In the classic idealist-realist debate, neither side normally accords the other much space. In his new analysis, however, Kissinger notes that "in relations between the United States and Western Europe and within the Western Hemisphere, America's historic ideals have considerable applicability. Here the idealist version of peace based on democracy and economic progress demonstrates its relevance." He also notes that the current complexity of the international system "renders much of the traditional American debate about the nature of international politics somewhat irrelevant. Whether it is values or power, ideology or raison d'état that are the key determinants of foreign policy, in fact depends on the historical stage in which the international system finds itself."

THE CENTRAL ISSUE

At the root of the idealist-realist debate is a truth that never goes away and that neither side ignores--they just approach it from different perspectives: Human nature is the fly in the ointment. Realists hold an essentially pessimistic view of human nature. Idealists share a belief in its essential goodness.

Henry Kissinger would say that's exactly why idealistic notions of peace through morality will fail. You just can't expect humans, and therefore the nations they represent, to be anything but self-interested.

The idealist Robert McNamara would say that without imposing a moral curb on human nature we will see more people killed in the 21st century than in the overwhelmingly violent 20th, when multiple millions died in war, most of them civilians. So we must pursue prescriptions for peace based on the morality of avoiding such catastrophic wars.

If human nature is the problem, how to deal with it is the issue. The history of society's attempts to do so does not give much cause for hope. We must admit that no method of taming human nature has yet been found. According to one source, in the past 6,000 years humanity has experienced only 300 years of global peace. Albert Einstein famously said that it is easier to denature plutonium than to change human nature.

Could it be that we are seeking an answer that cannot come from the human level? Can human nature be curbed from our own resources? What exactly is human nature, and what is its origin?

THE TRUTH ABOUT US

In religion and the Bible, a relevant question can be answered from the New Testament: "Do you know where your fights and arguments come from?" The answer in the apostle James's words: "They come from the selfish desires that war within you. You want things, but you do not have them. So you are ready to kill and are jealous of other people, but you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight" (James 4:1-2, New Century Version).

Here human nature is shown to be essentially selfish. Though it is sometimes able to do good for unrelated others, it is identified with the protection, preservation and extension of the self and its immediate world. Whatever is needed to accomplish these ends motivates humans from infancy on. We might say that at birth human beings are in a neutral condition, demonstrating neither good nor evil desires. While the newborn feebly seeks out food to survive, and has some drive to do so, it is ill-equipped to challenge anyone for that food or to share it. The aggressive and possessive impulse comes with time. A growing selfishness develops as we mature. Through socialization we may learn to control this selfishness, but it almost always reappears, given certain circumstances.

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