© Task & Purpose
In fact, the belief that war is disappearing has lulled us into a false sense of security, said Bear Braumoeller, professor of political science at The Ohio State University.
"We really don't get how big a threat war is — not by a longshot," Braumoeller said.
"The process of escalation that led to two world wars in the last century are still there. Nothing has changed. And that scares the hell out of me."
Any apparent declines in war initiation or severity can be attributed to random luck — and our luck could run out at any time, Braumoeller said.
Braumoeller is the author of the new book Only the Dead: The Persistence of War in the Modern Age. In the book, Braumoeller challenges the argument of recent scholars who claim war is in decline, most notably Steven Pinker in his 2011 book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.
"I take a comprehensive look at all the different ways you can think about what it means for war to be in decline. And I find no evidence for a long-term decline in any of them," he said.
Comment: If there's one feature to rival the high costs of American military tech (e.g., the F-35), it's their poor quality. That's what happens when you have a system of no-bid contracts and a revolving door between government and the military tech industry. When the government is free to spend other people's money (i.e. tax dollars), it goes to favored clients, who are free in turn to charge exorbitant fees for crappy products.