<i>I have to believe that somewhere in the parameter space of human diplomacy and relationships there is the possibility for expansion and coexistence without utter annihilation of one side.</i><p>I always thought that the Romans empire expanded solely out of greed and power lust.  One day I was reading about one of their very, very early battles.  Turns out the population of Rome and of the neighboring city had expanded to the point where there was only enough resources for one city to survive.  Rome won, and in a quest to secure resources and protect the home city from getting sacked, did not stop expanding.<p>I recommend the book, "The Fates of Nations" ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fates_of_Nations" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fates_of_Nations</a> ).  It's dark, but very realistic.  The fundamental problem of human affairs is that we are animals born to reproduce, living in a world of limited resources.<p>The real hope for the human race is not a new moral code.  It's thorium and the birth control pill.  Only the combination of sufficient energy and controlled population will enable us to share the same planet without clawing each other to death.