It’s easy to overlook the underlying strategic forces of war, to see it solely as a series of errors, accidents, and emotions gone awry. It’s also easy to forget that war shouldn’t happen—and most of the time it doesn’t. Around the world, there are millions of hostile rivalries, yet only a fraction erupt into violence, a fact too many accounts overlook. Christopher Blattman is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago. He is co-lead the university’s Development Economics Center and the Obama Foundation Scholars Program. In his new book, Why We Fight, Christopher Blattman reminds us that most rivals loathe one another in peace. War is too costly to fight, so enemies almost always find it better to split the pie than spoil it for everyone or struggle over thin slices. In those rare instances when fighting ensues, we should ask: What kept rivals from compromise? He combines decades of economics, political science, psychology, and real-world interventions to lay out the root causes and remedies for war, showing that violence is not the norm; that there are only five reasons why conflict wins over compromise; and how peacemakers turn the tides through tinkering, not transformation. In this interview, I speak to Professor Christopher Blattman about why we fight, the root causes of war, and how we can effectively move to peace. We talk about how to build resilient societies, how best to detect fragility, and the remedies that shift incentives away from violence and get parties back to dealmaking.

Thought Economics

Charlotte Mullins is one of the UK’s most respected art critics, writers and broadcasters. She was formerly the arts editor of the Independent on Sunday, the editor of Art Review, the V&A Magazine, Art Quarterly and is the newly appointed art critic for Country Life. In her new book, A Little History of Art, Charlotte takes us on a thrilling journey through 100,000 years of art, from the origins of mark-making to art’s central role in culture today on subjects such as climate change and human rights. She was keen to make sure that her research included both renowned and overlooked artists from around the world, and she expands the story of art to present a more inclusive timeline. In this interview, I speak to Charlotte Mullins about how art shaped our society, how it shapes our lives, and how the history of art teaches us how to see the world, and who we are today.

Thought Economics

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