War: A Virus?

War is an interesting topic since so many articles have been written about prevention of war and peace. William James' essay The Moral Equivalent of War explains how war is a historical necessity and how it has shaped our society today. Most people would never take a war back because of the good that has resulted in the end (ie the civil war or world war II). But I tend to have a different stance on the subject of war. War is a forceful way to spread one's ideas. It's a way to prove who is right and who is wrong. It's almost like a virus of the body trying to prove who is more powerful. All human society's, like virus', attempt to spread and war is a forceful way we achieve that in the most extreme of circumstances. Granted, most of the time when war resembles a virus is when one side is considered 'in the wrong' (such as Adolf Hitler) and they must spread their ideals onto the rest of the world. I don't believe the metaphor is wrong however because some similarities can be drawn. War is the virus of man, the equivalent of an attacking outsider on an internal body. The circumstances are undeniably similar the only difference is that when a virus is rid of the body stays the same but when a human virus (ie War) is defeated the world becomes a better place because of it.