Human nature

The endless debates in politics and religion often stems from a basic assumption about human nature. On the one hand, many believe that humans are inherently good. With this view, prisons can indeed be effective at reforming criminals and returning them to productive members of society. With the opposite view that humans are inherently evil, prisons will never be effective at reform but are only a way to keep dangerous criminals off the street.

Of the philosophers, Hobbes perhaps illustrates this best with his description of the state of nature. In the state of nature, everyone has a right to everything. This leads to inevitable conflict as each individual tries to take by force all the resources or assets his personal power allows. This state is described by Hobbes as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" - Leviathan. In this Hobbesian view, individuals give up their 'natural' rights to society in exchange for protection or security.

I believe that man is by nature evil. Another illustration of this is the human race's brilliance in finding new and more efficient ways to kill each other.

A great article - found by Rick Garcia - talks about the state of nature using rats as a proxy for humans. The rats got along well as long as food and resources were amply provided, but once resources became scarce the rats engaged in very human-like warfare. NIH rat article

How will warfare change as resources (oil, food, water) become more scare? Are the conflicts in Africa and example of these resource type conflicts and a precursor to similar conflicts that will erupt around the globe as people fight for limited resources?