Is it too late to change, or are we truly doomed?

Randolph T. Holhut: 'Is it too late to change, or are we truly doomed?'
Posted on Thursday, January 06 @ 09:43:52 EST
By Randolph T. Holhut
DUMMERSTON, Vt. - The Canadian journalist Gwynne Dyer, in an upcoming revised edition of his landmark 1985 book, "War," tells a story about the Forest Troop of baboons in Kenya.
The aggressive, macho males of the baboon troop routinely raided the garbage dump of a nearby tourist lodge to forage food. The mellower, less aggressive males did not.
About 20 years ago, the macho baboons all ate infected meat from the dump and died. The mellow baboons, who were always bullied by the machos, did not. The whole culture of the troop changed after that.
Freed from having to constantly deal with the aggressiveness of the machos, the survivors relaxed and began treating each other better. There were fewer fights and more friendly social behavior. The behavioral change held over the years, and the troop today remains less belligerent and more cooperative compared to others.
Humans may be, most of the time, less aggressive and more cooperative than the average baboon. But, Dyer writes, "war is deeply embedded in our history and our culture." However, "weaning ourselves away from it should not be a bigger mountain to climb than some of the other changes we have already made in the way we live, given the right incentives."
The incentives are certainly there. Nuclear proliferation has made a comeback, increasing the probability of a major war fought with nuclear weapons. Power is shifting, as China and India - two nations with nuclear capability - grow in economic strength. Environmental crises, such as global warming, threaten to create global devastation at levels previously unimagined.