Conflict and Defense: A General Theory

by Kenneth Ewart Boulding

Overview

Conflict and Defense, which was first published in 1962, presents a general theory of conflict, drawing on theoretical analyses from sociology and economics. This text by Kenneth E. Boulding, a pre-eminent economist and founder of ecological economics, examines the common processes of conflict, the roles of different participants in conflicts, and describes features which are unique to specific types of conflict.
Conflict and Defense will be of interest to those who seek an improved theoretic understanding of conflict. Divided into sixteen chapters, the book offers both a general theoretic model of conflict, and analyses of the unique features which distinguish international, economic, industrial and ideological conflicts. It is clearly written and will be accessible to the well-informed reader.
"The origin of this book in my own mind can be traced back to a passionate conviction of my youth that war was the major moral and intellectual problem of our age. If the years have made this conviction less passionate, they have made it no less intense. The book, therefore, is not a work of that idle curiosity which, according to Veblen, is the motivator of pure science. It is driven rather by that practical curiosity which inspires applied science. Nevertheless, it is a work of pure theory, that is, of the abstract imagination…"—Kenneth E. Boulding

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781789126259
Publisher:	Valmy Publishing
Publication date:	12/05/2018
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Kenneth Ewart Boulding (1910-1993) was an English-born American economist, educator, peace activist, and interdisciplinary philosopher. A prolific author, he published over thirty-six books and over 112 articles. Boulding was the author of two Citation Classics: The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society (1956) and Conflict and Defense: A General Theory (1962). He was cofounder of general systems theory and founder of numerous ongoing intellectual projects in economics and social science.
Born on January 18, 1910 and raised in Liverpool, England, the only child of William C. Boulding and Elizabeth Ann Boulding, he attended Liverpool Collegiate School on a scholarship. He also won a chemistry scholarship to Oxford University at New College in 1929, but soon transferred to Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He then won a Commonwealth Fellowship to the University of Chicago (1932-1934), returning to the UK in 1934 for three years to take up a position in economics at the University of Edinburgh. He later returned to the U.S. and was granted citizenship in 1948.
After teaching posts at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee (1942-1943) and Iowa State College (1945-1949), Boulding joined the University of Michigan as professor (1949-1967), and retired as Distinguished Professor Emeritus from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1980. He served as president of several organizations, including the American Economic Association in 1968, the International Peace Research Society from 1969-1970 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1979.
He died in Boulder, Colorado on March 18, 1993, aged 83.

Born on January 18, 1910 and raised in Liverpool, England, the only child of William C. Boulding and Elizabeth Ann Boulding, he attended Liverpool Collegiate School on a scholarship. He also won a chemistry scholarship to Oxford University at New College in 1929, but soon transferred to Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He then won a Commonwealth Fellowship to the University of Chicago (1932-1934), returning to the UK in 1934 for three years to take up a position in economics at the University of Edinburgh. He later returned to the U.S. and was granted citizenship in 1948.
After teaching posts at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee (1942-1943) and Iowa State College (1945-1949), Boulding joined the University of Michigan as professor (1949-1967), and retired as Distinguished Professor Emeritus from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1980. He served as president of several organizations, including the American Economic Association in 1968, the International Peace Research Society from 1969-1970 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1979.
He died in Boulder, Colorado on March 18, 1993, aged 83.