As the overwhelming majority of organ- FROM TRIBAL EGOISM TO UNIVERSAL ALTRUISM 461 ized groups are guilty — in various degrees — of tribal egoism, and as the total membership of all such organizations embraces almost the whole mankind, mankind itself becomes a victim of its own tribal selfishness. Since an exclusive in-group altruism turns into an out-group egoism, an intergroup conflict becomes unavoidable in such a situation. An aggressive...

As the overwhelming majority of organ- FROM TRIBAL EGOISM TO UNIVERSAL ALTRUISM 461 ized groups are guilty — in various degrees — of tribal egoism, and as the total membership of all such organizations embraces almost the whole mankind, mankind itself becomes a victim of its own tribal selfishness. Since an exclusive in-group altruism turns into an out-group egoism, an intergroup conflict becomes unavoidable in such a situation. An aggressive..... struggle of a group for its own aggrandizement calls forth a counterattack of the encroached groups against the
aggressor. The result is a relentless intergroup struggle for existence and domination. Whether in the form of a cold or a hot war, this intergroup warfare has gone on incessantly in human history, and has filled its annals with the most deadly, most bloody, and most shameful deeds of Homo sapiens. An exclusive tribal solidarity — known also as tribal patriotism, tribal loyalty, and tribal altruism — has mercilessly set man against man, and group against group. It has killed more human beings and destroyed more cities and villages than all the epidemics, hurricanes, storms, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions taken together. It has brought upon mankind more suffering than any other catastrophe. Tribal solidarity has been the greatest curse and the most merciless Nemesis of humanity’s tribal egoism and moral stupidity. It has been responsible for all the interstate and interreligious wars, and for all the interracial, interethnic, intertribal, intercaste, and interclass wars, as well as for all the cold wars between masters and slaves, patricians and plebeians, nobility and serfs, the rich and the poor, the privileged and the underdogs, the rulers and the ruled, capitalists and proletarians, labor and management, “ the chosen ” and “ the inferior people,” and for hundreds of other intergroup conflicts. Mountains of corpses and seas of human blood have been sacrificed to the Moloch of warfare of exclusive tribal solidarities. In an endless rhythm of today’s victors and tomorrow’s victims, the groups have been succeeding one another in this process of mutual extermination. And as long as tribal altruism-egoism continues, the intergroup warfare is bound to continue also.... the ways and Power of Love.