Abstract
After reviewing various theories of why wars occur, notably feminist, postcolonial and political-economic perspectives, this chapter takes a moment from long ago as its touch- stone: a venerable debate about why war happens. It took place in correspondence 85 years ago between two founders of masculinist modernity: Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. Their debate offers us some clues about how technocracy and masculinity meet in metaphorical trenches, and what journalism should do to cover that encounter.