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	Is There a Cycle to War?   (January 19, 2006) Could wars follow a long cycle, much as economic recessions do? To explore this important idea, I recommend reviewing Terence Parker's fascinating website warcycle.com--War, Wealth and the Human Cycle. As readers know, I have long expressed an interest in the Kondratieff theory, which sees a recurring pattern of roughly 60-year long cycles of economic growth (prosperity) and decline (renunciation of all debt and depression). The initial period of true prosperity (the 50s and 60s) is followed by a period of false prosperity (where we are now) during which vast debts which cannot be paid are accumulated. This expansion of debt leads to a final period of turmoil and crisis during which all the debt is renounced and written off, setting the stage for another cycle of expansion. My own brief wEssay on the topic is Are We Entering the Next Age of Turmoil? Mr. Parker is a retired professional soldier with a solid grasp of history. He has many deeply interesting commentaries which place the Vietnam war, Muslim extremism and the current Iraqi war into long cycles of human history. I highly recommend his exploration of war's connections to fundamental economic and social-religious cycles. * * * copyright © 2006 Charles Hugh Smith. All rights reserved in all media. I would be honored if you linked this wEssay to your site, or printed a copy for your own use. * * *
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