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Alvin Toffler
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Heidi Toffler
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War and Anti-War: Making Sense of Today's Global Chaos Mass Market Paperback – May 1, 1995

by Alvin Toffler (Author), Heidi Adelaide Toffler (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 17 ratings
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Beginning with a provocative analysis of warfare in the past, futurists Alvin and Heidi Toffler offer intriguing insight into today's military conflicts--and an eye-opening portrait of the battles of the future. By describing the horrifying realities of future war, the authors offer innovative strategies for implementing future peace.
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  1. Print length
    370 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grand Central Publishing
  4. Publication date
    May 1, 1995
  5. Dimensions
    4.13 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0446602590
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0446602594
  8. See all details
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • dj
    5.0 out of 5 stars The key to understanding conflict in the post-modern world
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Someone recommended I read this book. I was in Sri Lanka at the time, laboring under the usual misconceptions about the civil war that was raging, and wondering why it was so difficult for them to end it. This book was the key to understanding it. In fact, it opened a door that helped me to understand not only the Sri Lankan conflict, but many of the various conflicts in the news today. Iraq? Afghanistan? Palestine? Read this book!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Ron Dwyer
    4.0 out of 5 stars In Retrospect
    Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2002
    I have a certain measure of skepticism concerning the genre that has been called "futurist" or "future studies" because, as is well known, many of the predictions of futurists have been dead wrong.
    But some futurists are better than others; and it is emminetly rational to try to understand where we are headed and plan for it.
    The sub-title of this book is : Survival At The Dawn of the 21st Century. Considering that the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 has launched, in a certain sense, the 21st Century, it seems to be an appropriate time to evalute a book by a prominent futurist, written in the early 90s, on war and peace in the 21st Century.
    This book is rooted in the Tofflerian concepts of the "First Wave," "Second Wave," and the "Third Wave." The First Wave Civilzation is agrarian. The Second Wave Civilization is industrial; the Third Wave civilization in informational. War and peace should be understood in the context of the Third Wave.
    Predictions: Nation-states will no longer have the sole monopoly on force. New, sophisticated techonolgy will be used. The threat of bio-terrorism. Information will be very important, both in war, and in preventing war. The use of psychological methods in war. Countries should, and will, share knowledge and expertise.
    Reality: In Afghanistan, the United States attacked Taliban and Al-Qaida bases (Al-Qaida, an international terrorist organization). Satellites and precision bombing were used. There is a fear of a biological counter attack in the United States. There is now an effort to strenghthen our security and intelligence agencies in order to prevent further attack. In the war in Afghanistan, not only bombs were dropped, but also food for the civilians and propaganda pamphelts. In the war on terrorism, the US is assisting the former Soviet Republic of Georgia with weapons and advice.
    There are some things that turned out differently. For example, some Second and even First Wave methods of war were used. The calvary, 19th century war institution, used in the 21st Century! Another point is the increasing role of civilians in war. True, civilians have not always been passive. In World War II, a national magazine encouraged its readers to come up with ideas on how to win World War II. But it seems that civilians will have an increasing more important role in the waging of war and the preservation of peace. Heroic civilians in one of the hi-jacked planes fought back and may have well saved Congress or the the White House from being attacked. People increased their security , after the attack, by using the newer communication technologies like cell phones and the Internet.
    As to the second half of the book's title "Anti-War", the predictions are not as adequate--though we should not be too hard on Toffler on this point--the prevention of war is not an easy thing. One of Toffler's suggestions is basically of an international organization like the UN having teeth, that is, armed force. But the only way that will happen is if some world government would have a armed force that is greater than the force of all the major powers combined. Basically what best insures peace is the toppling of tyrants.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • anonymous reviewer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book with ideas still useful today
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2007
    Here are some notes

    The same forces transforming our economy and society were about to transform war as well
    The biggest problem for democracies in relation to the military - Democratic armies cannot win wars without popular support/ consensus, but crises could arise faster than consensus could form. The military had to shift from an orientation toward space to an orientation toward time
    The shape of tomorrow would be determined by economic, not military, warfare - nations becoming more economically interdependent
    Knowledge is a factor of production which is versatile and inexhaustible unlike material finite resources therefore it may be used by both sides of the war
    War success increasingly lies in the capacity for acquiring, generating, distributing, and applying knowledge strategically and operationally
    Agriculture became the womb of war for two reasons. It enabled communities to produce and store an economic surplus worth fighting over. And it hastened the development of the state. Together these provided the preconditions for what we now call warfare
    Past armies varied greatly in size, capability, moral, leadership quality and training. Weapons were unstandardized, and fighting was mostly close combat

    Total war is waged politically, economically, culturally, and propagandistically, and the entire society converted into a single war machine. Total war blurred or completely eliminated the distinction between military and civilian targets

    Mutually assured destruction

    Poorly paid draftees armies reduce the incentive for technological substitution
    If armies consist of more highly paid professionals, robots become a battlefield bargain
    The spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear arms in the world is also likely to promote robotization by creating battlefields just too toxic for human soldiers. Robotic warriors can be custom designed to perform in just such environments
    Robots did the work but humans made the decisions
    Another feature of autonomous robots is speed. They can make decisions at faster than human rates, a key capability as warfare accelerates
    The problem with remotely controlled robotic weapons is that they depend on vulnerable communications that link humans to them. If communication breaks down, disrupted, sabotaged or manipulated by the enemy, the robot becomes useless or potentially self destructive. If the ability to sense data, interpret it, and make decisions is embedded in the weapon itself, the communication links are internalized and more secure

    *The implementation of total automation in warfare by means of robotization changes the relationship among the parts of the war machine specifically among the public and the state. Robotization removes the human aspect of war, the draftees and therefore reduces public patriotism and therefore support for the warfare. With zero cost in human life 2 scenarios may occur - 1 lost of public concern regarding any battle or war waged, 2 increase in unopposed criticism by the public to the states with regards to battle or war waged and increased focus of the opponent as victims rather than enemies. This occurs because the opponents casualty is not counter balanced by our own casualty and even the notion of risking human life is unavailable. Because of this, war is may not be morally justified if the opponents innocent public is killed. The war itself may not be justified if without public support to its necessity
    The state therefore in a effort to reduce public opposition may 1 keep battles and warfare hidden from public view 2 increase military propaganda techniques

    The new communication networks favor democratic nations - permits users to communicate among themselves at all levels of the hierarchy, precisely what totalitarian systems may not want

    SIX WRENCHES THAT TWIST THE MIND - THE MEDIA BATTLEFIELD
    1 the atrocity accusation
    2 hyperbolic inflation of the stakes involved in a battle or war
    3 demonization and/or dehumanization of the opponent
    4 polarization "Those who are not with us are against us"
    5 the claim of divine sanction
    6 propaganda that discredits the other side's propaganda - its aim is to produce wholesale, as distinct from retail, disbelief

    List of military propaganda techniques designed to exploit the mass media to sway mass emotion in mass society

    Adding commercially available smart technology to old weapons can transform them into intelligent weapons at peanut prices that even impoverished armies can afford

    Efforts at preventing the spread of mass-destructive weapons were based on ten key assumptions:
    1 The new weapons could be monopolized by a few strong nations
    2 Nations seeking such arms would have to produce their own
    3 Small nations, in general, lacked the necessary resources
    4 Only a few weapons or types would meet the definition of weapons of mass destruction
    5 These weapons depended on a handful of raw materials that were monitorable and controllable
    6 They also depended on a few specific, indentifiable technologies whose spread could also be watched and controlled
    7 The actual number of secrets needed to prevent proliferation would also be small in number
    8 Regulatory agencies could collect and disseminate information for use by the world nuclear industry without revealing knowledge that would help arms proliferators
    9 Existing nations would remain stable and not break apart
    10 Nation-states were the only possible proliferators

    While interdependence may create bonds between nations, it also makes the world far more complicated. Interdependence means that Country A cannot take an action without triggering consequences and reaction in countries B, C, D, and so on
    Some countries are hypo-connected to the rest of the world while others are hyper-connected.

    War and peace forms pose a moral question. Apart from trying to withhold certain kinds of technical knowledge from potential troublemakers, it may be sensible for most technologically advanced nations to actually provide technical know how to less than friendly states. If some pariah state succeeds in developing weapons of mass destruction do we want the government to keep the weapon under careful control, lest it fall into unauthorized hands. If so, should we make control technologies available to it.

    Government is under de facto control local business interest
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  • Zodoz
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, just some details are questionable
    Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 1999
    I read this book when first released in hardcover for $30. I think its well worth $7.00. The text is summarized by the 4 or 5 essentials of [ or add connectivity]. Since the book was written in 1995, readers who rate this book poorly should reflect on its generalities and see whether Toffler's predictions have come to pass.
    1995 was a time when the Internet, Yahoo, and Amazon.com were just evolving parts of Americana, the idea of investing heavily in the 4th 'C' needed reinforcement in the minds of CEOs. War against networks [hacking] was not critical and now, were are we? Millions of dollars later, the book has paid for itself well for $30.
    Other components of the text discuss non-lethal weapons, and specific technological strategies for war that may not be relevant to commerce, and are more for military strategists. Further I found the first edition I read had awkward moments of questionable syntax.
    Nevertheless, knowing that non-lethal weapons are evolving, and the 4th C of conflict are well established [computers & communications], what glimpses we may get from Toffler projections in "War and Anti-War" are certainly worth a $7.00 entrance fee.
    5 people found this helpful
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