[rbg81]

I dunno. One could also make the argument that wars also winnow out the weak, stupid and unlucky. I realize that sounds bad, but you can be very brave & patriotic but still have other flaws that contribute to your death. Death is war is also somewhat random (hence the “unlucky” qualifer).

That being said, WWI and WWII were waged on a scale never before seen in human history. I think the loss of Alpha males from that conflict is definitely behind Europe’s decline. WWI likely set back any recovery France was making from the Napoleanic wars.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

In this country, the so-called flower of American manhood took a major hit in the Civil War. As did the Constitution, the body politic, the gene pool...we certainly adjusted, but we've never recovered.

One could also make the argument that wars also winnow out the weak, stupid and unlucky.

Yes but like the poor, those are always with us. We have weak, stupid and unlucky to last for a thousand generations.