by War and conflict has occurred since the beginning of human history. Over the course of history, the reasoning behind the spark of the conflict has been somewhat consistent: issues over land, disagreement of ideas, fight for more power/resources, etc. What has changed significantly over time, however, are the implications of war and conflict. This fact goes hand in hand with the evolution of how wars are gone about and the level of effectiveness or harm that comes from it. The consequences of war throughout history can be looked at in a multitude of ways and through several perspectives. On one hand, in the beginnings of human history, the death rate of soldiers were extremely high due to the clear-cut method of fighting. For much of early wars, the weaponry consisted of swords, shields, and bow and arrows, and fighting was conducted on an open land. In this fashion, it was extremely hard to protect oneself, and it was often assumed that men would go to war to die. Although this method was extremely deadly, it was very controlled and allowed for normal civilians to stay safe from conflict (for the most part). Wars in the last few centuries have proved to be extremely uncontrollable and have resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent civilians. While there are many more ways to protect oneself, the weaponry used in the field of battle is overwhelmingly more damaging. Through examples of world wars and others, we have seen that advancements in science and technology have led to a destructive route of going about conflict. The constant enhancement of war technologies is extremely concerning, and the world has reason to fear major international conflict in the future.
The relationship between science and technology and war is two-sided. Science and technology affect war through the capabilities of weaponry, communication, and strategy. War, on the other hand, gives countries reasoning to invest in the advancement of technology in order to compete for power. For example, in the Cold War, the United States feared the Soviets’ nuclear war technology and responded by starting up the rapid development of our own nuclear weapons. There is always pressure to have equal or better war technology than your enemy to assert power. Science already provided the world with the atomic bomb and other nuclear bombs, capable of significant damages to millions. As science and technology continue to advance, there are no telling what can come about from a modern-day or future conflict. Additionally, prior wars, such as the world wars, have shown us that countries are at times willing to cross lines to prove a point and assure victory. The bombings of Japan during WW2 is an example of this, where the United States made a questionable decision that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians. One could make the argument that the United States were clearly crossing the line in this action. If the bombings of Japan in World War II inflicted as much damage as it did in 1945, what kind of damage could be caused using the war technology available in 2045? At the current pace of scientific and technological development, I speak for many people that would say that are personally scared of what major conflicts and wars may look like in the future.
sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/12/technology-will-make-war-even-worse/577723/
https://www.ww2sci-tech.org/essays/essay1_3.html