I agree with Kaj; humans have evolved for war. Also, human culture has evolved for war. As a result, war is glorious and appealing, at least to many humans. (Think about how a huge fraction of video games involve fighting. Fighting is fun! Fighting is cool!) I remember reading a quote from a young soldier in Iraq: “War is better than sex!” On the less juvenile end of the spectrum, war is an adventure, and adventure is appealing. War is also a competition, and competition is appealing. War also is a great opportunity to demonstrate virtue, which means that lots of heroes and heroic stories happen in war, which means that when people look for role-models or fantasize about achieving status and glory, war features prominently.
I agree with Kaj; humans have evolved for war. Also, human culture has evolved for war. As a result, war is glorious and appealing, at least to many humans. (Think about how a huge fraction of video games involve fighting. Fighting is fun! Fighting is cool!) I remember reading a quote from a young soldier in Iraq: “War is better than sex!” On the less juvenile end of the spectrum, war is an adventure, and adventure is appealing. War is also a competition, and competition is appealing. War also is a great opportunity to demonstrate virtue, which means that lots of heroes and heroic stories happen in war, which means that when people look for role-models or fantasize about achieving status and glory, war features prominently.