war or peace?

Question

which has been better for development.

Apparantly technology progressed more during WW2 than any point during history. But which overall is better for the development of man kind, war or peace?

Answer 1

Peace, of course

Answer 2

What a great question, there are a lots of ways of looking at this.

Times of war do tend to push technological development forward more quickly-particularly medical and military technology. Penicillin was discovered during WW1, and WW2 saw a dramatic advancement in rocket technology that was the genesis of the modern space program.
WW2 also gave a boost to the US economy (although it virtually bankrupted Britain).

On a humanist level, though war is always regressive, not progressive. And though technology does advance with more urgency, its primarily technology to kill people more efficiently.

So overall I think if you are talking about advancement of human beings, I would say a big part of that has to be learning to control our aggressive nature, so you can never see war as much of an advance in that respect.

AND to Bouncer Bobtail-technology didn't advance very far during ww2? What about jet engines, the atomic bomb, infra red technology and modern assault rifles? Not great things, I'll grant you, but technology none the less.

Answer 3

Tough question! Typically Peace time technological development usually is not as motivated during wartime. During war their is a direct influnece from your enemy and the fear that they may develop a weapon or other technology that can be used against your own forces.

Historically some technology you might not even realize came about because of war. During the Napoleonic Wars the first documented use of canned food was recorded. French troops carried ham in circular tin cans, unfortunatly in 1812 when Napoleon decided to attack Russia the cold permeated the tin cans and caused the meat to spoil.

During World War I American, British, and German troop seperatly were issued underwear with elastic bands sown into the waste. With trench warfare at a new high of destruction many soldiers messed themselves in fear. The new elastic underwear was easier to remove without exposing yourself to fire and could be washed or disposed of.

World War Two is defintely one of the highest periods of technological advancement. The V-2 rocket research done by the Germans later directly influenced the space race during the Cold War at the close of the war the American and the Soviets were literally fighting over scientists to participate in their space programs.

The mobile battery phones which weighed about 10 lbs were very early adaptations of the modern functioning cell phones. The C-100 or C-500 radios operated on transmission of radio waves to a tower. Where as today cellphones use a different frequency wave length to sattelites.

Very early research into computers was begun during WW2 with both sonar and the idea of code breaking. The enigma code that the Germans used on their U-boats was thought to be an almost impossible to code to break. American code breakers in the NSA and other organizations wrote computer code and basic code to anaylize the codes. In the end though it was human ingunity that broke the code.

These are all from today's prospective positive advancements. But on the other hand possibly the worst technological avdancement of the modern world was created...the atomic bomb.

Future generation may look back on us and our nature to war and see our inventions as harmless. Time is a lense the question of war vs. peace is one that has been and will continue to be asked for centuries

Answer 4

Technology didn't progress very much during WW2, that is nonsense. In fact that has been true of all the very many wars I can think of.

The biggest drivers in modern history were

1. The Steam Engine
2. Newtonian Mechanics
3. The transistor.

Nothing to do with war.

nor were

The Radio
The Telephone
The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements

Check your facts people. Penicillin and Rocketry were developed pre-war. As were jet engines and sonar, and computers. Any more bright ideas?

Answer 5

Pax Americana

Peace is always better, however war is still a part of the human condition.

Peace among the major powers since WWII has lead to the highest and fastest level of technical advancement in human history.

War brought this peace but the present level of weopons development means that another great war is unlikely. China and the US have worked strongly togetehr to tie themselves economically to prevent the causes of war. the US did this with Europe and other parts of Asia especially Japan for the same reasons.

Answer 6

Peace

Answer 7

Sadly, it is most definitely war. Especially since 1850. Everything from rail transport, shipping, and Florence Nightingale's hospitals, have all come from the immediate demands of war, not to mention the immediate technological advancement from weapons.

And the need to find new and creative ways to pay for wars has also driven economic development.

Answer 8

If your talking about war machines and new medical devises and procedures technology progessed!! But peace would be better for the development of man !! Instead of wasting all that money on war it should be going to feed the hungry and stop global warming !! Without a planet were doomed!!

Answer 9

War unfortunatley. Technology for warfare and its supporting services (includes virtually all the sciences) created almost 80% of modern goods or components within them.
Modern Wepons, Equipment and skills, actually still increase the knowledge rate and leaps in technology a lot faster than pure scientific endeavour does now.

Answer 10

If your British then it is war ,We have been at war practically non stop for centuries and look where we stand in the lists of invention and technological discoveries at the top.We are a small nation with limited natural resources but are a major player in the world - biggest gold mines in South Africa also diamonds,third and fourth biggest oil companies various huge mining companys and the in the worlds top four economys.

Answer 11

Well I say war is not the right thing but world peace is a pretty big goal. I think tey need to expand the united nations that would defenitly be the first step!