212 THE SOCIAL LIFE OF ANIMALS 



importance of the subject justifies the risk. The pres- 

 ent discussion will center about three main points: 



1. To what extent do the underlying biological 

 relationships tend to bring about war? 



2. Is war biologically justified by the results pro- 

 duced? 



3. Can the basic principles of struggle and of co- 

 operation work together in the international rela- 

 tions of men? 



Many men are aggressive animals. The similari- 

 ties between human social hierarchies and those of 

 chickens and other animals emphasize similarities of 

 the drive toward dominance in the species concerned. 

 Our immediate question is: Does this human aggres- 

 siveness mean that men have an inherent, instinctive 

 drive toward war? The ideal way to attack this prob- 

 lem would be to rear sizable groups of people free 

 from contact with outside influence or social tradi- 

 tion and see whether under these conditions they 

 would instinctively engage in group combats in order 

 to forward or defend group ambitions. 



Such objective procedure is out of the question, 

 but an interesting subjective inquiry has been made. 

 In 1935, American psychologists took a poll among 

 themselves on the question as to whether they be- 

 lieved that the tendency toward making war is an 

 instinctive drive in man. Of those answering^, well 



