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Comment by dba7dba | Hacker News Reader

Without such technology, we will be in a world where virtually every able bodied young man will have to serve in the armed forces. Because of such specialized technology and people who dedicate their lives to the craft of warfare, most of our young generation do not have to serve in the military.

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Not really. Without such technology, war wouldn't be profitable. Without the profits, there would be no incentive to fight.

But as long as we carry the bigger gun, we'll always have an incentive to fight.

"Without such technology, war wouldn't be profitable. Without the profits, there would be no incentive to fight."

This is without a doubt one of the most backwards ignorant things I have ever read online.

It might come as a shock to you, but humans have been killing other humans since the stone age. And, as time has gone on, it's become less and less likely for a person to die violently, at the same time that arms technology has advanced.

To play Devil's advocate here, war was profitable in the stone age just as it is now. That said, technology does tend to reduce the number of casualties, with a few notable exceptions.

You can tell yourself we fight for honor or pride or all that bullshit, but it's always been about money. The question before going into war has always been: how many lives is it worth? i.e. what's the profit?

OR, maybe it's about being conquered or conqueror.

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