Hegel was clear: history is a slaughter-bench. Depressing? Of course. But does history also allow the increase of rationality and freedom? Indeed it does.
This is often accomplished by world historical figures who inspired great battle victories such as Alexander, Washington, Lincoln, and Churchill. And it was often unknown to themselves just what great forward progress they enabled.
This episode discusses war from the standpoint of conflict resolution resulting in a better outcome. The opposite being a regression, not a progression. .
Freedom is not something to just shout from the mountain tops, It must be earned, fought for. And those cultures that embraced it often had the upper hand in warfare, starting with the Athenians at Marathon. They had a purpose - a reason - not just an order.