Singer asserts that a "war system" has long existed in which the central concern of nations has been to protect their security by military forces and alliances. He makes the dramatic claim that, because of the inherent nature of modern countries, there will be no war system in any region populated solely by modern countries-as illustrated by the current situation in Western Europe-even though human character will not have improved. However, despite the fact that poverty, tyranny, and war will be largely eliminated, the modern world may be worse for people than the traditional world because most of the things that shaped human character will be obsolete.