We live in a culture that promotes democratic values of being fair to one and all, the importance of fitting into a group, and knowing how to cooperate with other people. We are taught early in life that those who are outwardly combative and aggressive pay a social price: unpopularity and isolation. These values of harmony and cooperation are perpetuated in subtle and not-so-subtle ways—through books on how to be successful in life; through the pleasant, peaceful exteriors that those who have gotten ahead in the world present to the public; through notions of correctness that saturate the public space. The problem for us is that we are trained and prepared for peace and we are not at all prepared for what confronts us in the real world—war. This war exists on several levels. Most obviously, we have our rivals on the other side. The world has become increasingly competitive and nasty. In politics, business, even the arts, we face opponents who will do almost anything to gain an edge. More troubling and complex, however, are the battles we face with those who are supposedly on our side. There are those who outwardly play the team game, who act very friendly and agreeable, but who sabotage us behind the scenes, use the group to promote their own agenda. Others, more difficult to spot, play subtle games of passive aggression, offering help that never comes, instilling guilt as a secret weapon. On the surface everything seems peaceful enough, but just below it, is every man and woman for him or herself, this dynamic infecting even families and relationships. The culture may deny this reality and promote a gentler picture, but we know it and feel it, in our battle scars.” It is essential to learn the strategies and mind games of the adept, in civilized circumstances more than anywhere else, in order to best defend oneself from the snares of enemies and frenemies alike. ”What we need are not impossible and inhuman ideals of peace and cooperation to live up to, and the confusion that brings us, but rather practical knowledge on how to deal with conflict and the daily battles we face,” Instead of pathologizing typically human characteristics or passing moralistic judgments, I simply presents the behaviors observed in the species throughout centuries of study, and provides insight on how to deal with attacks and obstacles accordingly. In the most primitive state, everything humans do can be reduced to self-interest, and in this sense life is merely a major chess tournament in which everyone seeks to win. The problem is that people’s self-interest is not always compatible with the self-interest of others, and therein lies the root of all war.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 06:39:32 +0000
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