The Killing Power of the Individual: Are we fated to climb ever higher?

Anitei, Stefan. Australopitheicus Group. Digital image. Softpedia.

News Archive, 12 Mar. 2007. Web. 07 May 2015.

We’ve all got to admit that despite whatever misgivings

we may have about our own species, humanity is a

remarkable club to be in. We have a vast and flexible

intellect that has carried us farther than every other

species on this planet. It is our intelligence that put us at

the top of the food chain, which has given us the fruits of

civilization and has made us the masters of our planet.

Our intelligence has trumped every single problem that

has faced us since our history was first written down,

from conflict, to famine, disease and a myriad of other

terrific challenges.

But of course our intelligence has sometimes yielded

some pretty bizarre, unexpected and disturbing things

along with all this prestige and civilization. When it

comes to hunting, fighting and general survival we have

applied our intellect to considerable effect and the results

of this application are plain for everyone to see.

Intelligence, it is clear, is one of the greatest advantages

possible for a species to have; our ascendancy on this

planet was assured the moment that the first prehistoric

man threw his first spear and killed the bear that would

have had him for lunch. Since that moment our

intelligence has been giving us mechanical leverage over

our biologically superior competitors in nature.

Our intelligence has not only been a tool for defense

against predators and a weapon to use against our prey, it

has also come into effect in the many contests for

resources and land that have plagued our species from its

beginnings.

Cattum, Cave. Ramesses II at The Battle of Kadesh. Digital

image. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Joshua.J.Mark, n.d.

Web.

The Killing Power of the Individual

By Alexander Davis

Our ability to wage war has flourished like nothing else

under the tutelage of our budding intelligence. But war

has scarred our history, killed millions upon millions and

damaged parts of our planet irreparably.

I believe that this is because our intelligence has given us

a gift; something that I have begun referring to as “killing

power”. But what is killing power? Killing power is that

mechanical leverage over biological or learned traits, it is

our ability, skill and technical expertise for taking life.

As our mastery over technology and energy has

multiplied over time our killing power has grown to

monstrous proportions.

1Alvarez, Sandra. Battle of Aljubarrota. Digital image. De Re

Militari. SOCIETY FOR MEDIEVAL MILITARY HISTORY, 26

May 2014. Web.

It is my task in this series of articles to track the meteoric

rise of humanity’s killing power. Truly, nothing is more

disturbing and shocking than the unexpected social,

moral and environmental implications of this awe-

inspiring ability to kill that we have inherited. I endeavor

to show how our intelligence has given us unprecedented

power to kill; whether humans have embraced this power

to wage their wars or shunned it as a moral aberration. I

will show how unskilled men with simple weapons

slaughtered skilled warriors and what this unending rise

of killing power means for the future of our societies.

*

There were many instances in human history of weapons

or warrior ideals that evolved our killing power to new

forms. The first instance of this evolution, was when our

intellect was first flowering into true existence and

humanity began manufacturing the first ranged weapons.

The throwing spear; which I argue not only set us apart

from other animals, but was instrumental in our rise

triumph over the Neanderthal and their eventual

extinction.

Next I will look at the natural successor to the throwing

spear; the bow and arrow of antiquity and its evolved

form in the medieval ages. I argue that the bow has

changed the course of human history and warfare many

times. From the first Egyptian chariot archers that

outmaneuvered their foes, to the horse cavalry of the

Hunnic empires and the Mongolian empires and the

noble Longbow men of medieval Britannia.

The bow of the medieval ages then morphed into the

short yet remarkable career of the crossbow; a weapon so

deadly that many religious and political leaders of history

banned its use. Though a marginal weapon of history, the

crossbow had such an impact in its killing power that it is

impossible to ignore.

Gunpowder-02. Digital image. China Ancient. N.p., 2011.

Web. <http://www.chinancient.com/chinese-alchemy/>.

Of course the greatest example of humanity’s killing

leaping forward, is the introduction of gunpowder

weapons in the form of the gunpowder musket and

cannon. These easy to use, easy to manufacture and

psychologically imposing weapons became so

widespread and influential that no amount of bans or

embargos could keep them from changing the world. For

better or for worse, guns have changed the relationship

between the common man able to pull a trigger and the

elite soldier whom has become vulnerable to what was

once an inferior opponent. Another example of

mechanical leverage triumphing over biological or

learned traits.

The next weapon I tackle is the Gatling gun and the

machine gun, weapons that took the basic rifle or musket

of the time and turned it into a multiple shot, automatic

weapon of war. Armed with one of these weapons, a

crew multiplied their killing power to the point where

they could fight against a force many times their size.

The Gatling gun and the machine gun, I argue, were

responsible for ushering the modern age of warfare.

2Hynes, R. Civil War Model 1862 Gatling Gun. Digital image.

Battery Gun Company. N.p., 1987. Web.

<http://www.batteryguncompany.com/History.php>.

Finally, and bypassing the many and myriad military

inventions of the 20th century I skip straight to the 21st

century and the weapons of our modern age. The cruise

missile, indirect artillery and the drone missile; weapons

where the firer need never be near no even see his

opponent. In our modern age the killing power of the

individual has expanded so much, one man can be

responsible for the deaths of thousands, he need only

have enough ammunition at his disposal to carry out the

deed.

It is clear that in our time the killing power of the

individual has grown dangerously, so that one man with

the wrong idea, might have the power to end the lives of

millions. How do we as modern citizens of the world

deal with the reality of this kind of power? How do we

deal with the fact that a man with one weapon and little

or no training, has the power to walk into our workplaces

or homes and massacre hundreds on a whim? How do we

deal with the reality that our own governments and

nations, armed with the tools of modern warfare, now

have the ability to deal out death in such magnitude as to

make them virtually invincible?

Perhaps together we can find these answers, perhaps they

are unknowable. Perhaps the problem lies deep within us

and can only be expunged with our own, inevitable self-

annihilation. Or perhaps we can discover a way to live

peaceably with our own god-like ability to end life; a

way to live with the fallibility of our nature, and the

infallibility of our weapons.

Cole, Chris, and Jim Wright. Reaper Drone Firing Missile.

Digital image. Drone Wars. N.p., 2010. Web.

<http://www.batteryguncompany.com/History.php>.

By Alexander Davis