War! What is it good for?: conflict and the progress of civilization from primates to robots. Ian Morris. 2014.

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 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-fives chance of dying 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 safetymit,has produced,has allowed people to make the world richer too.

War has been history’s greatest paradox, but this searching examination 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-of 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.