Masculinity and War: Breaking the Cycle of Historic Bias

• Current demands for increased military spending are driven more by performative masculinity and economic interests than by genuine security threats.
• Historical narratives have long prioritized war and conquest, obscuring the collaborative and egalitarian nature of early human societies.

Challenging Historical and Evolutionary Myths

• Archaeological findings in places like Göbekli Tepe and Çatalhöyük demonstrate that complex, monumental structures were built by egalitarian, semi-nomadic societies long before the advent of agriculture.
• Many graves previously assumed to belong to male leaders have been re-identified as female through modern analysis, challenging the myth of universal male power.
• Social Darwinism and the focus on aggressive chimpanzee behavior have been used to falsely frame human nature as inherently violent and hierarchical, ignoring species like bonobos that prioritize cooperation.

The Hobbesian Trap and Androcentrism

• Thomas Hobbes's pessimistic view of human nature as a 'war of all against all' has become the foundational logic of modern international relations, justifying perpetual military preparedness.
• Traditional masculinity is often constructed around violence, invulnerability, and competitiveness, creating a narrow set of options for political leadership that excludes emotional vulnerability and care.
• Large-scale collective identities, such as nationalism or sports fandom, often serve as socially acceptable outlets for suppressed male emotionality, fueling friend-enemy divisions.

Toward a New Ontology

• The focus on war as a metric of political greatness reflects narcissistic projections of leaders seeking to emulate historical conquerors.
• To move toward a better future, society must shift from a framework of conflict and distrust to one based on the ontology of vulnerability and an ethic of care.
• Restoring the marginalized voices of history is not just an act of justice, but a necessary tool for envisioning alternative, peaceful social structures.