In his critical work of historical and cultural observation, James M. Jeffrey ask what may be the most important question of our time. Having been taught the human cost of war over and over in recent history, how do we stop this tremendous threat to humanity? The answer, according to James M. Jeffrey, may lie in cultural processes that can be observed, and more importantly, changed.

Drawing on his personal biography as a combat veteran and a broad knowledge of human history, James Jeffrey describes how ancient humans began an experiment in cooperative living that continues to this day. He chronicles how each generation of humans developed the shared, cooperative ideas that we know as culture, adapting successfully to the conditions of their time. However, modern humans have unknowingly altered their cultural process and put themselves on the self-destructive course on which we find ourselves today. How did that happen, and how can we now regain our successful course?