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  3. We have escaped the battle field and now can, with modem guidance system on missies, touch virtually every square yard of the ea

We have escaped the battle field and now can, with modem guidance system on missies, touch virtually every square yard of the ea

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问题       We have escaped the battle field and now can, with modem guidance system on missies, touch virtually every square yard of the earth’ s surface. It no longer involves only the military profession, but engulfs also entire civilian populations. Nuclear weapons have made major war un thinkable. We are forced, however, to think about the unthinkable because a thermonuclear war could come by accident or miscalculation. We must accept the paradox of maintaining a capacity to fight such a war so that we will never have to do so.
     War has also lost most of its utility in achieving the traditional goals of conflict. Control of territory carries with it the obligation to provide subject people certain administrative, health, education, and other social services; such obligations far outweigh the benefits of control. If the ruled population is ethically or racially different from the rulers, tensions and chronic unrest often exist which further reduce the benefits and increase the costs of domination. Large populations no longer necessarily enhance state power and, in the absence of high levels of economic development, can impose severe burdens on food supply, jobs and the broad range of services expected of modem governments. The non economic security reasons for the control of territory have been progressively undermined by the advances of modem technology. The benefits of forcing another nation to surrender its wealth are vastly outweighed by the benefits of persuading that nation to produce and exchange goods and services. In brief, imperialism no longer pays.
     Making war has been one of the most persistent of human activities in the 80 centuries since men and women settled in cities and became thereby "civilized", but the modernization of the past 80 years has fundamentally changed the role and function of war. In pre-modernized societies, successful warfare brought significant material rewards, the most obvious of which were the stored wealth of the defeated. Equally important was human labor--control over people as slaves or levies for the victor’s army--and the productive capacity of agricultural lands and mines. Successful warfare also produced psychic benefits. The removal or destruction of a threat brought a sense of security, and power gained over others created pride and national self-esteem .
     Welfare was also the most complex, broad-scale and demanding activity of pre-modernized people. The challenges of leading men into battle, organizing, moving and supporting armies, attracted the talents of the most vigorous , enterprising, intelligent and imaginative men in the society. "Warrior" and "Statesman" were usually synonymous, and the military was one of the few professions in which an able, ambitious boy of humble origin could rise to the top. In the broader cultural context, war was accepted in the premodernized society as a part of the human condition, a mechanism of change, and an unavoidable, even noble, aspect of life. The excitement and drama of war made it a vital part of literature and legends.
The author is primarily concerned with discussing how ______.
选项 A、economic and social conditions have changed
B、technology for making war has improved
C、armed conflict has changed
D、war lost its value as a political tool
答案D
解析
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