War is controversial, unfortunate and certainly misunderstood; it is a transformative agent, a catalyst for change. However, many people focus on the negative consequences of war, while its positive effects are downplayed. War is a necessary evil in the sense that it stabilizes the population, encourages technological progress, and has very high economic value. Without war, overpopulation of the human race is inevitable. It is for this reason that war is a useful tool not only by Mother Nature, but also by humans themselves to establish population control. Humans have been engaged in warfare for thousands of years. The first recorded example dates back to around 2700 BCE. Of course, the struggles go back much further since we were close to the advent of writing. Even Confucius observed that “…war hinders population growth,” speaking of the problems that overpopulation would bring (Neurath 6). Tertullian, a Christian author around 200 CE, said: "...pestilence, famine, wars, and earthquakes are now considered a blessing to overpopulated nations, as they serve to prune the luxuriant growth of the human race” (8). These two statements, separated by almost 700 years and a great distance, coincide on one major point: war is a useful tool for managing overpopulation. The consequences of overpopulation are so great that several news agencies are reporting that a "sixth extinction" is underway, caused solely by man's enthusiastic attempts at procreation and manipulation of the Earth (Eldredge). In fact, just as the population increases exponentially, so have deaths from war; a trend that continued until the end of World War II, after which war deaths worldwide declined significantly to around one million per year....... middle of paper ......all progress in terms of civil, medical and defensive progress. At the same time, it has a galvanizing effect on the economy, not only through new innovations, but also lower unemployment and higher per capita output. War saved economies from disaster, promoted health well-being and quality of life, not just of humans. War may be hell, and it may be wrong, but war is certainly necessary. Works Cited Kojima, Hideo. Metal Gear Solid 4. Konami Digital Entertainment. 2008. PlayStation3 BD-ROMNeurath, Paul. From Malthus to the Club of Rome and back. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1994. Eldredge, Niles. The sixth extinction. June 2001. March 30, 2010. “The Manhattan Project.” Modern wonders. Prod. Don Cambou and Sean Dash. The History Channel June 4, 2002. Television.