From the very beginning, life on Earth has been defined by war. Today those first wars continue to be fought around and inside us, influencing our individual behaviour and that of civilisation as a whole. War between populations - whether between different species or between rival groups of humans is seen as an inevitable part of the evolutionary process. The popular concept of survival of the fittest explains and often excuses these actions. In Population Wars, Greg Graffin points to where the mainstream view of evolutionary theory has led us astray. That misunderstanding has allowed us to justify wars on every level, whether against bacterial colonies or human societies, even when other, less violent solutions may be available. Through tales of mass extinctions, developing immune systems, human warfare, the American industrial heartland, and our degrading modern environment, Graffin demonstrates how an oversimplified idea of war, with its victorious winners and vanquished losers, prevents us from responding to the real problems we face. Along the way, Graffin reveals a paradox: When we challenge conventional definitions of war, we are left with a new problem - how to define ourselves. Population Wars is a paradigm-shifting book about why humans behave the way they do and the ancient history that explains that behaviour. In reading it, you'll see why we need to rethink the reasons for war, not only the human military kind but also Darwin's "war of nature," and find hope for a less violent future for mankind.

A new perspective on the biological roots of competition from the author of Anarchy Evolution and Cornell lecturer.

About the Author
Greg Graffin is the lead singer and a songwriter in Bad Religion. He obtained his PhD in zoology at Cornell University, and has lectured at UCLA and Cornell. He is the coauthor of Anarchy Evolution, with Steve Olson. He travels regularly between the cities he considers home, Ithaca, New York, and Los Angeles, California.


Book Information
ISBN 9781250105301
Author Greg Graffin
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint St Martin's Press
Publisher St Martin's Press
Weight(grams) 350g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 148mm * 22mm