# What is the main threat to global peace?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 6, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770 "2013-07-06T03:20:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 5
### Author:  [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/81 "2013-07-10T05:16:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> I disagree. It’s virtually impossible to tell what somebody is thinking. So it’s better to judge them by their actions. And China is expanding so their actions say they’re expansionist. And if they’re expansionist now, why assume they won’t stay expansionist in the near future?
>
> I agree China is mostly expanding into regions the West has ignored. But China is expanding into those regions. There was no requirement for them to do so. Countries don’t need to expand - it’s a voluntary choice they make. If China was genuinely non-expansionist, they wouldn’t be expanding at all not merely expanding into places where they have easier opportunities.
>
> And this isn’t all just economic expansion. China is forming agreements for military bases as well.
Expansion makes a country weaker, not stronger. It’s not profitable. The “Little Englanders” turned out to be right, though they were often derided as defeatist pests. There was an English economist named Hobson who figured that out around 1900, when the British Empire was at its height.
Let them expand. They are welcome to it, though the consequences will be a net loss to most Chinese. Post-Vietnam, when the Soviets were able to expand their influence in several places, the sheer drain of doing so hastened the demise of that regime. The best way to fight the Cold War would have been to not fight it at all.
One would have to be pretty stupid to put military bases everywhere, and otherwise expand an empire through local satraps and other indirect means. Yep, pretty foolish. This sounds so familiar…
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### Author:  [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/82 "2013-07-10T14:55:46Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> Inspired by David Brooks’ 7/5 column in the New York Times, in which he describes radical Islam as the main threat to global peace.
I select “other” and will pencil in “ego”, as it relates to the perception of self-importance in people, and extend that to include most of their beliefs, ideas, and opinions. There are a number of other main items, but books could be written about the subject.
It’s also mostly a problem as a person, group, or entity possesses more influence/power, in whatever form it may be for a time period.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/83 "2013-07-10T16:28:05Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> care to expand on “China”?
> [@Smeghead](#):
>
> Cccchhhhiiiinnnnaaaaa
Hah! How very “Airplane” of you. 😃
In addition to what others have already said, China exports approximately a billion shit-tons of consumer crap every year, and the rest of the world buys it. China is also the single biggest holder of US debt. Add that to the fact that one in six people in the world is Chinese, the Chinese government are big fat liars and cheaters, and China as a whole never plays nicely with anyone else, and I think you have a formula for a whole lot of problems at some point.
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### Author:  [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/84 "2013-08-02T00:35:08Z")
A [researcher at U.C. Berkeley claims warming climate will be a threat to peace](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2302245).
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### Author:  [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2013, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/85 "2013-08-02T08:48:09Z")
Plastic blister packs. Fortunately, I carry at least one knife in my person at all times but pity the other 5.9 billion or so people.
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### Author:  [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/86 "2013-08-02T16:02:19Z")
Human nature. i.e. greed and ego.
World Peace is just never going to happen.
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### Author:  [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/87 "2013-08-02T16:21:31Z")
> [@johnpost](#):
>
> i place the blame squarely on people.
I concur.
I submit as evidence that there are no records of wars being fought before humans arrived on the scene.
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### Author:  [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/88 "2013-08-02T16:34:16Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> care to expand on “China”?
It just stands to reason.
People are the main source of conflicts and wars.
China has a lot of people.
Lorem ipsum dolor:
China is a source of conlict an wars
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/89 "2013-08-04T15:57:46Z")
If I had to give one cause for the lack of world peace? Selfishness. The biggest problem, specifically, is people who refuse to get involved. A lot of bad things are just none of their business. Worse are the people who just aren’t concerned with helping others–those who don’t care about trying to make the world more fair.
That’s right: I believe peace and fairness are pretty much inseparable.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/90 "2013-08-04T16:00:16Z")
> [@PatriotX](#):
>
> I concur.
>
> I submit as evidence that there are no records of wars being fought before humans arrived on the scene.
But there sure were a lot of battles. I would not consider the animal kingdom to be very peaceful. The plant kingdom, maybe. But that would mean the problem is having to go out and get food.
But are plants really peaceful, since they lack the ability to comprehend peace? Our brains exist because of adversity. I just hope that doesn’t mean that adversity is still needed.
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### Author:  [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/91 "2013-08-04T20:09:46Z")
Pakistani jihadis, Pakistani nukes, Pakistani army, navy, air force. In one word - Pakistan.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/92 "2013-08-06T16:49:39Z")
> [@hniyer](#):
>
> Pakistani jihadis, Pakistani nukes, Pakistani army, navy, air force. In one word - Pakistan.
This is true, but does not include the whole world … India can take Paksistan in one week without any help from the USA.
Israel is the biggest threat with so many people/peoples hating them in fact surrounding them …
If the USA were not their friend it would be over in a matter of hours …
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/93 "2013-08-06T20:55:26Z")
“People hate you, so you’re a threat to peace” is an interesting construct, but it fails to take into account the threat from Iceland.
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### Author:  [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/94 "2013-08-08T14:02:02Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#):
>
> I firmly believe that everything bad is caused by overpopulation. We need to colonize another planet.
Why do you want to destroy yet another planet?
You ( and Agent Smith ) are right, but Gaia will solve the problem sooner or later.
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### Author:  [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/95 "2013-08-08T14:03:54Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> If I had to give one cause for the lack of world peace? Selfishness. The biggest problem, specifically, is people who refuse to get involved. A lot of bad things are just none of their business. Worse are the people who just aren’t concerned with helping others–those who don’t care about trying to make the world more fair.
>
> That’s right: I believe peace and fairness are pretty much inseparable.
Without stopping overpopulation, fairness is just sharing less and less of diminishing resources.
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### Author:  [@Peaton\_of\_peat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peaton_of_peat)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/96 "2013-08-08T16:24:21Z")
I think a lot of these ideas are overthinking it. Violence is obviously the biggest threat to world peace. No violence, BOOM instant peace. Ideas like “people” and “greed” still miss the mark, I mean what if we created a race of immortal killbots that wipes humanity out? Then there’d be no people (all dead) and no greed (killbots have only one desire: TO KILL) and yet we’d have worse war than anything seen before in history, forever. That doesn’t sound like global peace to me!
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### Author:  [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/97 "2013-08-09T11:23:01Z")
> [@Peaton\_of\_peat](#):
>
> I think a lot of these ideas are overthinking it. Violence is obviously the biggest threat to world peace. No violence, BOOM instant peace. Ideas like “people” and “greed” still miss the mark, I mean what if we created a race of immortal killbots that wipes humanity out? Then there’d be no people (all dead) and no greed (killbots have only one desire: TO KILL) and yet we’d have worse war than anything seen before in history, forever. That doesn’t sound like global peace to me!
What utopia do you imagine we could make? It’s in the nature of all animals on planet earth to be violent towards the other species ( even eating vegetables is inflicting violence on them ).
There has never been peace on earth and never will be.
BTW, you may have missed it, but scientists are, as I write, working on the “killbots”.
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### Author:  [@Peaton\_of\_peat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peaton_of_peat)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-main-threat-to-global-peace/662770/98 "2013-08-09T15:03:31Z")
> [@Doggo](#):
>
> What utopia do you imagine we could make? It’s in the nature of all animals on planet earth to be violent towards the other species ( even eating vegetables is inflicting violence on them ).
> There has never been peace on earth and never will be.
>
> BTW, you may have missed it, but scientists are, as I write, working on the “killbots”.
Well if we ban violent video games and violent movies (and the RAP MUSIC :smack: ) then there won’t be any bad influences to give people bad ideas. Really this is so simple I don’t know why it hasn’t been tried before!
The only problem will be getting all those other countries to go along with, especially China because they don’t want to listen to anybody but they’re the worst with all the kung-fu movies they put out. It’s like, HELLO! Not only are these movies a very bad moral influence, but they also show EXACTLY HOW to do the most deadly moves! 😉
Also I guess we’ll have to ban robots, just to be on the safe side.
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