The purpose of this book is to reveal for the first time how the ultimate cause of all wars and human misery is the parental holocaust of children throughout history-an untold story of how literally billions of innocent, helpless children have been routinely killed, bound, battered, mutilated, raped and tortured and then as adults have inflicted upon others the nightmares they themselves experienced.
Most of what you will read here will be new, upsetting and difficult to believe, despite the extensive historical, anthropological, clinical and neurobiological evidence I will present. But after you read it I think you will be able to understand for the first time why what Kierkegard called "the slaughterbench of history" happened, where we are today in the evolution of humanity and what we can do tomorrow to bring about a peaceful, happier world.
In these pages I hope to accomplish the following ten goals:
The first third of the book is devoted to describing how early personal experiences determine political behavior. It begins with two chapters describing recent American political events-the shooting of John F. Kennedy and the events leading up to the Gulf War-in order to show how hidden shared emotions cause political violence. The third chapter then provides clinical, neurobiological and historical evidence that wars and social violence depend upon the restaging of early traumas.
The second third of the book is devoted to outlining the psychogenic theory of history, first as it applies to political history, secondly as it explains the causes and cycles of war and thirdly as it explains childhood and cultural evolution.
The final third of the book is a history of how childhood in the West evolved, era by era, and how better childrearing produced new psychoclasses, who then created new social, religious and political institutions.
I have tried to include in this book most of what I have learned about childhood and history during the past four decades. I would welcome hearing from you what you think about what I say here, and I promise you a personal reply to your email or letter.
Lloyd deMause
email: [email protected]
postal address: 140 Riverside Drive
New York, NY 10024-2605