For many, the biblical ideal of peace prophesied by Isaiah is simply not “realistic.” That it does not fit with the realities of the present American economy is obvious; but this is only a sign of a more fundamental problem. Many would hold that on a deeper level, such a vision is incompatible with the basic realities of the human condition itself, to which conflict and hostility are endemic—perhaps even an evolutionary necessity, implanted in our genes. There are some, in fact, who base their pessimism