I think Asimov's notion of a war might have been heavily colored by The Big One.
Instead of his excessively flippant characterization of guerilla warfare, I prefer Matt White's characterization (http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/demowar.htm) from his critical evaluation of the democratic peace theory: most wars are civil wars, often with some international involvement. International wars in which one established government attacks another are what we think of when we hear the word "war", but they are relatively rare; Iraq started out as one but of course now it's another civil war with third-party involvement.
Asimov's Turner Thesis In Space! notion, of space exploration as the great risky adventure of future humanity, also seems a little naive to me these days, though it's a very common notion among science-fiction fans. Actually binding your daughters and sons to space empire is really expensive in terms of resources, so if you're living in a world of limits and caution you might have trouble doing it. Just doing a lot of science there is cheaper, and to me it is a profound adventure. But I don't get the impression that most people feel that way; it's just more pictures of rocks and stars.
no subject
Instead of his excessively flippant characterization of guerilla warfare, I prefer Matt White's characterization (http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/demowar.htm) from his critical evaluation of the democratic peace theory: most wars are civil wars, often with some international involvement. International wars in which one established government attacks another are what we think of when we hear the word "war", but they are relatively rare; Iraq started out as one but of course now it's another civil war with third-party involvement.
Asimov's Turner Thesis In Space! notion, of space exploration as the great risky adventure of future humanity, also seems a little naive to me these days, though it's a very common notion among science-fiction fans. Actually binding your daughters and sons to space empire is really expensive in terms of resources, so if you're living in a world of limits and caution you might have trouble doing it. Just doing a lot of science there is cheaper, and to me it is a profound adventure. But I don't get the impression that most people feel that way; it's just more pictures of rocks and stars.