Aggression is an innate characteristic of all animals, it is a primal instict to survive through dominating others or as a scare tatic to shield off

attacks. Aggression has been displayed noticably in humans, the ruling species of this era. Most disturbingly, we are one of the few species that kill our own kind not for the sake of survival but due to greed for more resources, power and wealth.The ongoing wars in Libya, Iraq and Somalia has examplified humans aggresion through the use of military force. We also can see subtle form of aggression in our everyday lives, displayed through competitions and crimes. Woolgar believes that these aggression however can be subdued through the use of multiple approaches in modern society, and it is possible that aggression can cease to be a central behavior in human nature in the near feature. While the boons and banes remain highly debatable, I would be more convinced with the fact that the gains of diminishing aggression would outweigh the losses incurred. In paragrapg 6, Woolgar suggests the use of technology to overwrite the use of aggression. Various use of technology to solve problems that invoke aggression such as population pressure or hunger can be viable. For example the use of genetically modified (GM) crops can increase the yield of crops in order so help overcome the insufficient food in suburban parts of Africa. This will thus aid to reduce aggression and wars arising from such problems. However this approach is limited and also involves a high lag time between implementing the solutions and the effects of the solutions being felt. Technology is also not a foolproof tool to overcome any problem, and if implemented wrongly, the results can be disasterous and a waste of resources. For example, the Green Revolution was spearheaded by international organisatins determined to end hunger. GM crops were introduced in parts of Africa in order to increase their crop yields, however GM crops required more care and the seeds are more expensive to purchase. Many farmers who adapted the use of GM crops faced losses and resulted in a failure of this project. Widespread conflicts over food is still existent in Africa and all over the world despite the invention of GM crops. Thus the use of technology as a solution to curb aggression is not convincing In paragraph 7, Woolgar mentions that sports can be used as an substitute for humans to display their aggression instead of through fatal conflicts. Sports being an activity that everyone around the world can take part in, regardless of nationality, race or religion, is a platform for humans to express their aggression through competition and can determine victory or defeat without any loss of lives. However, this is not convincing as sports is merely a competition to showcase sporting skills and to determine who is the best at it. The participants take part in these competitions for personal gain such as fame, wealth or simply passion. Sporting compeitions alone are unable to solve larger scale problems such as terrorism or regligious conflicts. These matters require more than simply a match to resolve and often, the use of force is inevitable. If aggression were to cease in human nature, it can bring about some benefits to society. Crimes can be reduced as humans greed less for materialistic wants. Fatal conflicts betweeen countries and withthin countries would thus be subdued as humans become increasingly docile. The world would be more peaceful as a whole and society would be able to progress at a faster pace

without such hindrance. In Singapore, our small and open economy will definitely benefit should aggression be reduced. Singapores low crime late and coutnry stability is key to the many investors in the country. A reduction in aggression among society would translate to greater stability in the country. This will spurr the infow of more investors into Singapore and thus bring further economic growth to the country. Yet the decrement of aggression also poses potential problems and disadvantages to society. The common saying The best man wins is the very reason why society has been advancing at an exponential rate. Only the fittest will survive in this highly competitive world and this will maximise the satisfaction level of society as the best man leads the country and the best firms bring about new innovation and products to society. To put it simply, competition is beneficial to society, and the underlying principle behind competition is aggression. A less aggressive society will thus reduce competition and hence benefits to society. In Singapore, a less aggressive society would also translate to lower competition among businesses. Consumers will thus suffer due to a lesser strife for businesses to improve their products and lower the costs. Comparing these boons and banes of cutting back aggression, many will agree that personal safety would be more important than economic gains. This is because a safe and stable society will naturaly bring about economic prospects. Although competition will be reduced, it does not necessarily imply that businesses will not continue to improve their product and services to consumers. The losses can also be overcome through imposing antitrust laws to prevent large firms from monopolising the market. Therefore I am confident that the gains of a reduction of aggression will outweigh the loses incurred.