| Why is there so much conflict in the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa, and many other parts of the world? Is there something innate in human nature that makes it next to impossible to achieve peaceful coexistence? The answer, says career diplomat Carl Coon, must be sought in the distant prehistoric past when intergroup hostility became ingrained as a pattern of cultural evolution. Today we still witness the vestiges of this ancient pattern of animosity when the intermingling of different ways of life results not in harmonious cooperation but in conflict and violence. The challenge for enlightened men and women in contemporary society, says Coon, is to realize that cultural conflicts are an inevitable result of our evolutionary heritage; to use this insight to help manage the transition to a new, global society; and to cooperate in fashioning more effective ways to preserve the environment and promote an equitable, prosperous, and peaceful world community. |
