire for conquest, nationalistic feeling
of racial superiority, and a fanatical demagogue to run the show.
Extreme economic affliction as well as a desire to escape from
the shame of the Treaty of Versailles drove the German people
into a second Great War and allowed Adolf Hitler and his Nazi
regime to take power.
'In 1928 (Hitler's) Nazi party held only twelve seats and was
safely ignored. Within four years, as a result of economic
turmoil, Nazis held over two hundred seats and the support of
over 13 million voters.'[3]
After World War I the people of Germany were left with a feeling
of deep shame and Hitler turned this into a feeling of
superiority and promised "an end to the economic crisis and
a renewal of pride and self confidence in the German
people."[4] Thus the German people felt they were of
racially superior stock and exterminated countless human beings
without any feeling of remorse, all to expand the borders of the
German empire in the name of the Fuhrer and the Fatherland.
Japan, the land that greets the rising sun, was one of the first
economic powers of Asia. Self imposed isolation ended in 1853
when the Americans forcefully brought them into the global
economic community. Later intrusions by the French and English
initiated revolution in 1867 and Japan set out to become an
independent power free of colonial intrusion by the European
nations.
'As its industrial and military strength grew, Japan began to
look to the Asian mainland as a source of vital raw materials and
expanded territory. The first of Japan's major wars on the
Chinese mainland began in 1894. The Japanese were victorious,
capturing the offshore islands of Formosa and the Pescadores, and
gaining an economic interest in Korea.' [5]
Japan, like the many European superpowers, sought monetary
strength through subjugation of the "inferior"
cultures, to bring them into the "modern" world. Japan
formed alliances with the various superpowers and gained economic
interests in Manchuria through war and treaty with Russia. Yet
ultimately all of the Japanese involvement with the European and
American superpowers gained them very little.
'Continuously denied equal status in world politics, Japan now
changed its foreign policy. Because its relations with the
Americans and Europeans had been unfruitful, and would likely
remain so, Japan chose to seek its future in Asia. In the eyes of
Japan's leaders, the world was dividing along racial lines in
which the Asians would never be accepted as equals.' [6]
Being treated as an inferior culture only made the Japanese want
to feel more superior; the defeat of Russia also helped serve to
shatter the illusion of European strength. All this lead to the
invasion of China and a Japanese empire that, at its peak, would
encompass parts of China, New Guinea, Russia and even American
Islands. They even set Canadian forests on fire!
At the helm of the Japanese war machine was Tojo. As Hitler had
promised the Germans, Tojo promised to create a New Asian Order
under Japan, free of foreign intervention, and to prove to the
world that the Japanese were a superior culture. If scarcity had
not existed in Japan, the people would not have followed Tojo in
his fanatical land grab. And if the Japanese had strong feelings
of empathy with other Asiatic nations it is doubtful that they
would have desired war at everyone's expense.
In all the aforementioned conflicts, three things were involved,
in varying degrees: scarcity of land or resources, ethnocentrism
and a person to focus the former two reasons into war. The
Crusades were based on the Christian belief in a "just"
war. They felt that God promised them the Holy Land; they
intended to expand the European world into this region at the
urging of Pope Urban II. Japan, long lacking its own natural
resources, sought to expand into China, much like Britain and the
USA. They were treated as an inferior culture and sought to prove
their superiority in the global arena. Tojo turned Japan into a
fascist military state using these aspirations of the Japanese
people. Lastly, the people of Germany, caught in the grip of
economic stagnation and national shame, were lead into global
conflict behind the opportunist demagogue Adolf Hitler. Hitler
promised them empire and pride and brainwashed the people into
thinking they were descended from pagan gods. In the end, the
thousand year Reich would last only thirteen years.
Notes
1 E. Alyn Mitcher and R. Joanne Tuffs, GLOBAL FORCES OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY, Edmonton, Reidmore Books, 1991, P.4.
2 Joseph Moore and Robert A Moore, WAR AND WAR PREVENTION, Don
Mills, General Publishing Co., 1979 [copyright 1974], p.28.
3 Mitcher al Tuffs, op.cit., P.39.
4 Ibid P.39.
5 Ibid P.91.
6 Ibid P.93.
Bibliography
1 Mitcher, E. Alyn and Tuffs, R. Joanne, GLOBAL FORCES OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY, Edmonton, Reidmore Books, 1991
2 Moore, Joseph and Moore, Robert A., WAR AND WAR PREVENTION, Don
Mills, General Publishing Co., 1979 [copyright 1974]
All contents (c) Copyright Slave Jesus 1997, 1998