War audiobook cover - How Conflict Shaped Us

War

How Conflict Shaped Us

Margaret MacMillan

★ 4.0 / 5(212 ratings)
Start ListeningDownload App
Categories:
PhilosophySociety & CultureHistory

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to War — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from War

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from War

Mind Map

War
Origins & Human Nature+
Motivations for Conflict+
Culture & Beliefs+
Modern Total War+
Mobilizing Soldiers+
The Civilian Experience+
Regulating Violence+
Perception & Memory+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 9
According to the text, what do studies of chimpanzees and bonobos reveal about human biological programming for war?
  • A. Chimpanzees prove that humans are inherently driven to wage organized, deadly conflicts.
  • B. Bonobos demonstrate that early humans likely lived peaceful, conflict-free lives.
  • C. The studies are inconclusive, suggesting humans are capable of both extreme violence and far-reaching cooperation.
  • D. They show that human violence is entirely a product of modern civilization rather than evolutionary biology.
Question 2 of 9
Which of the following is cited as an emotional or ideological motivation for war, specifically in the case of Adolf Hitler?
  • A. The desire to plunder neighboring countries for their oil riches.
  • B. An irrational fear that peace was making the German people soft and weak.
  • C. The need to launch a preemptive strike against a planned joint attack by neighboring nations.
  • D. The intention to establish a monopoly over lucrative global trade routes.
Question 3 of 9
How did the Spanish successfully use culture as a weapon against the Incan empire?
  • A. By introducing a new religion that pacifistically dismantled the Incan military.
  • B. By abducting the Incan emperor, which paralyzed their highly hierarchical society.
  • C. By bribing Incan generals with European luxuries to turn against their leaders.
  • D. By utilizing Roman siege technology that the Incas culturally believed was magic.
Question 4 of 9
What significant shift in warfare was demonstrated at the Battle of Valmy in 1792?
  • A. The first use of highly disciplined mercenary armies to replace citizen militias.
  • B. The introduction of industrialized weaponry that caused unprecedented casualties.
  • C. The emergence of nationalism, where common citizens fought passionately for a collective geographic identity.
  • D. The implementation of international rules of war that regulated how prisoners were treated.
Question 5 of 9
Aside from advancing military technology, how did the Industrial Revolution fundamentally transform modern warfare?
  • A. It empowered the middle and working classes, giving the masses a voice in discussions about war.
  • B. It eliminated the need for large standing armies by relying entirely on automated defenses.
  • C. It shifted the primary motivation for war from national defense to religious expansion.
  • D. It created a strict separation between civilian industries and military supply chains.
Question 6 of 9
According to the text, what extreme tactic was used in Trotsky’s Red Army to ensure soldiers kept fighting on the battlefield?
  • A. Offering financial bonuses and land grants to those who captured enemy territory.
  • B. Fostering a deep sense of religious duty to the Soviet state.
  • C. Using battlefield executions by commissars to discourage soldiers from retreating.
  • D. Providing extensive psychological training to eliminate the natural instinct to flee.
Question 7 of 9
While civilians often suffer terribly during conflicts, the text notes that wars can also bring them certain benefits. What example is given to support this?
  • A. Civilians in combat zones are typically granted permanent tax exemptions after the war.
  • B. During World War I, British women made major gains in employment, rights, and education.
  • C. The American Civil War resulted in the immediate redistribution of wealth to poor farmers.
  • D. In World War II, civilians in conquered territories were given equal political representation.
Question 8 of 9
What paradox regarding the rules of war is illustrated by the story of the Duke of Chou?
  • A. Rules designed to regulate conflict are often used by aggressors to justify starting a war in the first place.
  • B. Strict rules of engagement usually lead to longer, more drawn-out conflicts.
  • C. Banning certain weapons inevitably leads to the invention of more destructive ones.
  • D. Armies that strictly follow international laws are almost always defeated by those that do not.
Question 9 of 9
How does the modern perception of World War II affect the way we view World War I, according to the text?
  • A. It makes World War I seem like a necessary stepping stone to achieving global peace.
  • B. The clear 'good versus evil' narrative of WWII casts a shadow on WWI, making it seem foolish and immoral by comparison.
  • C. It elevates the soldiers of WWI to a higher heroic status because they fought without modern technology.
  • D. It causes historians to view WWI as the only truly justified conflict of the twentieth century.

War — Full Chapter Overview

War Summary & Overview

War (2020) is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of human conflict. It considers war from different angles, examining what causes it, how we think about it, and how it affects us. By making an effort to understand war, we become better prepared to avoid it.

Who Should Listen to War?

  • Students of international and military history 
  • People interested in cultural and philosophical differences
  • Anyone fascinated or affected by human conflict

About the Author: Margaret MacMillan

Margaret MacMillan is a historian, professor emerita of international history at Oxford University, and professor emerita of history at the University of Toronto. In 2018, she was the Reith lecturer, giving talks in five major cities on the subject of war. She is also a fellow of the Royal Society for Literature and the best-selling author of Paris 1919, which won numerous awards, and The War That Ended Peace, which was named a New York Times Notable Book.

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App