Does a civilization need CONFLICT to become more developed? or can they just rely on TRADE?

Question

I believe that the early civilizations need CONFLICT to develop MORE than ones that only relied on TRADE. With conflict - you get to conquer things, get more things, and use that. But when you just trade, you're just giving and receiving...you're not gaining much.

What do you guys think? Am I wrong? Think about the early Eqyptians..... and compare them to the Mesopotamians. The Egyptians were isolated and didn't have conflict.... but look how far the Mesopotamians got because they had conflict!

In my opinion.. I think the Mesopotamians developed MORE than the Eqyptians...... because they had conflict with others. Mesopotamians didn't last as long as Egyptians, BUT they contributed more.

Or am I wrong? What do you think?

Answer 1

Sure, if you steal, you gain more, faster!

But there's also a price to pay, which is you can never rest!

You must always look over your shoulder, to see who's coming back for revenge!

There was a saying among the kings of Sumeria/Mesopotamia...

'Last month, I conquered your lands, and made myself King. Next month, you conquer my lands, and make yourself King...It never ends!'...

Answer 2

Absolutely not, the only developments that come out of conflict are innovations in warfare which may or may not be applied to every day technology. For example the microwave.

A civilization can advance simply by trade, but it would be a different type of advancement, most civilizations like this most likely would have a strong and advanced background in things like the arts.

Answer 3

Trade tends to reduce conflicts, unless you're competing for markets.  That's why Rome destroyed Carthage in the Peloponnesian Wars.

Conflict encourages certain kinds of development -- especially innovations in, well, war.  Better weapons; more successful tactics; better engineering, such as learning how to build a road that a Roman legion can march over without pounding it into mud, that sort of thing.

I don't know what you mean by "developed more."  And what's the point of giving scores to how different people achieved different goals? -- isn't that like comparing apples and oranges?

Answer 4

develop in which way? development based purely on conflict usually leads to fast deterioration of society and also peoples mental and spiritual wellbeing. It would be lovely to see what traits humans could develop without always worrying about conflicts.

Answer 5

The Chinese were one of the most developed civilizations.  They most certainly were a trading type.

Answer 6

Just as a human grows by learning so must a civilization. In order to become a great kingdom or super power that country must invest itself into education and knowledge. In my opinion conflict and strive only cause placement of a people not advance of a culture.

Answer 7

You might want to look at the Neolithic culture called "Bell Beaker" which seems to have spread along trading networks across Europe trading technology products and ideas?