T HE G R E AT I L L US I O N

A S T UD Y O F T HE RE L A T I O N O F

M I L I T A R Y P O W E R I N N AT I O N S
T O T HEI R

E CO N O MI C AN D SO CI A L AD V A N T A G E

N O R M AN AN GE L L

T O RO N T O
Mc c LEL L A N D A N D G O O DC HI L D

P U BL I S HE RS
 April. M ay , t au, re ri nted
p M ay , t o”

F ORE I GN E mm ons or r u n
s A R! now R E A D Y, o n m P R E P A R A T I ON ,

IN T HE F OLL O WI N G c o o w r m zs

tnam s
’
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Haclzc tte at C u. P ar is

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. M a m y a c t Co .

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- A . N ords tcdt at $0 71 5 )
 P R E F A C E TO T HI R D E D I T I O N

IN t h i s the third edition —counting the short e r work of

, ,

which this bo ok is the outcom e as the fi rst— I have

,

d e alt with the chi e f point s of the criticism lat e ly raise d

in conn ection with it .

The concluding cha p t e r , M e thods has bee n lar g e ly

,

r e writt e n to m eet such criticism ; and the last cha p t e r

o f Part I C onqu e ror or Polic e man ? a pp ear e d only
in p art in the p r e c e ding edition .

As for the pr e vious e dition I may hint to the

, ,

hurri e d r ead e r (the vanity of authorshi p would lik e

“
to b e li eve that he is non exist e nt) that the key
-
,

cha p t e r o f the first part is Chapt e r I I I and o f .

,

the s e cond part C hapt e r I I .Thou g h this m ethod

o f tr e atm e nt — the summarization within o ne cha p t e r
of the whol e S co p e o f t he argum e nt d ealt with in the

se ction — in v ol ves som e small r e p e tition of fact and

illustration such r ep etition is triflin g in bulk (it do es
,

not amount in all to the v al u e of thr e e p ag e s) and I ,

hav e bee n m or e conc e rned to mak e the matt e r in hand

cl e ar to the r ead e r than to ob se rv e all the lit er ary
canon s I may add that apart from this the p roc e ss
.

o f cond e nsation has be e n carri e d to its e xtr e m e limit

fo r the charact e r of data d e alt with and that tho se ,

w ho d e sir e to un de rstand thorou g hly t he si g nificanc e

o f t e th e sis wi th which
h t he —
book d als it is worth
e

unde r standing—h ad r e a lly be tt e r read e ve ry lin e of it 1

v
 S Y N OP S I S

W H AT are the r e al motive s prom ting int e rnational

ri valry in armam en t s partic u l , An g lo G e rman -

rival ry ? E ach nation pl e ads that armam e nts are

pure ly for d efe nce but such pl e a n e c e ssaril y im pli e s
,

tha t oth e r nations have som e int e r e st in attack What .

is this int e r e st or su p pos e d int e r est P

The suppos e d int e r e st has its origi n in the uni v e rsally
acce pte d th e ory tha t mili t ary and political p ow e r gi ve
a nation comm e rci al and social advantag e s that the ,

w e alth and pro spe rity of the de fe nce l e ss nation are at

the m e rcy o f strong e r nations w ho may be t e mpt e d by
,

such de fe nc e l e ssn e ss to commit a g gre ssion so tha t e ach

,

nation is comp e ll e d to prote ct its e lf a g ainst the possibl e

cupidity of n e i g hbours .

i
The author chall e ng e s this unive rsal theory and ,

d eclar e s it to be bas ed upon a pure optical illusion .

He se ts ou t t o prove that military and political pow e r

give a nation no com m e rcial advantag e ; that it I S an
e conomic impossibility fo r o ne nation to s e iz e o r d e stroy

the w e alth o f anoth e r or for o ne nation to e nrich its e lf

,

by subj u g atin g anoth e r .

He e stablish e s this appar e nt p aradox by showing

that w e alth in the e conomicall y ci viliz ed world is
found e d upon cr e dit and comm e rcial contract I f th e s e .

are tam p e r e d with in an att e m p t at confiscation by a

conqu e ror t he cr e dit d e p e n de nt w e alth not onl y v anish e s
,
-

t hus g iving the conqu e ror nothing fo r his conqu e st but ,

in its collaps e i nvolve s the conqu e ror ; so that if con

qu e st i s not to inj ure the conqu e ror he must scru pulously
,

vi
 S YN O P S I S vii

r e sp ect the e n emy s p ro p e rty in w hich ca se conqu e s t

’

b e com e s eco nomically futil e .

Thus it com e s that the cr e dit of the small and

virtually unprot e ct e d Stat e s stands high e r than that of
the Gr e at Pow e r s o f Euro p e B e l g ian Thr e e pe r C e nts
, .

standing at 9 6 and G e rm an at 8 2 ; N o rw e gian Thre e

and a H alf per C e nts at 1 02 and Russian Thr ee and
.
,

a H alf pe r C e nt s at 8 1
. .

F or alli ed r e asons the id e a that ad dition o f t e rri t ory

adds to a nation s w e alth is an Optical i llusion o f like
’

nature sinc e the w e alth of conqu e r e d t e rri t ory r e mains

,

in the hands of the po p ulation of such t e rri t o ry .

F or a mod e rn nation t o add t o its t e rrito ry no m or e

adds to the w e alth of the p e opl e of such nation than it
would add to the w e alth of London e rs if the City o f
Lon don w e r e to ann ex t he county of H e rtford It i s a .

chan g e of administration w h ich may be good o r bad ;

but as t ribut e has b e com e und e r m od e rn e conomic
con ditions im p ossibl e (which m e ans that taxe s coll e ct e d
from a gi ve n t e rritory must dir e ctl y or indire ctly be
s p e nt on that t e rritory) the fi scal situation of the
,

p e opl e conce rn e d is unchange d b y conqu e st .

Wh e n G e rmany ann ex e d Alsatia no indi vidual ,

’
G e rm an s ecure d a sin g l e mark s wort h of Alsatian
prop e rty as the S poils o f war Conqu e st in t he mo de rn
.

worl d is a proc e ss of multi p lying by x and th e n obtain,

ing the ori g inal r e sultant by dividin g b y x .

The author also shows that int e rnational financ e has

b ecom e so int e rd ep e nd e nt and so int e rwov e n with t rade
and industry that t he intangibility of an e n e m y s prop
’

e rt e xt e nds t o his trad e It r e sults that political and

mi y
.

itary p ow e r c an in re ality do nothing for tra de ,

sinc e the in di v idual m e rchants and m anu factur e rs of

sm all nations ex e rcising no such pow e r comp et e suc
c e s s fu lly with thos e o f t he gr e at Swiss and B e l g ian
.

m e rchants are drivin g E n g lish from the Canadian

mark e t ; N orw a y has r elative ly to population a much
, ,

gre at e r m e rcantil e marin e than Gr e at B ritain .

The author urg e s that th e s e littl e r e cogniz e d facts

-
,
viii SY N O P SI S
mainly the outcom e of p ur el y m od e rn conditions
( rapidity o f communication cre ating a g r e at e r c om
p le x ity and d e licacy o f t h e cr e dit s y st e m ) have r e nd e r e d
,

t he probl e m s o f m ode rn int e rnational politics pro

fou ndly and e ss e ntially di ff e r e nt from t he anci e nt ; y e t
o ur id e as are s t ill dominat e d by t he p rincipl e s and
axioms and t e rminology of the old .

I n the s e cond par t The H uman N atur e of the

Cas e — the author asks What is the basis the sci e ntific
, ,

justification o f the pl e a that man s natural pu g nacity

’

will ind e finit e ly stand in the way of int e rnational

ag ree m e nt ? I t is bas e d o n the all eg e d unchan g e ability
o f human natur e o n t he pl e a that t he warlik e na t ions
,

inh e rit the e arth that warlik e qualiti e s alon e can g ive
,

the viril e e n e r gy n e c e ssary for nations to wi n in t he

stru g gl e for life .

The author shows that human nature is not u n

chan g ing ; that t he warlike nations do not inh e rit the
e ar t h ; that warfar e do e s not mak e fo r the survival
o f the fitt e st o r v iril e ; that the stru g l e b e twe e n nations
is no part o f the e volutionary law 0gman s advan c e and
.

that t hat id ea r e sid e s o n a profoun d misr eadin g o f the bio

lo g ical la w ; that physical forc e is a constantly diminish
in g factor in human aff airs and that t his diminu t ion
,

carri e s wi t h it profoun d ps y cholo g ical m odifications ;

that soci e ty is classifying its elf by int e r e sts rath e r than
by Stat e division s ; that the mo de rn Stat e is losin g its
homog e n e ity ; and that all th e s e multipl e factors are
makin g rapidly fo r the disapp earanc e of Stat e rivalri e s
—
.

He shows h o w th e s e t e nd e nci e s which lik e the e c o

,

nomic facts d e alt with in the fi rst part are v e ry larg ely o f
r ec e nt g rowth—may be utiliz e d for the solution o f the
,

armam e nt diffi culty on at p r es e nt untri ed lin e s .

 CO N T E N T S

P A RT I
THE E C ON O M C I S O F THE C A E S
PE
C HA T R P E
AG

I . S TATE M E N T OF THE E CON O MI C CAS E FOR WAR

II . THE AX I O M S O F M OD E R N S TATEC R AFT
III . THE G R EAT ILLU S I O N
THE I M P OS S I BI L I I Y O F CO N F I S CA TI O N
' ’
Iv .

v . F O R E IG N TR A D E AN D MILI TA R Y P OW E R

vi . THE I N D E M N I TY F U TILITY
VI I . How CO L O N I E S A R E OWN E D
vm . CO N ! U E R O R O R P O LI C E M A N ?

PART I I
THE H U M AN NATU R E O F THE C A E S
1 . O U TLI N E OF THE CA S E FOR WAR
II . O U TLI N E OF THE CA S E FO R P E ACE
III . U N C H AN GI N G H UM AN N ATU RE
IV . D O THE W A R LI K E N ATI O N S I N H E R I T THE E A R T H ?

V . THE D IMI N I S H I N G FA CTO R O F P H Y S I C A L FO R C E : P S Y

CHOLOG I CA L R E S ULTS
VI . THE S TATE A S A P E R S O N : A FA L S E AN A L O G Y A N D

I TS CO N SE ! U E N CE S

PART I I I
THE P RA C T C A I L O U TC O ME

1 . AR M A M E N T BU T N OT AL O N E A R M AM E N T
,

II . THE R E LATI O N OF D E F E N C E TO A GG R E S S I O N
III . M E TH OD S
 C O N TE N T S

PART I
THE E CON OMI CS OF THE CA S E

C H A P TE R I

S TATE ME NT O F THE EC O NO M IC CAS E FO R WAR

P AGOS

Wher e can the Angl o German rivalry of arm am ents end

-

W hy p eace advocacy fails—Why it deserves to f ail

The attit u de of the p eace advocat e—The pr esum ption
that the pr osp erity of nati ons dep ends up on their p oliti cal
power and c ons eq u ent necessity of prot ecti on agai nst
,

aggr ess i on of other nati ons w ho wo u l d dim i n i sh o ur

p ower to their advantage—These the universal axi om s
of i nt ernational po liti cs —12
3

CH AP TE R II
THE AX I dMS O F M OD E R N S TATE C RAFT

Are the f o r egoi ng axi oms unchall engeabl e Som e typi cal -

stat em ents of them —Germ an dr eam s of conq u est —Mr .

Fr e der i c H arr i son on r esu lts of def eat of B riti sh ar ms

and i nvasi on of E ngl and— F or ty m illi ons st arving 1 3 —2 4

C H AP TE R III
THE G REAT I LLUS I ON
These vi ews f ou nded on a gross and dangerous m isc oncep
‘
.

ti on—What a G erm an vi ct ory cou l d and c ould not ao

com p lish—What an E nglish vi ctory could and could not
fl

accom p li sh — The op ti cal illus i on of conques t —There

c an b e no transf er of wealt h—Th e prosp er ity of th e littl e

St ates in E ur ope —G er m an Thr e e per Cents at 82 and .

B elgian at 96 —R u ssi an Thr ee and a H alf pe r Cents at .

 P E
— —
AG S

8 1 , N orwegi an at I on What this r eally m eans Why

sec urity of little Stat es not du e to tr eaty—M i litary c on
q u est fi nancially f u ti l e—If ermany ann exed H olland,
G
G
wou l d any erman b enefit or any H ollander ?

C H AP T E R IV
THE I MPOSS I B ILI TY OF CO N F I SCATI O N

Ou r pr es en tvocabul ary of i nt ernati onal p oliti cs an hi stori cal

survival—Why m odern condi ti ons di ff er from anci ent
The pr ofou nd change eff ect e d by cre dit—The deli cat e
i nt erdep endence of in t ernati onal fi nanc e—Attil a and the
Kai ser—W hat wou l d happ en if a G er m an i nvader l ooted
the B an k of E ngl and—G erm an tr ade dep e nden t up on
E ngli sh c r e dit—C onfi sc ation of an e n em y s prop er ty an
’

ec onom i c i m poss ibili ty un der modern con diti ons 44

C H AP TE R V
F O RE IGN TRA DE '
AND MILITARY POWE R
W hy tr ade cannot be destroyed or capt ur ed by a mi litary
P ower —Wh at the proc esses of tr ade r e ally are and how ,

a navy aff ect s them D readnou ghts and b u si ness

Whil e D readnoughts prot ect trade from hypotheti cal
G erm an warships the r eal G erm an merchant is carrying
,

h —
it off or the Swiss or t e B elgi an The com m erci al
“

of Switzer l an d—W hat li es at the b ott om Of

,

aggr essi on
”

the f u ti lity of m ilitary con q u es t—G overnm en t b r i gan dage

b ec om es as profi tless as pri vat e brigandage—The re al
b asis of com m erci al hone sty on the p art Of Govern
m ent —
55 72

C H AP TE R VI
THE I N D E M N ITY F U TILI TY

What is the r eal profit nati on from an i ndem nity —How

of a
a p erson difi ers f r om a Stat e —Ah old ill us i on as t o gol d
and wealth—What happ en e d i n 1 870 —G erm any and
F ranc e i n the decade 1 8 70 1 880 —B i sm arc k s t es ti
’

m ony —
73 89
 C H AP T E R V I I
HOW CO LO N I ES AR E O W NE D
P E
concep tions of statec raf t—How w e
AG S

The agu eness of our

ou r Co l oni e s—
v
“
ow n Som e li ttl e recognized facts—Why
-

f or e igners c ou l d not fight E ngl and f or h er s elf governi ng

-

—
Co l oni es S he does not
“
ow n them s ince they are
”

masters of their ow n desti ny—The p aradox of c onquest

,

E ng l an d in a wors e positi on i n r e gar d to her o w n

C oloni es t han in r egard to f or eign nati ons—Her experi
e nc e as the o l des t an d mos t practi s ed col onizer i n
history—Coloni es not a sourc e of fi scal profit—C ou l d
G ermany hop e to do b etter i I f not i nconce ivabl e
-
,

S he sho u l d fight f or s ak e of maki ng hop el ess experi

m ent 9 0 —1 06

C H AP TE R VI I I
C ON! U E RO R OR PO LI CE MAN ?
ls c e and Alger ia—What i s the diff er ence —
A a How Germany
exp l oits wit hou t con q u es t—Or emigr ati on—W hat i s the
di ff er enc e b etween an ar m y and a p oli c e f orc e — The
p oli cing of the worl d G erm any s shar e of it i n the N ear
’

E ast 1 0 7—1 2 1

PA RT I I
THE HUMA N N A TUR E OF THE CA S E

C H AP T E R I
THE PS YC H O LO GICAL CAS E FO R \VAR

You cannot l eave hu man natu r e out of the accou nt vanity ,

pr i de of p lace pugnacity the inher ent hostili ty of nati ons

,

N ati ons too g ood to fight al so t oo b ad—D es ir e f or

,

,
 C O N TE N TS xiii
P E AG !

m er e m at er i al c omf ort not the mai n m otive i n m any

hum an activiti es—Mili tary rivalry of nati ons needs l ong
e aration4 u c h rival ry does not arise f rom hot fi ts
p p
r ,

ther efore b u t actual confli ct may b e pr eci p itated ther e by

,

—S c ientifi c j ustifi cation of i nt ernati onal pugnacity

Struggl e b etween nations the law of survi val—If a nati on
not pugnaci ous i n som e degree it will b e e li m i nat ed
'

i n favour of one that i s—P ugnacity ther ef or e a factor

,

in the struggl e of nations and m ust necessarily per

1 2 5—
,

sist 1 42

C H AP TER I I
'

O UTLI N E O F THE PS YC H O LO GI CAL CAS E FO R P EACE

The ill usi on on whi ch concl u si ons of pr ec edi ng chapt er are
b as ed—The r eal law of man s struggl e : stru ggl e with
’

N atur e not with other m en—Man ki nd i s the organ i sm

,

str u ggli ng to adap t itself to its environm ent the p lanet

—S u ch struggl e al ways i nvolves gr eat er compl exity of
,

organism closer CO or dinati on of par ts—Ou tli ne s k etch

,
-

of man s advanc e and mai n op erati ng f act or ther ei n

’

The progr e ss t owar ds e li m i nati on of phys i cal f orc e

Co Op er ati on across f ron ti ers and its psychol ogi cal r esu lt
-

—I m p ossibl e to fix li m it s of com m unity—S ch li m its u

irr esi stibly exp andi ng —B r eak u p of Stat e homog ene ity
—Stat e li m its no l onger coi nci di ng with real confl ic ts
between m en x43 —1 56

C H AP TE R I I I

UN C H AN GI N G H UM AN U RE
N AT

The progr ess fr om cannibali sm to H er bert Sp encer—The

di sapp earanc e of r e ligiou s oppr essi on by governm ent
Di sapp earanc e of the duel —The Crusaders and the H oly
Sep u l chr e—Thc wai l of militarist wr it ers at m an s dr if t ’

away from m ilitancy 1 57— 1 8 0

 C O N TE N TS

C H AP TE R IV
D O THE W AR L I K E NAT I ONS IN H E RIT THE E ART H?
P E AG S

The confi dent dogm atism of m ilitari st wr it ers on this subj ec t

—The f acts—The l essons of Spani sh Am eri ca How -

conq u est m ak es for the su rvival of the unfi t—Sp ani sh

m ethod and E ngli sh method i n the N ew W or l d—The
vi r tu es of military trai ni ng —The Dr eyf u s case — The
,

threat ened G erm ani zation of E ngland 1 81

7 2 14

C H AP TE R V
THE D IM I N I S H I N G F ACTO R O F P H YS I CAL F O R CE
PS YC H O LO GI CAL RES ULTS
D i m i n i sh i ng f actor of physi cal f orc e—Tho u gh di m i ni shi ng
one phys i cal f orc e has al way s b e e n an i m p or t ant rO le i n
hum an affairs — What i s under lying pri ncip l e det er
, .

m i ni ng advantag eou s and di sadvant ageous u se of p hysi cal

f orc e r —F orce that ai ds c o op erati on i n accord with law
-

of man s advanc e : f orc e t hat i s ex erc i s e d f or p ar as iti sm

’

i n confl i ct with su ch law and di sadvantageou s f or b oth

parti es H i stor i cal process of the ab andonm ent of
physi cal f orc e—The Khan and the L ondon t radesm an
Anc i ent R om e and m odern B ritai n—The senti m e ntal
de f enc e of w ar as the p ur ifi er of hu m an li fe— The f ac ts
The r edir e cti on of hum an p u gnac ity 21 —
5 2 45

C H A P TE R VI

THE S TATE AS A P E RS O N : A FALS E AN A L O GY AND

I TS C O NS E ! U E N C ES

Why aggr ession u pon a State does not corr espond to aggres
si on upon an i ndi vi dual—Our changi ng concep ti on of
c o ll e c tiv e r espons ibility— P sychol ogi cal progr ess in thi s
connecti on —The f actors b reaki ng down the homo
ge n e ou s p ers onal ity o f St,
at e s are of very recent
grow t h 246 2 74
-
7
 C O N TE N TS xv

P ART I I I
THE P R A C TI CA L OUTCOME

C H AP TE R I

AR MAM E NT B U T NOT A LO N E AR M AM E N T
,
P E
AG S

Why w e cannot abandon ar mament i rr esp ective of o thers

The hu m an nat u r e of thi s p art of the probl em —Why
arm am en t s al on e are lik e ly to l ead to w ar—W hy agr ee
m ents b etween G overnm ents are lik e ly t o f ail and mus t
2 77—
,

i n any cas e be of li mited eff ect 2 2

9

C H AP TE R II
THE R E AT L ION OF D E FE NCE TO A GG R E S S I ON
Root of the whol e pro bl em i s the force of the motive f or
aggr essi on—W ithou t s u ch motive the n e c essity f o r de
f enc e di sapp e ars — Si m u lt an eity of progr ess towar ds
rati o li sm on b oth i d s of e nce
na S e th f e 2 —
9 3 30 3

C H AP TE R II I
M E TH ODS
Can w e l ook f or a gen eral r eali zation of the r eal pri ncip l es of
i nt ernati onal r elati onship P—J ournalisti c p essi m i sm —And
van ity —How i deas have moved i n the past —The diffi c u l

ti es of action b etween governm ents Som e g eneral

—
pri ncip l es I s E ngland to l ead the w ay ? 3 4
0 — 33 2

IN D E x —
333 33 6
 PA RT I

TH E EC O N O M ICS OF TH E C ASE ~
4 THE G R E A T I LLU S I O N
party r egard e d in both countri e s for the most part as
,

dr eam e rs and doctrinaire s who hOpe to solve the

,

p robl e m by a r e sort to g e n e ral disarmam e nt o r at l e ast , , ,

a limitation of arm am e nt by agr ee m e nt And th e r e is .

that o f the larg e r and more p ractical p arty w ho are

quit e p e rsuad ed that t he pre s e nt state o f rivalry and
r e curr e nt irritation is bound to culminat e in an arm e d
conflict which by d e finit ely r e ducin g one or oth e r of the
, ,

parti e s to a p osition of manife st infe riority w ill s e ttl e ,

the thing fo r at l east som e tim e until aft e r a long e r or

,

short e r p e rio d a stat e o f r e lati ve e quilibrium is e stab

lishe d and t he whol e p roc e ss w ill be r e com m e nc ed
,

da cap o .

\
Th is s e cond solution is o n t he whol e acc ep t e d as one
‘
, ,

o f t he laws o f lif e : o ne o f t he hard facts o f e xist e nc e

which m en of ordinary courag e tak e as all i n the day s ’

work M ost of what t he nin e t e e nth c e ntury has tau g ht

.

us o f the evolution o f life o n the plan e t is p r ess e d into

the s e rvic e of this stru g gl e for lif e philoso p hy
- -
We are .

r e mind e d o f the su rv i v al o f the fitt e st that the we ak e st,

go t o the wall and that all life s e nti e nt and non s e nti e nt
, ,
-
,

is but a life of battl e The sacrific e involve d i n arma

.

m e nt is the pric e which nations p ay fo r th e ir safe ty and

for th e ir p olitical p ow e r And the p ow e r of England
.

has b e e n r e gard ed as the main condition of he r p ast

industrial succ e ss ; he r trad e has b ee n e xt e nsi ve and
he r m erchants rich b e caus e she has b ee n abl e t o mak e
,

he r political and military forc e f e lt and t o e x e rcis e he r

,

influ e nc e among all the nations o f the world I f she .

h as dominat ed t he comm e rc e o f the world in the past ,

it is b e caus e her unconqu e r e d N a vy has dominat e d and ,

continu e s t o dominat e all the ave nu e s o f comm e rc e

,
.

Such is t he curr e n t ly acc e pt e d argum e nt .

 TH E E C O N O M I C CAS E F O R WA R 5

And the fact that G e rmany has o f lat e com e to the

fron t as an industrial nation making gi ant stri de s in ,

ge n e ral p rosp e rity and w e ll b e ing is d e e m e d also to be

-
,

t he r e sult o f her military succ e ss e s and the incr e asing

political p ow e r which she is coming to exe rcis e in
Contin e ntal Euro p e Th e s e things alik e in En g land
.
,

and in G e rmany are acc e p t e d as t he axioms o f the

,

p robl em I am not awar e that a si ng l e authority of

.

not e at l e ast in the world of workaday p olitics has e ve r

, ,

chall e ng e d o r disput e d th e m Eve n thos e w ho ha ve .

occu p i e d promin e nt p osition s i n the propaganda of

p e ac e are at one with the ve ri e st fi re e at e rs on this -

p oint M r W T St e ad is o ne of the l e ad e rs of the bi g

. . . .

na vy p ar ty in E n g lan d M r Fred e ric H arrison w ho

. .
,

all his life had b ee n known as the philoso p h e r pro

tago nist o f p e ac e d e clar es that , if E ngland allow ,

G ermany to ge t ah ead of her in the rac e fo r armam e nts ,

“
famin e social anarchy i ncalculabl e chaos in t he
, ,

industrial and fi nancial world would be the in evitabl e ,

re sult B ritain m ay live on

. but be fore she b eg an
to live fr ee ly again she would have to los e half he r
p o p ulation whic h she could not feed and all her ove r
, ,

s e as E m p ire which she could not d e fe nd

, HOW .

idle are fi ne words abou t r etr e nchm e nt p eac e and , ,

broth e rhood whilst w e lie O p e n to the risk of unutt e r

,

abl e ru in to a d e adly fi g ht fo r national e xist e nc e to

, ,
”
war in it s most d e structive and cru e l form O n the .

oth e r sid e w e have fri e ndly critics of England lik e ,

Profe sso r von Schulz e G aeve rnitz writing : We want

-
,

ou r [ o confin e the c o m
si n G e rmany s
! N a v y i ord r
’
n e t
m erc ial rival ry of England within innocuou s limits and ,

to d e t e r the sob e r s e ns e o f the E n g lish p e opl e from the

e xtr e m ely t h r e at e nin g t h ought o f attack u p on us .
6 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

The G e rman N a vy is a condition of ou r bar e e xist e nc e

and ind e p e nd e nc e lik e t he daily bre ad on which w e
,
”
d ep e nd not only for ours e lv e s but fo r ou r chil dr e n
, , .

C onfront e d b y a situation o f this sort o ne is bound ,

t o f e e l that the ordinary argum e nt of the p acifist e ntir e ly

bre aks down ; and it br e aks do w n for a ve ry simpl e
r e ason He hims e lf acc e p ts the pr e mis e which has just
.

b e e n indicat e d— viz that the victorious party in the

.
,

struggl e for p olitic a l p r e dominanc e gain s som e mat e rial

advan t age o ve r the party which is conqu e r e d The .

pro p osition e v e n to the pacifist s e e m s so s e lf e vid e nt -

that he m ak e s no effort t o combat it He pl e ads his .

cas e oth e rwis e It cannot be d e ni e d of cours e says

.
, ,

“
One p e ac e ad v ocat e
. that the thi e f does s ecure som e
,

mat e rial a dvantag e by his th e ft What w e pl e ad is that .

if the tw o parti e s w e r e to d evote t o h on e st labour the tim e

and e n e r g y d e v ot ed t o pr e yin g u p on e ach oth e r t he per ,
”
man e nt gain would mor e t han offs et the occasional booty .

Som e pac ifi sts g o farth e r and tak e the ground that ,

th er e is a conflict b et wee n the natural law and the

moral law and that w e must choos e the moral e ve n to
,

o u r hurt Thu s M r Edward Grubb w rit es

. .

“
S el f pre s ervat ion is not the final l aw for nat ions an y
-

mor e t han for in divi du als The pro gr e ss of humani ty

.

may deman d the e xt inct ion (in t his wor l d) of the in divi dual ,

and i t ma y deman d a l so the e x ampl e and the inspirat ion

of a mar ty r nat ion So l on g as the D ivine providence has
.

n ee d of us Chris ti an fai t h r equir es t ha t w e shall t rus t for

,

our sa fety t o the uns een bu t r eal force s of rig h t dea l in g ,

t ru t hfuln ess and love bu t shoul d the wil l of G od deman d

, ,

i t w e mus t be pr epare d as J er emiah t aug h t his na t ion l on g

, ,

ago t o g iv e up e ven our nat ional li fe for furt herin g thos e

,

g r eat en ds t o which the whole cr e at ion move s .

’

This ma y be fanat icism bu t if so i t is the fana t icism of

,
’

, ,
 THE EC O N O M I C CA S E F OR W AR 7

Chris t and of the prophe t s , and w e are wil l in g to t ake our

p l ac es alon g wi t h
The for e going is the
k eynot e of much p acifist
r eally
p ro p aganda I n ou r ow n day C ount Tolstoi has e ve n
.

e xpr e ss e d ang e r at t he sugg e stion that any but moral

r eaction a g ainst militarism can be e fficacious .

The p e ac e advocat e p l e ads for altruism in int e r

national r elationshi p s and in so doing admits t h at
,

succ e ssful war may be the int er e st though the i mmoral ,

int e re st of the victorious p arty That is why the

, .

“ ”
inhumanity of war bulks so larg e ly in his advocacy and ,

why he dw e lls so much u p on its horror s and cru elti es .

I t thus r e sults t h at the w orkaday world and thos e

e ngag e d in t he roug h and tum b l e o f p ractical p olitics

hav e com e to look u p on the p eac e id e al as a couns e l

o f p e rf e ction which may one day be attain e d wh e n

human natur e as the com mon p hras e is has b ee n

, ,

im p ro v ed ou t of e xist e nc e b ut not whil e human natur e

,

r e main s what it is and whil e it r e m ains p ossibl e to

,

se iz e a tangibl e ad v antag e by a man s strong right arm

’
.

S o long as that is the cas e the strong ri g ht arm will

s eize the advantag e and w oe b etid e the m an w ho
,

cannot d e fe nd him s elf .

N or is this p hiloso p hy of forc e e ith e r as con sci e nc e

l e ss as brut al or as ruthl e ss as its com mon stat e m e nt
, ,

would mak e it a pp ear We know that in the world as

.

The Tr u e W ay of i L fe( H eadl ey B rothers L ondon) p 2 9 , , .

I am aware that many modern pac ifi sts even of the E ngli sh ,

school to whi ch thes e r em ar ks m ai nly apply are m or e ob j ective i n

, ,

their advocacy than Mr Gr u bb b u t in the eyes of the averag e

.
,

sensu al m an pac ifi c ism i s still de eply tai nt ed with this se lf

”

sacrifi c in
g alt r u i s m ( se e C hap t e r I I I P ar t . no
,t wit hs tan di ng
the adm irabl e wor k of the F r ench p ac ifi s t school whi ch I have ,

t ou ched on at the b egi nni ng of Chapt er I I P art I I .

, .
8 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
it e xists to day in sph e re s ot h e r than thos e of int e r
-
,

national rivalry the rac e is to the strong and the w eak

, ,

g e t scant consi d e ration I ndustrialism

. comm e rcial ,

ism is as full o f cru e lti e s as war its elf — crue lti e s

, ,

indeed that are more long drawn ou t more r efin ed

, , ,

though l e ss a p pare nt and it m ay be a pp e aling l e ss to

, , ,

the com mon ima g ination With what ev e r r e tic e nc e w e

.

may put the p hilosophy into words w e all f ee l that ,

con fl ict of int e r e sts in this world is in evitabl e and that ,

w hat is an incid e nt o f ou r daily live s should not be

shirk ed as a condition of t h os e occasional titanic conflicts
which mould the history of the world .

The viril e man doubts wh e th e r he ought to be mo v ed

by the pl e a of the inhumanity of war The m asc u .

lin e mind acc ep ts su ffe ring d e ath its elf as a risk which
, ,

w e are all p r e par e d t o ru n e v e n in t he most unh e roic

forms of mon ey making non e of us r e fus e s to u se the

-

railway train b e caus e of the occasional smash tO travel ,

‘

b ecaus e of the occasional shipwr e ck and so o n I nd e ed , .

,

p e ac eful indust ry d e mands a h e av i e r toll e ve n in b lood

than do e s war a fact which t he casu alty statistics in
,

rail roading fishing mining s e amanshi p e loqu e ntly

-
, , , ,

att e st ; the c od fish eri e s of Euro p e h ave b ee n t he

caus e of as much su ffe ring w ithin the last qua rt e r of a
ce ntu ry of the loss of as many li v es ; such p e ac eful in
,

du st rie s as fi shing and shi p ping are the caus e of as

ale
much brutality O ur p e ac e ful administration of the
.

The Mati n n ewspap er r ecently made a ser i es of r evel ati ons ,

i n whi ch it w as shown that the m ast er of a Fr ench c od fi shing -

ve ssel had f or som e tr ivi al i nsub ordi nati ons disem b owell ed his
, ,

cabin b oy alive and pu t salt i nto the i nt estin es and then thrown
-
, ,

the q u iver i ng b ody i nto the hol d with the c od fi sh S o i nu r e d wer e

-

the cr ew to br u tality that they did not efl

.

c c ti vely prot est and the ,

i nci dent w as only brou ght to light m onths lat er by wine shop -
 THE E C O N O M I C C AS E F OR WAR 9

tropics tak e s as h e avy a toll in the h e alth and live s o f

good m e n and much o f it as in the W e st of Africa
, , ,

involve s unha p pily a m oral d e t e rioration of human

, ,

charact e r as gre at as that whic h can be p ut to the

account of war .

B e sid e th e s e p eac e sacrific e s the p ric e of war is

trivial and it is felt that the t ru st e e s of a nation s
,
’

int e r e sts ou g ht not to shrink from p aying that p ric e

should the e fl i c ie nt p rot ection of thos e int e rests d e mand
it I f the common m an is p r ep ar ed as w e kn ow he is
. .
, ,

to risk his lif e in a doz e n d ang e rous trad e s and pro

fe ssion s for no obj e ct high e r than that of im p ro v in g
his p osition or incre asing his incom e why should the ,

stat e sman shrink from such sacrific e s as the ave rag e

war de mands if th e r e by the gr eat int e r e sts which have
b ee n confi de d to him can be advanc e d ? If it be tru e ,

as e v e n t he p acifist admits that it may be tru e that the ,

tan gibl e mat e ri al int e res ts of a nation may be ad v anc ed

by warfare ; if in oth e r words warfar e c an p lay som e
, ,

larg e p art i n the prot e ction of the int e r e sts Of humanity ,

the rul e rs of a courag e ous p e opl e are j ustifi e d in dis

r egarding the snfl e ring and t he sacrific e t h at it may

in v olve .

O f course the p acifi st falls back u p on the moral

,

p l ea : w e have no right to tak e by forc e But h e r e .

again t he common se n se of ordinary humanity doe s

chatt er The Mati n q uot es thi s as the sort of brutality that m ar ks

.

the N ewf o u ndland c od fi shing i ndu stry i n F r ench shi ps

-
.

I n the sam e w ay the G erm an S oci ali st p ap ers have r ecently

b een deali ng with what they t er m The C asu alti es of the I ndus
“

tr i al B attl efi e l d showing that l osses f rom i ndust rial acci dents

,

s inc e 1 8 71 —the l oss of lif e du r i ng p eace that i s—have b e e n

,

e nor m o u sly gr e at er than the l osse s du e t o the F ranco P r u ss i an -

War .
I O T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
not follow the p e ac e advocat e I f the in dividual manu .

factur e r i s e ntitl e d to u se all the advantag e s which g r e at

financial and industrial r e sourc e s may g iv e him a g ainst
a l e ss pow e rful com p etitor if he is e ntitl e d as und e r
, ,

o u r pr e s e nt industrial sch e m e he is e ntitl e d t o ov e r ,

com e com p e tition by a costly and p e rfe ct e d organiza

tion of manufactur e of adv e rtis e m e nt of sal e smanship
, , ,

in a trad e in which poor e r m e n g ain th e ir liv elihoo d ,

why shoul d not the nation be e ntitl ed to ove rcom e the

rivalry o f oth e r nations by utilizing the forc e o f its
public bodi e s ? I t is a commonplac e of i ndustrial
“ ”
comp e tition that the big m an tak e s advantag e o f
a ll h
t e w e akn e ss e s o f t he small m an — narrow m e ans ,

his ill h e alth e ve n to un de rmin e and to und ers e ll I f

- -
.

it w e r e tru e that industrial comp e tition w e r e always

m e rciful and national or p olitical com p etition alw avs
,

cru e l t he p l e a o f the p e ac e man m ight be unanswe r

,

abl e ; but w e know as a matt e r of fact that this is

, ,
‘

not t he cas e and r e turning t o ou r starting point the

, ,
-
,

common man fee ls that he is oblig e d to acc e pt the

world as he finds it that struggl e and warfar e in o ne
,

form o r anoth e r are one of the conditions of life c on ,

dit io ns which he did not mak e And he is not at all .

sur e that the warfare of arm s is n e c e ssarily e ith e r the

hard e s t o r the m ost cru e l form of that strug g l e which
e xists throu g hout the univ e rs e I n any cas e he is .
,

willing to t ak e t he risks b ecaus e he fe e ls that military

,

pr e dominanc e gi v e s him a r e al and tangibl e advantag e ,

a mat e rial advanta g e translatabl e into t e rm s of g e n e ral

social w e ll b e ing by e nlarge d comm e rcial o p portuniti e s
-
, ,

wid e r mark e ts prot e ction ag ainst the aggr e ssion of

,

com m e rcial rivals and so on He fac e s the risk of war

, .

in t he sam e S pirit that a sailor or a fish e rman fac e s the

1 2 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N
b e caus e s h ould he do so it would be sim p ly to r ep lac e
British powe r and gr eatn e ss by the pow e r and gre atn e ss
o f som e oth e r nation which he fe e ls sur e w ould do no
,

more for the w e ll b eing of ci vilization as a wh ol e than

-

he is p r e p are d t o do
. He is p e rsuad e d that he can no
mor e yi e ld in the com p etition of armam e nt than as a
busin ess m an or as a manufacture r he could yi eld in
comm e rcial com p e tition to his ri v al ; that he must
fig h t ou t his salvation und e r conditions as he finds
th e m since he did not mak e th e m and since he
, ,

cannot change th e m .

And admitting his p r e mis es—and th ese p r e mis e s

are the univ e rsally acc e p t e d axioms of int e rnational
p olitic s the world ov e r—w ho shall say that he is w rong P
 C H A PTE R I I
T HE AX O MS
I OF MOD E R N S TAT E CRAFT

Are the for egoi ng axi oms unchall engeabl e —S ome typ i cal stat e
ments of them —G erm an dr eam s of conquest—Mr F r eder i c .

H arri son on r esu lts of def eat of B r iti sh arms and i nvasion of
E ngland—F orty milli ons s tarv i ng .

B UT are th e s e unive rsal axioms unchall eng eabl e P

I s it tru e that wealth and p ros p e rity and w e ll b e ing -

d e p e nd on the p olitical p ow e r of nation s or ind e ed that

, , ,

the one has anything what e v e r to do with the oth e r ?

I s it tru e that one nation c an gain a solid tangibl e ,

advantage by the conqu e st of anoth e r ?

D oe s the p olitical or military v ictory of a nation gi v e
any advantag e to t he indi v idu als o f that nation which
is not st ill p oss ess e d by the indi v iduals of the d ef e at ed
nation P
I s it p ossibl e for one nation t o take by forc e anything
in the w ay of mat e rial w e alth from anot h e r ?
I s it p ossibl e for a nation in any r eal se ns e to ow n
the t e rritory of anoth e r—t o ow n it that is i n any way
, ,

which c an be n efit the individual citiz e ns of t he owning

count ry
I f En g land could conqu e r G e rmany t o morrow -
,

compl et e ly conqu e r he r r e duc e he r nationality to so

,

much dust would the ordinary British subj ect be the

,

b e tt e r for it ?
I 4 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
I f G e rmany could conqu e r En g land would any ,

ordinary G erman subj e ct be the b e tt e r for it

The fact that all th e s e qu e stions have t o b e answ e re d
in the n e g ative and that a n e g ative answ e r s e e ms t o
,

outrag e com mon s e ns e shows how m uch ou r p olitical

,

axiom s are in n eed of r ev ision .

The troubl e in d e aling with this probl e m at bottom ,

so v ery simpl e is that t he t e rm s com monly e mploy e d in

,

its discussion are as vagu e and as lacking in pre cision

as the id eas th ey e mbody Europ e an stat e sm e n talk
.

glibly o f the colla p s e of the British E m p ir e or of the

G e rman as the cas e may be o f the ruin of this o r that
, ,

country of the domination and su p re macy of thi s or

,

that Pow e r but all th e s e t e rm s may r e sp e ctiv ely so

, ,

it app ears stand for a doz e n di ffe r e nt things And

, .

in att em p t ing to get at som e thing concr e t e and tan g ibl e , ,

and d e finit e one is al ways e xpo s e d to the critici sm of

,

taking thos e t e rm s as m e aning som ething which the

authors n eve r int e nded .

I hav e how e ve r c hos e n at random c e rtain sol e mn and

, ,

im p r essi ve stat e m e nts of p olicy typ ical of many mad e , ,

by r e s p onsibl e pap e rs and r e s p onsibl e public m e n .

Th e s e s ee m quit e d e finit e and unmistakabl e in th e ir

m e aning Th ey are from curr e nt pa p ers and m ag azin e s
.

which lie at my hand and can cons e qu e ntly be tak e n as

’

quit e normal and ordina ry and r e pr e s e ntative o f the

po int o f vi e w unive rsally acc e p t ed— the p oint of V i e w
that quit e e vid e ntly dominat es both G e rman and
English policy :
“
I t is not Fr ee Trade bu t the prowe ss of our N avy
,

our dominant posi t ion a t s ea which has bui lt up the

B ri t ish Empire and i t s com merce Timcs l eading ar t ic l e
.
-
.
 T H E A X I O M S O F M O D E R N STATE C RAFT 1 5

B e cause her comm erc e is in fini t e ly v u l nerab l e and ,

be caus e her p eop l e are dep e nden t upon t hat comm erc e for
f ood and the wag e s wi t h which t o bu y i t B ri t a in wan t s
a power fu l fl ee t a p er f e c t organiza t ion b ehind the fl ee t and
, ,

an army of de fe nce Un t i l t hey are provi ded this coun tr y

.

will e x is t un der p erp e t ual me nac e f rom the growing fl ee t of

G erman D readnoughts which have made the N orth S ea their ,

parade gro un d All s e curi ty wi ll disappe ar and B ri t ish

-
.
,

comme rce and in dus t ry whe n no man knows wha t the ,

morrow will brin g for th mus t rapi dl y declin e t hus ac c e ntuat

, ,

ing B ri t ish nat ional deg en e racy and de cadence —H W . . .

W i l son in the N ational R eview May 1 9 09 , , .

“
S ea powe r is the l as t f ac t which s tan ds b et ween G er
-

man y and the supr eme posi t ion in in t ernat ional comm erce .

At pr e se n t G e rman y s en ds on ly some fi f ty mi l lion poun ds

worth or about a s e ven t h o f her t ot al dome s t ic produce t o
, ,

the mark e t s of the world ou t si de E u rope and the Uni t e d

S tat e s . D o e s an y man w ho un ders t an ds th e subj e c t
t hin k t her e is any powe r in G er m an y or indee d an y powe r , , ,

in the world which c an pre ven t G ermany she having t hus

, ,

accomp l ishe d the firs t s tag e of her work from now c l osing ,

wi th Grea t B ri t ain for he r ul t imat e shar e of this 2 40 millions

of ov ers e as t rade H e r e i t is t hat w e u nmask the shadow
which l ooms l ik e a r eal pr e se nce b ehind all the mov es of
pr e s en t day dip l omacy and behind al l the colossal armamen t s
-

tha t indica t e th e pre s en t pr eparat ions f or a new s t ruggl e for

s e a pow e r
- — Mr B enj am in K i dd in the F ortnightly R eview
. .
,

Apr il 1 1 9 1 0 , .

I t is i dl e t o talk of limi t at ion o f armam en t s un l e ss the

‘

nat ions of the e art h will unanimously cons en t t o lay aside

al l s e l fi sh ambi t ions N at ions l ik e individuals con
.
, ,

ce rn thems e l v e s chi efly wi t h the ir ow n in t e re s t s and when ,

the s e clash wi t h t hos e of o the rs qu arr el s are ap t t o f ollow , .

I f the aggri e ve d par ty is the w eak e r he u sual ly go es t o the

wall though right he n ever so much on his side ; and the
,

s tronger whet he r he be the aggr e ssor or no t usua lly has his

, ,

ow n w ay In in t ernat ional po l i t ics char i ty b eg i ns a t home

.
,
16 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
and qui t e prop erl y ; the du ty of a s t at e sman is t o t hink firs t
”
of the in t e r e s t s of his ow n coun tr y United S ervice M agazine
.
,

May 1 909
, .

“
Why should G ermany a ttack B ri t ain ? B e cause G er
man y and B ri t ain are commercial and pol it ical rivals ;
be cause G erm an y covet s the t rade the coloni es and the , ,

Empire which B ri tain now poss e ss es —Rober t Bl at chf ord .

,
”
G e rman y and En glan d p 4 , . .

Gr eat B ri t ain wi t h her pr e s en t popula tion e x is t s by

vi r t ue of her fore i gn t rade and he r con tro l of the carr y in g
t rade of the worl d ; defea t in w ar woul d m ean the trans
f er e nc e of bo t h t o o t h er b ands an d cons e qu en t s t arvat ion f or
a large p ercen t age of the wage e arn e rs —T G M art in in
-
. . .

the World .

The old pr eda t ory ins t inc t t ha t he sho u l d t ak e w ho has

the powe r surviv e s and moral f orc e is no t su ffici e n t t o
de t e rmin e issu e s unl e ss support e d b y phy sical Gove rn .

men t s are corporat ions and corporat ions have no soul s

, .

Gov e rnment s moreove r are t rus t ee s and as such mus t put

, , ,

fi rs t the law f u l in t e r e s t s of th e ir wards t he ir ow n p e opl e

-
.

More and mor e G erman y n e eds th e ass u r ed importat ion of

raw ma t e ri al s and wh e r e possib l e con trol of r e g ions produc
,

t ive of such mat e ria l s Mor e and mor e she r e quir e s ass u red
.

mark et s and s e curi ty as t o the importa t ion of f oo d since l ess ,

and l e ss compara t ive ly is pro duc ed wi t hin he r ow n borde rs

by her rapi dly incr e asing popula t ion Thi s al l me ans s ecuri ty .

a t se a . Yet the supr e macy of Gr ea t B ri t ain in E u rop e an

seas means a p erp e t ua lly l at e n t cont rol of G erman com
merce . The worl d has lon g b ee n accustomed t o th e
i dea of a pre dominan t naval powe r coup l i ng i t wi th the ,

name of Gr eat B ri t ain and i t has b e e n not ed tha t such

,

powe r when achi e v ed is common ly oft en associat ed wi th

, ,

commercial and indus tria l pr edominanc e the s t ruggl e f or ,

which is now in progr ess b e t wee n Gr eat B ri tain and

G e r m an y Such pr e dominance force s a nat ion t o s eek
.

mark et s and whe re possib l e t o con t rol th em t o i t s ow n

,

advant age b y pr eponderan t force the ul t imat e e x pr ession of

,
 T H E A X I O M S O F M O D E R N STATE C RAFT 17

which is poss e ssion From this fl

. ow tw o r e s u l t s : the

att emp t t o poss e ss and the org aniza t ion of forc e by Whlc h
t o main t ain poss e ssion alr eady achi e ved This st a t e .

me n t is simply a spe ci fic formulat ion of the gene ral n ec essi ty

s tat ed ; i t is an inevi tab l e link in a chain of logi cal
”
sequ ence s in dus try mark e ts con t rol navy bas e s
, , , , .

Admi ral Mahan The In t e res t of Am erica in In t e rna ti onal

,
”
Condi t ions Sampson L ow Mars ton and Co Lon don
, ,
*
.
, .

We off er an enormously rich pri ze if w e are no t abl e t o

de fen d our shor es ; w e ma y be p er f e c t l y c e rtain t hat the
pri ze which w e off er will go in t o the mou th of some body
powe rf ul enough t o overcome our r esis t ance and t o swallow
a consi derabl e por t ion of us u p —The Sp eak e r of the
”
.

Hous e of Commons in a sp eech a t Gr ey s t oke re po r t ed by ,

the Times .

W hat is good for the be ehive is g ood f or the bee .

W ha t e v er bring s rich lan ds new por ts or weal th y in dus trial

, ,

ar eas t o a S ta t e enriche s i ts treasur y and th ere for e the ,

nat ion a t lar ge and ther ef ore the in divi dual —Mr D ou glas
, . .

O wen in a l e tt e r t o the E conomist Ma y 2 8 1 9 1 0 , , .

D o no t f or ge t t ha t in w ar ther e is no such thin g as in t e r

na tional law and that undefen ded weal t h will be se ized
,

wh er eve r i t is e x pos ed wh e the r through the brok e n pan e of

,

a j ewell e r s window or owing t o the obs ession of a humani

’

tarian C e lt —”
. R ef eree N ov e mbe r 1 4 1 9 09
, , .

“
W e appear t o have forgo tt en the f un damen t al tru th
c onfirm e d b y all his t ory— t ha t the warl ik e rac e s inh e ri t the

ear th and t ha t N a t u r e decr e e s the s u rvival of the fi tt e s t in

,

the n ev e r endin g s t ru gg l e f or e x is t ence

-
O ur y e arning .

for disarmam ent ou r r esp e c t f or the t en de r pl an t of N on

,

con formis t consci ence and the parro t l ik e r ep e t i t ion of the

,
-

mis l eadin g formu la that the gr ea t es t of all B ri t ish in t er es t s

I wou l d call the r eader s att enti on parti c u lar ly t o thi s so m e
'

what l ong q u otati on as it em b odi es a very c aref u l and scientifi c

,

stat em ent of the fundam ental axi om s of E u rop ean stat ecraf t ,

r edu ci ng t o a precise f ormu l a every phas e of the ill u si on with

whi ch thi s b ook deals .
1 8 TH E G REAT I LL U S I O N
is p eace mus t in e vi t ab ly g ive t o an y p eople w ho cove t
ou r w e al t h and our poss e ssions the ambi t ion t o s trik e
a swi f t and deadly blow at the h e art of the Empire—uh
de f e nded Lon don —B lackw ood s M agazine May 1 9 0 9
” ’
.
, , .

Th e s e are tak e n from En g lish sourc e s but th e r e is ,

not a straw t o choos e b e tw ee n th e m and curre nt G e rman

Opinion on the subj e ct .

Thus a G e rm an G rand Admiral writ e s

,

“
The s t eady incr eas e of ou r populat ion compe ls us t o
de vo t e sp ecial a tt en t ion t o the growt h of our overs eas
in t er e st s N othing bu t the s t rong f ulfilmen t of our naval
.

programme can cre at e f or us t hat impor t ance upon the f ree

wor l d sea which i t is incumbe n t upon us t o deman d The
-
.

s t eady incr eas e of our popula t ion comp els us t o s e t ours elv es
new goals and t o grow f rom a Con t in en t al in t o a wor l d powe r .

O ur mi gh ty in dus t r y mus t aspir e t o new ov ers e as con q uest s .

O ur worl d t rade—which has mor e t han doub l e d in tw en ty

ye ars which has incre as ed f rom 500 mil l ions s t er l in g t o
,

800 mi ll ions s t erlin g durin g the ten y e ars which our naval
programm e w as fi x ed and 60 0 mi ll ions s t er l ing of which
,

is sea born e comm erce—on ly can fl ourish if w e con t inu e

-

honourab ly t o b ear the bur dens of our armam en t s on lan d

and s ea alik e Un l e ss ou r chi l dr en are t o accus e us of
.

short si ght edne ss i t is now our duty t o s ecure ou r wor l d

-
,

powe r and posi t ion among ot her nat ions W e can do t hat .

on ly un der the prot ect ion of a s trong G e rman fl eet a fl eet ,

which shal l g uaran t e e us p e ac e wi th honour f or the dis t an t

f u t ur e —Gran d A dmiral von K oe s t e r Pr e siden t of the
”
.
,

N avy Le agu e r eport ed in the N orddeu tsche A llgemeine

,

Z eitimg .

p o p ular G e rman write r s ee s the p ossibility of

O ne
“
ove rthrowing the B ritish Empir e and wiping it
from the map of the world in l e ss than tw e nty four -

hours ( I quot e him t e xtually and I hav e h e ard

.
,
20 T H E G REAT I LL U S I O N

And the w rit e r t e lls how the trick w as don e thanks ,

to a fog e ffici e nt e s p ionag e t he bursting of the En g lish

, ,

war ball oon and the succ ess of the G erman one in
,

dro p ping sh e lls at the corr e ct tactical mom e nt on to

the B riti sh ships in the N orth S ea

This w ar which w as de cided by a naval ba tt le l as t ing

,

a singl e hour was of onl y thr ee w e eks dura t ion—hunge r

,
’

f orced Eng lan d in t o p e ac e In her condi t ions G erman y

.

showed a wis e moderat ion In addi t ion t o a war in de mni ty

.

in accordance wi t h the weal t h of the tw o conquered S tat e s

,

she con t e n t ed h e rs e l f wi t h the acquisi t ion of the Af rican

Coloni e s wi t h the e x cep t ion of the sou thern S t at e s which

, ,

had proclaim e d th eir inde p endence and th e s e poss e ss i ons

,

wer e divi ded wi t h the o ther two powe rs of the Triple All ianc e .

N eve rth el ess t hi s war was the end of En gl and A los t

,
.

battl e had s uffi ce d t o mani f e s t t o the worl d a t lar g e the f ee t

o f c l a y on whi ch the drea de d Colossus had s t ood In a ni ght
.

the B ri t ish Empir e had crumbl e d al t og e t h er ; the pi llars

which Eng lish dip l omacy had er e ct e d af t er y ears of labo u r
had f ail ed at the firs t t e s t .

A g lanc e at any a v e rag e P an G e rmanist organ will

-

r eveal im m ediat ely how v ery n e arly the for e going

corr e sponds to a som ewhat p r ev al e nt typ e of p olitical
as p iration in G e rmany O ne P an G e rmanist j ournalist
.
-

says
The f u t ur e G e rmany deman ds the absorp t ion of
of

Aus t ria Hung ary the B alkan S t at e s and Turk e y wi th th e

-
, , ,

N ort h S ea port s Her r e alms will s tr e t ch t owar ds the eas t

.

”
f rom B e rlin t o B agdad and t o An t w e rp on the wes t
, .

F o r the
m om e nt w e are assure d th e re is no imm ediat e
int e ntion of s e izing the countri e s in qu e stion nor is ,

G e rman y s hand ac t ually r e ady yet to clutch B e l g ium

’

and H ollan d withi n the n et o f the F e d e rat e d E m p ir e .

 TH E A X I O M S O F M O D E R N STATEC RA FT 21

But he says,
all t h e s e chang es will hap p e n
,
”
within ou r ep och and he fix es the tim e wh e n the map
,

of E u rOpe will t hus be r earrange d as from tw e nty t o

elf
thirty years h e nc e .

G e rmany according to the w rit e r m eans to fight

, ,

wh il e she has a p e nny l eft and a m an to carry arm s for ,

“
she is , he says fac e to fac e with a cri sis wh ich is
,
”
more s e rious than e ve n t h at of J e na .

And r e cognizing the p ositions she is only waiting for

, ,

the mom e nt she j udge s the right one to br e ak in p i e c e s

thos e of her n e ighbours w ho work against her .

Franc e w ill be her first v ictim and she will not wait to ,

be attack e d S he is ind eed p re p aring for the mom e nt

.
, ,

w h e n the alli ed Po we rs att em p t to dictat e t o her .

G e rm any it would s ee m has alr eady d e cid ed to

, ,

ann ex t he Grand D uc h y of Lux e mburg and B elgium , ,

incid e ntally w ith of cours e Ant we rp and will add all

, , ,

the nort h e rn p ro vinc e s of Franc e to her p oss es sions so ,

as to s ecur e Boulo g n e and Calai s .

The pundi ts on b oth s i des seem to have over l oo k ed com

ple tely the f ac t that the changed r el ations of E ngl and t o F ranc e
will r esult sooner or l at er i n the constru cti on of the Chann el
tu nnel, whi ch will m ak e E ngl and an i sland or Conti n ental p ower
at wi ll , and will t o a l arge extent e nabl e her to di sp ens e with
naval s pr emacy Whi e r nc as t e prosp ecti ve enem y
u l . F a e w h “
,

the possibility of a surpri se use of the tunn el al ways made

E ngland opp osed t o its constr u c ti on ut with E ngl and and. B
Franc e alli es, the t u nn e l wou l d m ean that even with her navy
gone E ngl and coul d still k eep com m u ni cati on with the r est of the
wor l d, and coul d s till , c o op erati ng with France, create such
-

divers i on on G
e rmany s west ern f ron ti er as t o m ak e a
’
er m an G
desc ent on E ngl an d, even with the B
riti sh navy sun k , a sheer
i m possibility The tunn e l wou l d give such i m mense sup er i ority
.

in m obil i ty t o th e Angl o F r ench forc es acti ng agai nst the e rm an

-
G
f orc e , that the l att er wou l d b e , what ev er the com bination of
event s, at a hop e l ess di sadvant ag e .
22 TH E G REAT I LL U S I O N
All th is is to com e lik e a thund e rbolt and Russia , ,

Spain and the r e st of the Pow e rs fri e ndly to En g land

,

will not dar e to m o v e a fin g e r to aid he r The poss es .

sion of the coasts of Franc e and B e lgium will dispos e of

En g lan d s supr e macy for e ver
’
.

The n e c e ssity for armam e nt is p ut in oth e r than

fictional form by so s e rious a writ e r as D r G aevernitz .
,

P ro R e ctor o f the U ni v e rsity o f Fr e ibu rg

-
D r Schulz e . .
‘

G aeve rnitz is not unknown in England nor is he imbu ed ,

w ith inim ical f ee lin g s to wards her But he tak e s the .

vi ew that he r com m e rcial p rosp e rity d e p ends u p on the

a
political domination o f G e rmany l
.
e

Aft e r having d e scribe d in an im p r es sive way the

astonishin g g rowth of G e rmany s trad e and c omm e rc e ’
,

and shown how dang erous a com p e tito r G e rm any has

b e com e for England he r e turns to the old qu e stion
, ,

and a sks what might happ e n if England unabl e to ,

k e e p down the inconve ni e nt upstart by e conomic m ean s ,

should at the el e ve nth hour try to knock h im down

, ,
.

Quotations from the N ational R eview the Observer the , ,

Ou tlook the S atu rday R evi ew e tc facilitat e the pro

, , .
,

fe ssor s th e sis that this p r e sum p tion is mor e than a

’

m e r e abstract sp ecu lation Grant e d that th ey v oic e

.

only t he s e ntim e nts of a small minori ty th ey are , ,

according to ou r author dang e rous for G e rmany in

,

this— that th e y p oint to a fe asib le and cons equ e ntly

e nticing solution The o ld p e ac e ful Fr e e Trad e he says
.
, ,

shows signs of s e nility A ne w and rising I mp e ri alism

.

is e v e rywh e r e inclin e d to th row m eans of p olitical war

far e into the balanc e of e conom ic rivalry .

How d ee p ly the dange r is fe lt eve n by t h os e w ho

S ee l etter to the Malm August 2 2 1 908
, , , and c itati ons f rom
his ar ti c l e given i n P ar t I I I of t hi s b oo k
. .
 TH E A X I O M S O F M O D E R N STATEC RAFT 23

can in no se n se he consi de red jin g o e s m ay be j u dg ed

by the following from the pe n of M r Fr e de ric H arrison . .

I m ake no a p ology for giving t he quotations at som e

l e n g th I n a l e tt e r t o the Ti mes he says :
.

“ W hen eve r our Empire and mari t ime asc endanc y are
chall eng ed i t will be by such an invasion in force as w as
once desi gned by Philip and Parma and again b y N apol eon , .

I t is t his ce rtain ty which comp el s m e t o modi fy the an t i

mi l i taris t policy which I hav e consis t en tly main t ain e d f or
f orty y e ars pas t To m e now i t is no que s t ion of l oss of
.

pre st i ge — no que s t ion of the shrinkag e of the Empir e ; i t is

our e x is t ence as a f or emos t Europ e an Powe r and even as a ,

t hriving nat ion I f e v er our naval def enc e we r e brok en

.

t hrough our N avy ov erwhelmed or e v en disp ers ed f or a

,

s e ason and a mi l i tar y occupat ion of our ars enal s docks

, , ,

and capi t al we r e eff e c t ed the ruin woul d be such as mo de rn

,

his t ory cannot parall el I t wou l d no t be the Empir e but

.
,

B ri t ain tha t wou l d be de s t roy ed

,
The occupa t ion b y a
.

f or ei gn invade r of our ars enals docks ci t i e s and capi tal would

, , ,

be t o the Empir e what the burs t in g of the boi l e rs wo u l d be tc

a D readnought Capi t al would disapp ear wi t h the de s t ruct ion
.

of cr edi t . A ca tas t roph e so appa ll ing cannot be l eft t o

chance even if the probabi l i t i e s ag ains t i t s occurring w ere
,

50 t o 1 .B ut the odds are not 50 t o 1 N o high aut hori ty .

ve n t ur e s t o ass e rt t hat a succ ess f ul invasion o f our coun t ry

is absolut el y impossibl e if i t w ere assis t e d b y e xt raordinary
condi t ions And a success fu l invasion woul d mean t o
.

us the t otal co l laps e of our Empir e our t rade and wi t h , , ,

t rade the means of f eeding f orty mil l ions in th e s e is l an ds

, .

I f i t is ask ed W hy doe s invasion thr e a t e n mor e t e rribl e

,
‘

cons e quence s t o us t han i t doe s t o our n eig hbours ? the ’

answer is that the B ri t ish Empir e is an anomal ous s t ruct ur e ,

wi thou t an y r eal par all e l in mode rn his t ory e x ce p t in the ,

his t ory of Port uga l Venic e and Holland and in anci en t

, , ,

his t ory A t hens and Cart hag e O ur Empir e pre s en t s sp ecia l

.

condi t ions bot h f or attack and for de s truc t ion And i t s .

24 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N
de s t ruc t ionby an e n emy s eated on the Thame s woul d have
consequence s so awful t o cont emp l at e t hat i t cannot be l e ft
t o be sa f eguarded by one sol e lin e of def ence however g oo d
, ,

and f or the pr e s e n t hour howe v e r ade qua t e . For mor e

t han forty y e ars I have rais e d my voice ag ains t e ver y f orm
of aggr e ssion of Imp e rial e xpansion and Con t in e n t al mili
, ,

tarism . F e w m en hav e mor e e arn e s t l y pro t e s t ed agai ns t

pos t ponin g social ref orms and the well b e ing of the p eopl e
-

to Imp erial conques t s and Asiat ic and A f rican adven t u r es .

I do not g o back on a word t ha t I hav e uttere d t hereon .

B u t how hol l ow is all t alk abou t indus t rial r eorganizat ion

un t il w e have s ecur ed our cou n t ry agains t a cat as trophe that
would involve un t o l d de s t i t ut ion and mis ery on the p eop l e
in the mass—which woul dparal yze i n dus t ry andrais e food t o
”
f amin e price s w hils t closin g ou r f ac t ori e s and our y ar ds 1
,
 C H APT E R I I I
THE G RE AT I LL U S I O N
Thes e vi ews f ou nded on a gross and dangerou s mi sconcepti on
What a G erm an vi ctory cou l d and cou l d not accom p li sh
What an E ngli sh vi c tory cou l d and coul d not accom p li sh
—The Op ti cal ill u si on of conquest—There can b e no transf er
of wealt h—The prosp erity of the littl e Stat es i n E ur op e
G erm an Thr ee per C ents at 82 and B elgi an at 96—Russi an
Thr ee and a half p er C ents at 8 1 N orwegian at 1 0 2 —What
.

thi s r eally m e ans—Why security of littl e Stat es not du e to

.
,

treaty—M ilitary conquest fi nanc ially f u til e —If G erm any an

nexed H ollan d woul d any G erm an b en e fit or any H o ll an der ?
,

I TH I NK it w ill be a dmitt ed that th e r e is not much

chanc e of misund e rstanding the g e n e ral ide a e mbodi ed
in the passag e quot e d at the end of the last cha p t e r .

Mr H arri so n is e spe cially d e finit e

. At the risk of
.

“ ”
dam nabl e it e ration I w ould again r e call t he fact
that he is m e re ly e x p r e ssing one of the unive rsally
acce pt ed axioms of Europ e an poli t ics nam ely that , ,

a nation s financial and industrial stability its s e curity

’
,

in comm e rcial activity— ln short its pros p e rity and ,

w e ll be ing d ep e nd u p on its b e ing abl e to d efe nd

-
,

its e lf again st the aggr e ssion of ot h e r nations w ho ,

will if th e y are abl e be t e mp t e d to commi t such

, ,

aggr e ssion b ecaus e in so doin g th ey will incr eas e thei r

po we r and cons e qu e ntly their p ros p e rity and w ell be ing
,
-
,

at the cost of the w eak e r and vanquish ed .

I have quot e d it is tru e larg ely j ournalis t ic authoriti e s

, ,

b e caus e I d e sired to in dicat e r e al public o p inion not ,

25
26 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

m er ely scholarly opinion B ut M r H arrison has the

. .

support o f oth e r scholars o f all sorts Thus M r S p e ns e r

. .

Wilkinson Chich e l e Pro fe ssor of Military H istory at

,

O xford and a d e s e r ve dl y r e s p ect e d authority on t he

,

subj ect confirm s in almost e ve ry point in h is various

,

writin g s the Opinions that I have quot ed and g ive s ,

e m p hatic confirmation t o all that M r Fre de ric H ar .

“ ”
rison has expr e ss ed I n h is book
. B ritain at Bay
, ,

Profe ssor Wilkinson says : N o one thought wh e n in

1 8 8 8 the Am e rican obs e rv e r Captain M ahan p ublish e d
, ,

his v olum e o n the influ e nc e of sea pow e r upon history

-
,

that oth e r nations b e sid e the B ritish r ead from that

b ook the l e sson that victory at sea carri e d with it a
pros p e rity and influ e nc e and a g r e atn e ss obtainabl e by
”
no oth e r m e ans .

W e ll it is the obj e ct of th e s e pag es t o show that

,

thi s all but unive rsal id ea of which M r H arri son s

, .
’

l ett e r is a p articularly v ivid e x p r e ssion is a gross and ,

d e sp e rat e ly dan g erous misconc ep tion p artaking at tim es

,

of t he natur e o f an optic a l illusion at tim e s of t he natur e

of a sup e rstition—
,

a misconc e ption not only gross and

unive rsal but so p rofoundl y m ischi e v ous as to m is
,

dir e ct an imm ens e p art of the e n e rgi e s of mankind and ,

to m isdir e ct th e m to such d egre e that u nl e ss w e lib e rat e

ours e lve s from this su p e rstition C i vilization its elf will
be thr e at e n e d .

And one of the most e xtraordinary feature s o f this

whol e qu e stion is that the absolut e d e m onstration o f
t he falsity of this i de a the com p l et e e x p osur e of the
,

illusion w hich gi ve s it birth is n e ith e r abstrus e nor

,

difii c u lt . Such d e monstration do es not r e pos e u pon

any e laborat e ly construct e d th e or e m but upon t he ,

s im p l e e x p osition o f t he political facts o f Europ e as

28 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

stocks share s ships min e s or anything mor e valuabl e

, , , ,

than j ew ell e ry o r furniture— anyt hin g in short which is

, ,

bound up w ith the e conomic life of the p eo p l e —would

so re act u p on the financ e of the invad e r s country as to’

mak e the dam ag e to the invad e r r e sulting from t he c o n

fi s c ation e xc e e d in v alu e the p rop e rty confiscat e d So .

that G e rmany s succ e ss in conqu e st would be a d e mon

’

strat io n of the com p l et e e conomic futility o f conqu e st .

3 For alli e d r e asons in ou r day the e xaction of

.

tribut e from a conqu er e d p e opl e has b e com e an eco

nomic im possibility ; the e xaction of a large ind e mnity
o f doubtful b e n e fit t o the nation r ec e i ving it e ve n wh e n
,

it can be e xact e d .

4. D amag e to e v e n a n infinit e ly l e ss d e gr e e than t h at

for eshadowe d by M r H arrison could only be inflict e d
.

by an invad e r as a m eans of punishm e nt costly to him

s e lf o r as the re sult of an uns e lfish and ex p e nsi ve d e sire
,

to inflict mis e ry for the m e r e j oy of inflicting it In .

this s e lf s e e king world it is not p ractical to assum e the

-

e xist e nc e o f an in v e rt e d altruism o f this kind .

5 F o r r e as ons of a lik e natur e to the fore going it is

.

a p hysical and e conomic impossibility to captur e the

e xt e rn al o r carry ing trad e o f anoth e r nation by military
conqu e st Larg e navi e s are im p ot e nt t o cre at e t rad e
.

fo r the nations ownin g th e m and can do nothing to

,

confin e the comm e rcial ri v al ry of oth e r nations .

N o r c an a conqu e ror d e stroy the com p etition of a c on

qu e re d nation by ann e xation ; his com p etitors w ould
still comp e t e wi th him if G e rmany conqu e r ed
Holland G e rman m e rchants would still ha ve to m eet
,

the comp etition o f D utch m e rchants and on k ee n e r,

t e rm s than originally b ecaus e the D utc h m e rchants

,

w ould th e n be within the G e rman s custom s lin e s ’

.
 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N 29

More ove r G e rman s would not be abl e to take a p e nny

,

pi e c e from the citiz e ns of H o lland t o r e imburs e t he cost

of conqu e st as any sp e cial tax ation would simply be
,

taxing G e rmans sinc e H olland would th e n be a pa rt o f

,

G e rmany ; the notion that the trad e comp e tition of ri v als

can be dis p os e d of by conqu e rin g thos e rivals be ing one
o f t he illustrations of the curious Optical illusion which

li es be hind the misconc ep tion dominating this subj e ct .

6 The w e alth prosp e rity and w ell b e ing o f a nation

.
, ,
-

d ep e nd i n no way u pon its p olitical pow e r ; oth e rw is e

w e should fi nd the com m e rcial p rosp e rity and social

we ll be ing of the small e r nations whic h e x e rcis e no

-
,

p olitical p owe r m anife stly b e low that of the gr e at

,

nations which control Euro p e wh e r e as th is is not the ,

cas e . The p opulation s of State s lik e Switz e rland ,

Holland B elgium D e nmark Sw ed e n are in eve ry way

, , , ,

as p ros p e rous as t he citiz e ns of Stat es lik e G e rmany ,

Russia Austria and Franc e The trad e per capi ta of

, , .

the small nations is in e xc e ss of the trad e per capi ta of

the gr e at N ot alon e the qu e stion of t he se cu rity of
.

small stat es w h ic h it might be urg e d is du e to treati e s

, , ,

o f n e utrality is h e r e involv e d but the qu e stion o f

, ,

wh eth e r p olitical p ow e r c an be turn ed in a p ositive

se n se to e conomic advantag e .

7 N o nation could g ain any advantage by t he c on

.

qu est of the B ritish Coloni es and Gr eat B ritain could ,

not su ffe r mat e rial damag e by th e ir loss how e v e r much ,

such loss would be r egr ett ed on s e ntim e nt al grounds ,

and as r e nd e ring l e ss e as y c e rtain us e ful so cial c o

O pe ration be tw e e n ki ndred p eo p l e s The u se ind ee d .
, ,

“
of the word loss is m isl e ading Gr e at Britain do e s .

“ ”
not ow n he r Coloni e s Th ey are in fact inde
.
, ,

p e nd e nt nation s in allianc e with the M oth e r C ount ry ,

30 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
to whom th ey are no source of tribut e o r economic
p rofit ( e xc e p t as for eign nation s are a sourc e of
p rofit) th e ir e conom ic r e lations be ing se ttl ed not b y
, ,

t he M oth e r Country but by the Coloni e s , Economi .

cally En g land would gain by t h eir form al s eparation

, ,

sinc e she would be r e li eve d of the cost of the ir d efe nc e .

Th e ir loss involving th e re fore no c h ang e in e conomic

, , ,

fact (beyond saving the M oth e r Country the cost o f

th e ir d efe nc e) could not in v ol ve the ruin of the
,

Em p ire and the starv ation of t he M oth e r Country ,

as thos e w ho commonly tr eat of such a continge nc y are

a p t to av e r As England is not abl e to exact tribut e or
.

economic advantag e it is inconc e i v abl e that any oth e r

,

country n ec es saril y l e ss ex pe ri e nc e d in colonial manag e

m e nt w ould be abl e t o succ eed wh e r e En g land had
fail ed e sp e cially in v i e w of the p ast history of the
,

Spanish Portu gu e s e Fr e nch and B ritish Colonial

, , ,

Em p ires This histo ry also d e m onstrat e s that the

.

p os ition of Crown Coloni es in t he r e s p e ct which .

w e are consid e ring is not se nsibly di ffe r e nt from that

o f the s e lf go v e rning on e s I t is not to be p re sum ed

-
.
,

t h er efor e that any Euro p ean nation w ould att e m p t the

,

d e s p e rat e ly ex p ensi ve busin e ss of the conqu e st of E ng

land for the pur p os e of making an ex p e rim e nt which all
colonial histo ry shows to be doom ed to failur e .

The fore goin g p ro positions t ra ve rs e su ffici e ntly the

ground co v e r ed in the s eri es of thos e ty p ical stat e m e nts
of p olicy bot h E n g lish and G erm an from which I
, ,

h ave quot ed The sim p l e stat e m e nt of th e s e p ro p o

.

sitio ns bas e d as th ey are u p on the s e lf e v id e nt facts o f

,
-

p re s e nt day Europ e an p olitics su fii c ie ntly e xpos es the

-
,

natur e of thos e political axiom s w h ich I have quot ed .

B ut as m en even of the cali b re of M r H arris on .

 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N 1

normally disre gard th e s e se lf e vid e nt facts it is n ec e ssary

-
,

to e laborat e t h e m at som e what gr eat e r l e n g th .

F or the pur p os e of p r e s e nting a dn e p arall e l to the stat e

m e nt of policy e mbodi e d in the quotations mad e from
the Ti mes and M r H arri son and oth e rs I hav e divid e d
.
,

the p ropositions which I d e sir e to d e monstrat e into

s eve n claus e s but such di vision is quite arbitrary and
, ,

made only in ord e r to bring about the p arall e l in

qu e stion The whol e s e ve n c an be p ut into one as
.
,

follows
B
hat as the only poss ibl e p olicy in ou r day for
‘

a conqu eror to pursu e is to l e av e the w e alth of a t e rri

to ry in the com p l e t e p oss e ssion of the in dividuals
inhabiting that t e rrito ry it is a logical fallacy and
,

and an optical illusion in Euro p e to r egard a nation as

incr e asin g its w e alth w h e n it incr e a se s its t e rritory ,

be caus e wh e n a p rovinc e o r State is ann ex e d the po pu ,

lation w ho are the r e al and only own e rs of the w e alth

,

th e re in are also ann ex e d and the conqu e ror g ets

, ,

nothing; The facts of m od e rn histo ry abundantly

d emonstrat e this Wh e n G e rmany ann ex e d Schle swig
.

Holst e in and Al satia not a singl e ordinary G e rm an

citize n w as one p fe nnig the rich e r Althou g h England
.

owns Canada the English m e rchant is dri ve n ou t of

,

the Canadian mark e ts by the m e rchant of S wi tz e rland ,

“ ”
w ho do e s not ow n Canada E ve n w h ere t e rritory
.

is not formally ann ex ed the conqu e ror is unabl e to tak e

,

the w e alth of a conqu e r ed t e rrito ry owing to the d e licat e

,

int e rd ep e nd e nc e of the financial world (an outcom e o f

ou r cr e dit and banking syst e m s) which mak e s t he ,

financial and industrial s ecurity of the victor d e p e nd e nt

upon fi nanci al and industrial s e curit y in all consid e rabl e
civil ize d c e ntr e s ; so that wid e spr ea d confi scation o r
d estruction o f trad e and com m e rc e in conqu e red t e rri
32 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N

tory would r e act disastrously upon t he conqu e ror The .

conqu e ror is thus r educ e d to e conomic impot e nc e which ,

m e an s that political and military powe r is e conomicall y

futil e—that is to say c an do nothing for the trad e and
,

w e ll b eing of the in dividual s e x e rcising such p ow e r

-
.

Conve rs e ly armi es and navi es cannot d e stroy the

,

trad e of rivals nor can th ey capture it

, The gre at .

nations of Europ e do not d e stroy the trad e of the small

nations to th e ir b e n efit b ecaus e th ey cannot ; and t he
,

D utch citiz e n whos e Go v e rnm e nt p oss e ss e s no military

,

pow e r is j ust as w e ll o ff as t he G e rman citiz e n whos e

, ,

Go ve rnm e nt p oss e ss e s an army o f tw o million m e n and ,

a gre at d eal b ett e r o ff than the Russian whos e Gove rn ,

m e nt poss e ss e s an army o f som e thing like four million .

Thus the Three per C e nts of p ow e rl e ss B elgium are

.

quot e d at 9 6 and the Three pe r C e nts o f powe rful

, .

G e rmany at 82 the Thr e e and a H alf per C e nts of the .

Russi an Empire w ith its hundre d and tw e nt y million

,

souls and its four m illion army are quote d at 8 1 whil e

,
'

the Thr e e and a H alf p e r C e nts of N orway which has .

,

not an army at all (o r any that n e e d be consid e r e d in t he

discussion ) are quot e d at 1 0 2 All of which carri e s

, .

w ith it the paradox that the mor e a nation s we alth

’

is pro te ct ed t he l ess s e cure do e s it

I t is this last fact constitutin g as it do es o ne of the
,

most r e markabl e of e conomic sociological p h e nom e na

-

Thi s is not the only b asis of c om pari son of cou rse E veryon e
, .

w ho k nows E ur op e at all i s awar e of the high st andar d of c om

f ort i n all the sm all c ou n tri es—S candi navia H olland B el gi u m, , ,

Switzer land Dr B ertill on the F r ench stati sti ci an has m ade

. .
, ,

an el ab orat e c al cu ati on of the r el ative wealth of th e i ndivi dual s

l

of each co u n try The m i ddl e aged G er m an p oss esses (on the

.
-

es tabli she d aver ag e) n i n e thousand f r ancs ; the H o llan der six teen

thousand ( S ee y ou rnal P ari s Aug us t 1

.
, , ,
 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N 33

in Europ e which mi g ht be m ad e the t ext o f this book

, .

H e r e w e are told by all the e x p e rts that gre at na vie s

an d gre at arm i es are n e c e ssary to prot e ct ou r w e alth
against the ag g r e ssion of p ow e rful n e i g hbours whos e ,

cupidity and v oracity can be controll e d by forc e alon e

that tr eati e s a vail nothing and that in int e rnational
,

politics mi g ht m ak e s ri g ht Yet wh e n the financial

.

ge nius of Europ e studying the qu e stion in its p ur ely

,

financial and mat e rial asp e ct has to d e cid e b e twee n

,

t he g r e at Stat e s with all th e ir im p osing p ara p h e rn alia

,

of colossal armi e s and fabulously costly na v i e s and t he ,

littl e Stat e s (which if ou r politic al pundits are right

, ,

could any day hav e th e ir w ealth gobbl e d u p by tho se

v oracious big n e i g hbours ) p oss e ssing r e lative ly no
,

military p ow e r what ev er such g e nius p lum p s solidly

, ,

and with what is in the circumstanc e s a tr e m e ndous

di ffe r e nc e in favour of the small and h el p l ess F or a
, .

diff e r e nc e of t we nty p oints which w e fi nd as b e twee n

,

N orwe gian and Russian and fou rt e e n as b etwe en

,

B e l g ian and G e rman s ecuri t i e s is the di ffe r e nce ,

b etwe e n a safe and a s p e culati ve o ne—the di ffe r enc e

be tw een an Am e rican railroad bo nd in tim e of pro
found s ecurity and in tim e of wid e s p read p anic And .

what is tru e of the Go ve rnm e nt funds is tru e in an only

sli g htly l e ss d eg r ee of the industrial s e curiti e s in the
national com p arison j ust drawn .

I s it a sort of altruism o r q u ixot ic ism w h ich thus

imp e ls the capitalists o f Euro p e to conclud e that the

public funds and inve stm e nts of powe rl e ss H olland and
Swed e n ( any day at the m e rcy o f t h e ir big n eighbours)
are 1 0 t o 2 0 pe r c e nt safe r than t he gr e at e st Pow e r
.

of Contin e ntal Euro p e ? The qu e stion is o f co u rs e , ,

absurd The only consid e ration of the financi e r is

.

1
34 THE G R EAT I LLU S I O N

profit and s e curity and he has d e cid e d t hat the funds of

,

t he und e fend ed nation are m or e s e cur e than the funds

of one d e fe nde d by coloss al armam e nts How do e s he .

arrive at this d e cision unl e s s it be throu g h the kn ow

,

l ed g e t hat m od e rn we alth requires no d efe nc e be caus e

.
,

it canno t be confiscat e d ?
N or can it be r e pli ed that I am con fusing tw o thin g s ,

p olitical and m ilitary as against comm erci al s e curity

, .

My who l e point is that M r H arri so n and those w ho

.
,

think w it h him (that is to say the st at e sm e n of E uro pe

,

g en e rally) are for e v e r t e lling u s that milita ry se curity

and comm ercial se curity are id e ntica l and that arma ,

m e nts are j usti fie d by the ne c es sity for com m e rcial

“
security ; t hat o u r N a vy is an insuranc e and all the ,

ot h er catch p hrase s w h ich are the comm on p lac e of this

If M r Harrison we r e ri g ht ; if as he im p li e s ou r
.
, ,

co m m e rc e o ur v e ry i ndustrial ex ist e nc e w ould disap pe ar

, ,

did w e allo w ne igh bours w ho e n v i ed us t hat c om m e rc e

to becom e ou r su p e rior s in armam e nt how d oe s he ,

ex p lai n the fact t hat the gr e at Pow e rs o f the Contin e nt

are flank e d by littl e nations infi nit ely w e ak e r than th e m

selve s having always a per cap i ta trade e qual and in ,

m o st ca se s g re at e r t h an t h e m selv e s ? I f the co m m on .

doct rin es be tru e the Rothschilds E arings M organs and

, , , ,

St e m s would not inve st a p ound or a dol lar in the

t erritories of the und efende d nations and yet far from, ,

that be ing the cas e th ey consid e r that a Swiss o r a

,

D u tc h in v estm e nt is m or e se cure t ha n a G e rman one ;

t hat industrial und e rtaking s in a country lik e Switz e r
land d efe nd ed by a comic o p e ra army of a few thousand
,

m en are pr efe rabl e in po int

,
o f i
se cur ty to e nt e r p ri ses

ba c k ed b y thr ee millions of the m os t p e rfe ctly train e d

36 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
than thos e p r e val e nt in t he littl e Stat e s The citize ns .

o f Switz e rlan d B e lgium o r H olland countri e s without

, , ,
”
control o r navy o r bas e s o r w e i g ht in the councils
, , ,
” ”
o f Europ e or t he
, pre s t i g e of a gre at Pow e r are j ust ,

as w e ll off as G e rmans and a g r e at d eal b ett e r off than

,

Austrians or Russians .

Thus ev e n if it could be argu e d that the s e curity

,
‘

o f t he small Stat e s is du e to the v arious tr eati e s

g uarant e e ing th e ir n eutrality it cannot be argu e d that
,

thos e tr e ati e s g i v e th e m the political p ow e r and

control and we ight in the councils of the nations
which Admiral M ahan and the oth e r e x p on e nts of the
orthodox stat e craft assur e us is such a n e c e ssa ry factor
in national p rosp e rity .

And one may w e ll qu estion wh e th e r th e ir s e curity

e ve n is du e to t he tr e ati e s o f n e utrality for ho w can t he,

valu e of a cr edit which is de ri ve d from a guarant ee

stand hi g h e r than the cr e dit of the guarantor ? F o r
th e s e stocks of the l e ss e r Stat e s rank high er than those
of the gr e at Stat e s which guarant ee th e m M or e ov e r .
,

such a conclusion of its elf would cond emn the su p

port e rs o f the gr eat arm am ents be caus e it would im p ly
,

that int e rnational good faith constitut e d a b e tt e r d e fe nc e

than armam e nts If this w e re r eally the cas e arma
.
,

m e nts would ind eed be cond e mn e d O ne d e fe nd e r of .

t he notion o f s ecurity by tr e aty p uts the cas e thus :

I t woul d be a s t range r e su lt of our mode rn in t e rnat ional

rivalry if t hose smal l e r membe rs of the Europ ean fami ly
came t o occupy a mor e f avourab l e posi t ion than have t heir
n e ighbours B ut t hing s s eem working in t hat dir ect ion f or
.
,

i t is a fac t t hat wi t h no de f ence wort h sp eaking of t hes e

, ,

coun t ri es are mor e s e cur e agains t invasion l ess f e ar f ul of ,

i t l e ss pr eoccupi ed by i t than Engl an d or G erman y or

, , ,
 T HE G R EAT I LLU S I O N 37

France each wi th i t s gi gant ic arm y or navy Why is this ?

, .

O nly b e caus e the moral f orc e of a tr eaty aff or ds a s trong er

bu lwark than an y amount of mat erial s tr en gt h .

Then if t he s e smal l er coun t ri e s can enj oy this s ens e of

,

sa fety f rom a mer e ly moral guaran t ee why shou l d no t the ,

lar g er on e s as we l l I t s eems absurd t ha t t he y shoul d not .

I f t ha t r e c en t a gr eem en t b etwe en En glan d G e rman y , ,

France D enmark and Hollan d can so eff ect ive ly re li eve

, ,

D enmark and Hol lan d f rom the f ear of invasion t ha t D en

mark can s eriously consi de r the act ual aboli t ion of he r arm y
and navy i t s eems on ly one f u rt h e r s t e p t o g o f or al l the
,

Powers col l ect ive ly g rea t and smal l t o g uarant ee the t erri
, ,

torial in de p endenc e o f e ach one of t h em s e v erally .

You may say t his is U topian bu t i t is a t l e as t no t mor e

,

than the fut ile a tt emp t of the las t hun dr ed years t o t ry and
bas e t e rri torial in de p e ndence sol el y or main ly on ma t erial
r e sou rce s You will hardly deny t hat the fe ar in Eng lan d
.

of ac t ual invasion has no t m e r e ly k e p t pac e wi th bu t has ,

out s t ripp ed the incre as e of our e x p en dit u r e on our N avy

, .

N or is the cas e di ffer en t wi t h an y ot he r coun t ry The mor e .

armam ent s have b een pi l ed upon armamen t s the grea t er has

grown the s ens e of ins ecuri ty .

But I fe ar that if w e had to d e p e nd u p on the

sanctity of tr e aty ri g hts and int e rnational good fai th ,

*
w e should ind ee d be l e aning on a brok e n r e ed .

“
The princip l e practi cally act ed on by st at esmen though , ,

of c ou rs e ,
not op en ly adm itt ed i s that f ran kly enunc i at e d by
,

Machi avelli : A pr u dent rul er ou ght not to k e ep f aith when by

‘

so doing it wou l d b e agai nst his i nt er ests and when the r easons ,

whi ch m ade him bi nd hi m self no l ong er exi st P r ince B i sm arc k .

’

sai d practi cally the sam e thing only not q u it e so nak e dly The
, .

E urop ean wast e pap er b as k et i s the p l ac e t o whi c h all tr eati es

-

eventually fi nd th ei r w ay and a t hi ng whi ch can any day b e

,

pl aced i n a wast e pap er b as k et i s a p oor thi ng on whi ch to hang

-

our nati onal saf e ty Yet th er e are p l e nty of p eop l e i n thi s count ry
.

w h o q u ot e t r eati es to u s as if w e c ou l d dep e nd on t h e i r n eve r

b eing torn up Very p l au sibl e and very dangerous p eop l e they

.
38 THE G RE AT I LLU S I O N
It is but t he o th e r day that Au stria by t he han d of
his most C atholic M aj es ty —a S o ve r e ign r e gard ed
,

as one of the most high mind ed in E u rOpe—cy nically

-

laid asid e sol e m n and sacr e d e ngag e m e nts ent e r e d into ,

with the oth e r Europ ean Pow e rs and with out so much , ,
“ ”
as a by your l e ave m ad e wast e p ap e r o f th e m and
- -
,
-
,

took advantag e of the s t ru g g l e for civilization in whi c h

the new Turkish G o v e rn m e nt w as e ng ag ed t o ann e x
B os nia and H e rz ego v ina which he had g iven a sol em n
,

“
und e rtaking not to do and I fe ar that his m ost
,

Catholic Maj e sty do e s not e ve n lo se cas te th e reby .

F o r though b u t a few month s s e p arat e us from this

,

dou bl e br eac h of contract (the com m e rcial equival e nt

of which would hav e disgrac e d an ordinary trad e sman ) ,

Euro p e s ee m s to ha v e forgott e n the whol e thing .

The sanc ti ty of tr e aty rights is a v e ry frail p rot e ction

t o the s m all State On what th e r e fore do e s its e vident
.
, ,

se curi ty r e st ? Once ag ai n on the sirnple fac t that i ts

,

conq uest w d
ou l assure to the onq
c ue or no profi t)
r “

L et us p ut thi s matt e r as concre t e ly and as prac t i

cally with ou r f ee t as c los e to the e arth as po ssi bl e
, ,

and tak e an act u al e xam p l e Th ere is po ss ibly no party

.

in Europ e so con v inc e d of the g e n e ral tru t h of t he

are —i d alists too good

e i nnocent f or a har d cruel wor l d
and , ,

where f orc e i s the chi ef law Yet there are som e su ch i nnocent
.

p e opl e i n P ar liam ent even at pr esent It i s to b e hop ed that w e .

shall s ee non e of them there i n f u tu r e ( Maj or St ewart Murray ,

F u tu r e P eac e of the Angl o S ax on s

-
W atts and .
"

On the occas ion of the fi rst anniversary of the annexati on ,

the Austri an P r ess dealt with the di sill u si on the A c t i nvo lve d .

O ne p ap er sai d : The ann exati on has cost u s milli ons w as a

“
,

g r e at d i stur b anc e t o our tr ade and it i s i m p oss ibl e to p oi nt t o o ne

,

si ngl e b e nefit that has r esu lted There w as not even a pret ence
.
”

of e c onom i c i nt er es t i n the ann ex ati on whi ch w as prom p t e d by ,

pur e pol i ti cal vani ty.

 THE G R EAT I LLU S I O N 39

c om mon axiom s that at pre s e nt dominat e inte rnational

olitics as t he Pan G e rmanis ts of G e rmany This pa rty
p .

has set b e for e its elf the obj e ct of grouping into one
g reat Pow e r all the p e o p l e s o f the G e rmanic rac e or
la nguag e in E uro p e W e r e t h is aim ac hi eve d G e rmany
.
,

would b ecom e the dominating Pow e r of the C ontin e nt ,

and might be com e the dominating Pow e r of the world .

And according to the com monly acc ep t ed v i ew such an ,

achi ev em e nt would from the p oint o f vi e w of G e rmany

, ,

be worth any sacrific e t h at G e rman s could m ak e It .

would be an obj ect so gr eat so d e sirabl e that G e rman

, ,

citiz e ns should not h e sitat e for an instant to g ive e ve ry

thing life its e lf in its accom p lishm e nt V e ry good
, ,
. .

L e t us a ssum e t h at at the cost of gr e at sacrific e th e ,

gr eat e st sacrific e which it is p ossibl e to imagin e a

mode rn c ivilize d nation making this has b ee n ac c om ,

p lis hed a
, nd th at B e lgiu m and H olland and Ge rmany ,

Switz e rland an d A us tria ha ve all be com e part of t he

,

g re at G e rm an he ge mony : is there one ordinary G erm an

ci ti zen w ho w ou ld be able to say that his w ell -
bei ng had
increased by su ch a change P G e rm a ny w ould th en
“
ow n Holland B ut w ou ld a sing le German citizen
”
.

be the ri cher f or the ow nership? The H olland e r from ,

havi ng b ee n the ci tizen of a sm all and insignificant

S tat e would b e come
, the c itize n of a v e ry great o ne .

Would the Hollander be any the richer or any

indi vidu al
the better P We kno w that as a m atte r of fact ne ith er
, ,

the G e rman nor the H olland e r w ould b e one whit the

be tt er ; and w e k no w also as a matt er of fact that in
, ,

all human p robability th ey w ou ld be a gr e at d e al worse .

We may ind eed say that the H olland e r would be

, ,

c e rtainly the wors e in that h e w ould have exchang e d

the r elati v e ly light taxation and l ig h t military s e rvic e
40 T H E G REAT I LLU SI O N

of H olland for the much h e avi e r taxation and the ,

“ ”
m uch long e r m ilitary se rv ic e of the great G e rman
Em p ire .

The following w h ic h a pp eare d in the D aily Mail in

,

r e pl y to an articl e in that pap e r throws som e furth e r ,

light o n the points e laborat e d in this cha p t e r The .

D ai ly M ail critic had plac e d Alsac e Lorrain e as an -

as s e t in the G e rman conqu e st worth sixty six millions -

cash v alu e and add e d : If Alsac e Lorrain e had re

,
-

m ain e d Fr e nch it would have yi eld ed at the p r e s e nt

, ,

rat e of Fr e nch taxation a r eve nu e of e ight m illions a

,

ye ar to the Stat e That re ve nu e is lost to France and

.
,
”
is place d at t he disposal of G e rmany .

To which I r e p li e d

Thus if w e t ak e the in t er e st of the cash value a t the

,

pr e s en t price of mon e y in G erman y Alsace Lorrain e should ,

-

be wor t h t o the G ermans abou t t hr ee mi llions a ye ar If .

w e t ak e the o t he r fi g ur e e i g h t Suppos e w e sp l i t the diff e r

, .

e nc e and t ak e say fi v e
, , N ow if the G e rmans are en
, . riched
,

by fi v e mi llions a y e ar— if Alsace Lorraine is r e all y wor th -

t ha t income t o the G erman p eop l e—how much shou ld the

English p eople draw f rom t he ir poss essions O n the
basis of pop u lat ion somewhere in the r e g ion of a thousan d
mi llion ; on the basis of ar ea s t ill mor e—e nough not only t o
,

pay all our ta x e s wipe ou t ou r N a t ional D e b t support the

, ,

arm y and navy bu t giv e e v e ry f ami ly in the land a fat

,

income in t o the bargain Ther e is e vi den tl y some thin g

.

wrong .

D o e s no t m y cri t ic r e ally see that this whol e no t ion of

na t ional poss essions b en e fi t in g the in divi dual is f oun de d on
m ystifi c at ion upon an illusion ? G erman y conqu er ed France
,

and ann e x e d Alsace Lorrain e ; The G e rmans cons e qu en tly

-

‘
own it and e nriche d t hems elve s wi t h t his n ewly acquir ed
,

weal th Tha t is my cri t ic s V i ew as i t is the vi ew of mos t

.
’
,
 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N 41

Europe an s ta t esmen ; and i t is all fal s e Alsace Lorra in e is .

own ed by i t s inhabi t an t s and nobody els e ; and G e rmany , ,

wi th all her ru thle ssn e ss has no t be en abl e t o disposs ess ,

them as is prov ed by the fac t tha t the matricular c ontribu

,

t ion (matriku larbei trag) of the n ewl y acquir ed S ta t e t o the

Imp erial t r eas ury (which inci den t ally is n ei t he r thr ee mil
lions nor e ight but j us t abou t one ) is fi x ed on e x ac tl y the
,

same scal e as that of the o t he r S ta t es of the Empir e Prussia .

,

the conqu e ror pay s per capi ta j us t as much and no l e ss t han

,

Alsace the conqu er ed who if she w er e not pay in g t his

million t o G erman y would be pa ying it—or according t o
, , ,

, ,

my cri t ic a much lar ge r sum— t o France ; and if G erman y

,

did no t ow n Alsac e Lorra in e she woul d be r eli e ve d of

’
‘ -
,

charge s t hat amoun t not t o one but s e v e ral millions The .

chan ge of own ership doe s not the r e f or e of i t s e l f chan ge

‘ ’

the mon ey posi t ion ( which is wha t w e are now discu ssin g)
of e i t h e r owne r or own e d .

In e x amining in the las t articl e on t his ma tt er m y cri t ic s ’

balance shee t I r emark ed that w er e his fi gur e s as comp l e t e

-
,

as t hey are absurdl y incomple t e and misl e adin g I should ,

s till have b e en unimpr ess ed We al l know t hat v ery mar .

vellons r e sul t s are possibl e wi t h fi gure s bu t one can g en e r

ally find some simp l e f ac t which pu t s t h em t o the supr eme
t es t wi thou t undue ma themat ics I do not kn ow whe t he r i t .

has e v e r happ ene d t o m y cri t ic as i t has happ en ed t o m e , ,

whil e wat chin g the gamblin g in the casino of a Con t in en t al

w a t e rin g r esort t o hav e a financial g enius pr e s en t w e ird
,

co l umns of fi gur es which demons trat e conclusive l y irr e

, ,

frag ably tha t by the s y s t em which th e y e mbody one can

,

break the bank and win a million I hav e n ev er e x amin ed .

thes e fi gures and n ev er shall for t his r eason : the genius in

, ,

que s t ion is pr epar ed t o s ell his wonder ful s ecre t f or t we n ty

f rancs . N ow in the f ac e of that f ac t I am no t in t e r e s t e d in
,

his figur es I f t hey wer e wort h e xaminat ion t hey wo u l d

.

not be f or sal e .

And so in this matt e r th e r e are c e rt ain t e s t fact s which

upse t the adroi t e s t s ta t is t ical l eg erdemain Thou gh r ea l ly .
, ,
42 THE G REA T I LLU S I O N
t he f allacy which regards an addi tion of te rri tory as an
addi tion of w eal t h to the ow ning nat ion is a v ery mu ch ‘ ’

simpler matt er than the fa l lac ie s ly ing behind gambli n g

s y stems which are boun d up wi t h the l aws o f chanc e and
,

the law of av e rage s and much e l se t ha t phil osoph ers w il l

quarr e l abou t t ill the e nd of t im e I t r equire s an e x ce ptional .

mathe mati ca l brain r eal ly t o r e f ut e t hos e f allacie s whereas ,

the one w e are dealin g wi th is due sirnply t o the di ffi cul ty

e x pe r ie nc ed by mos t of us in carr yin g in our h eads t wo f ac t s

at the same t im e I t is so mu ch e asi e r t o s e i ze on one fac t

.

and f org et th e o th er Thus w e r eali ze t ha t whe n G erman y

.

has conqu e r ed Alsac e Lorr ain e she has capt ur e d a provinc e

’
-
‘

worth cash va l u e in m y c ri t ic s p hras e si xty si x mil l ions

, ,
’ ’

,
-

s te r l in g W hat w e ove rlook is that G e rman y has also

.

captu r ed the people w ho ow n the property and w ho c on t inue

to ow n i t We have mu ltip l i ed b y x i t is t rue but w e have
.
, ,

ov erlook ed the fact t hat w e hav e had to divi de by x and ,

tha t the re sul t an t is cons equ en t l y so far as the in divi dual is ,

conce rn ed e xac tly wha t i t w as be fo re M y cri t ic r em e mbe r ed

, .

the mul t iplicat ion all ri ght bu t he for go t the division , Le t .

us apply t he t est fact I f a great coun t ry be ne fi ts e ve ry

.

time i t anne xe s a provi nce and he r pe ople are the richer ,

fo r th e wi de n ed t e rri t ory the small na t ions o ug h t to be

,

imm easurabl y poor er t han the grea t ins tead o f which by , ,

e ve ry t es t which y ou lik e t o app ly—public cre di t amount s ,

in savin g s banks s t andard of living social progre ss g ene ral

, , ,

well being—ci tize ns of small S t at es are o ther t hing s be i ng

-
,

e qual as w e ll off as or be tte r off t han the ci t i ze ns of gr ea t

, , , .

The ci ti zens of c oun t ri es l ik e Ho llan d B el gium D e nmark , , ,

Swede n N orway are b y e v ery possib l e t e s t j us t as well off

, , ,

as the c i tize ns of cou n tr ie s like G erman y Aus tr ia or Russ ia , , .

Thes e are the fact s which are so much more pot en t t han
an y theory If i t we re tru e t ha t a co untry bene fi te d by the
.

ac q uisi t ion of te rri t ory and wi dene d t e rri t ory meant g ene ral
,

w e l l b ein g why do the fact s so e t e rnally deny i t ? The r e is

-
,

som ethin g wrong wi th the t he ory .

“ In
e v e ry civili ze d S t a te r e v enu e s whi ch are drawn f rom a
 C HA PTE R I V
T HE I MP O S S I B I L I TY OF I
C ON F S CAT ON I
Ou r pr esent t erm i nol ogy of i nt ernati onal p oliti cs an histor i cal
su rvival—W hy m odern conditi ons di ffer from anci ent—The
prof ou nd chang e eff ect ed by cr edit The deli cate i nter -

dep e ndenc e of i nt ernati onal fi nanc e—Attil a and the K ais er

What wou l d happ en if a G erm an i nvader l oot ed the B an k
of E ngl and G erm an trade dep endent upon E nglish credi t
-

—Confi sc ation of an enem y s prop er ty an econom i c im

’

possibility under modern conditi ons .

D U R I N G the J ubil ee p roc e ssion an Englis h b eggar was

h eard to say
I Aus tralia Canada N ew Zealand In dia B urmah
ow n , , , , ,

and the Islan ds of the Far Pacific ; and I am s t arvin g f or

wan t of a crus t of br ead I am a ci t i zen of the gr eat es t
.

Power of the modern worl d and al l p eop l e should bow t o

,

my g r eat ne ss And ye s t erda y I cringed f or alms t o a n egro

.

savag e w ho r epuls e d m e w i t h disgu s t

, .

What is the m eaning of this ?

The m e aning is that as v e ry fre qu e ntly h a p p e ns in
,

the history of id e as ou r t e rminology is a survival o f

,

conditions no long e r e x isting and ou r m e ntal c o nc e p

,

tion s follow at the tail o f ou r v ocabulary I nt e rnational .

poli t ics are still dom inat e d b y t e rms a p plicabl e to c on

dit ions which the p roc e ss es of mod e rn life hav e altog e th e r
abolish ed .
 T H E I M P O S S I B I LITY O F C O N FI SCATI O N 45

In the Roman tim es — ind eed in all the anci e nt world

,

—it w as tru e that the conqu est of a t e rritory m e ant a

t an g ibl e advantag e to the conqu e ror ; it m e ant the
e x p loitation o f the conqu e r e d t e rritory by t he conqu e r

ing Stat e its elf to the ad v antag e o f that Stat e and its
cit iz e ns I t not infr e qu e ntly m e an t the e nslav e m ent of
.

the conqu e r ed p e opl e and the acquisition o f w e alth in

the form o f slav e s as a dir e ct r e sult o f the conqu e ring
war I n m e di aeval tim es a w ar of conqu e st m e ant at
.

l east imm e diat e tangibl e booty in the sha p e of movabl e

p rop e rty actual gold and sil ve r land p arc e ll e d ou t
, ,

among the chi e fs of the conqu e ring nation as t ook ,

p lac e at the N orman Conqu e st and so forth

, .

At a late r p e riod conqu e st at l east involve d an advan

tag e to the r e igning hous e of the conqu e rin g nation ,

and it was mainly the squabbl e s of rival sove r eigns for

pre stig e and pow e r which p r ecipita t e d the wars o f such
pe riod .

At a still lat e r p e riod civilization as a whol e—not

,

h —
n c ssarily t e conqu e ring nation gain ed ( som etim e s)
e e

by t he conqu e st o f savag e p e opl e s in that ord e r was

substitut ed for disord e r I n the p e riod of the coloniza
“

tion of n ewly discov e re d land the pre e m p tion of such

- -

t e rritory by one p articular nation s e cu r ed an ad v antag e

for the citiz e ns o f that nation in that its o ve rflowing
po p ulation found hom e s in condition s that w e r e pre
ferable to the social or political conditions im p os e d by
ali e n nations B u t none of these conditions is p art of the
.

problem that w e are considering We are conc e rn e d with

.

the cas e of full y ci v iliz e d rival nations in fully occu p i e d

t e rrito ry and the fact of conqu ering such t e rritory gi ve s
,

to t he conqu e ror no mat e rial advantag e which he could

not hav e had w it h out conqu e st A nd in th e s e condi
.
46 T HE G REA T I LLU SI O N

tions —the realitie s of the p oliti c al world as w e find it

t o ciay
-
domination or predomina nc e o f arma
,
“ ”
m e nt or the command of the sea c an do nothing
,
"
,

for c om m e rc e and industry o r g e n e ral w e ll being ; w e -

may build fifty D readnoug hts and not se ll so much

as a pe nknife the m ore in con se qu en c e We m ig h t .

co nque r Ge rmany to morrow and w e sh ou ld fi nd that

-
,

w e c ould not be ca u s e of that fact m ak e a sing l e E ng lis h

, ,

man a shillin g s w orth the rich e r in co nsequ enc e the

’

, ,

war ind e mnity notwith standi ng .

How ha ve conditions so chang e d that te rm s wh ich

we r e applicabl e to the anc ie nt wo rl d—in one s en se at
l e ast to t he m edimval world and in anoth e r se ns e still
,

to the w orld of that politic al r e naiss anc e w h ich gave to

—
Gr eat B ritain it s E m p ir e are no long e r a p pli cab le in
any s e nse t o t he con dit io ns of the world as w e fi nd th em

t o day ?
-
How has it b ec om e im p ossibl e fo r one nation
t o tak e by conqu e st the w e alth of anoth e r for the bene fit
o f the pe op l e of the c onqu e ror How is it t h at w e are
confron te d by the ab su rdity (wh ich the facts of ou r ow n
Em pi re go to p rov e)o f the c onqu e ring p eopl e b e ing abl e
to exac t from c onq ue re d t errito ry rathe r le ss th an more
advantage t h an it w as abl e to do b ef or e the con qu est
t ook p lace ?
Th e caus e o f this p rofound c h ange large ly the w ork ,

o f t he las t thirty y e ars is due m ainly to t he com ple x

,

financi al int erd ep e nd e nc e of the capi tal s of the world ,

a c o ndition in which disturbanc e in N ew York in v ol ves

financial and com m e rcial disturbanc e in London and , ,

if su ffi ci e nt ly grave com pe ls fi nanc i e rs o f Lo ndo n to

,

c o Op e rat e w ith th os e o f N e w York t o put an e nd to

-

the crisis not as a ma tt e r of altrui s m but as a matt e r

, ,

of com m e rcial se lf p rot ection

-
The co m p l e xity of
.
 T HE I M P O SS I B I LITY OF C O N F I SCAT I O N 47

mo de rn financ e mak e s N e w York de p e nd e nt on London ,

London u p on Pa ris Paris upon B e rlin to a gre at e r

, ,

degr ee than has e ve r yet be e n the cas e in h istory This .

in t e rd e p e nd e nc e is the r e sult of the daily u se o f thos e

contrivanc e s of ci v il ization which d at e from ye st e rday
-
the ra p id p ost the in stantan e ous diss e mination o f
,

financ ial and comm e rcial informati o n by m eans of

te l eg raphy and ge n e rally the in c r edibl e p rog re ss of
,

rapidity i n com munication w hich has p ut t he half

doz e n chi ef capitals of Christ e ndom in close r contact

financially and has r end e r e d t hem m or e d e p e nd ent the
,

o ne u p on the oth e r than w e r e the chi e f citi e s o f Gr e at

Britain l e ss than a hundre d y e ars ago .

A we ll kno wn Fr e nch authority writin g r e c e ntly in a

-
,

financial p ublication mak e s this r efl ection

,

The v ery rapi d de v elopm en t of in dus t ry has given rise

t o the act ive int e rv en t ion t he r e in of finance which has ,

become i t s ncrvns 7 6m m and has com e t o p l ay a dominat ing

,

ro le. Un der the infl ue nce of finance in dus t ry is be g inning

,

to l os e i t s e x clusiv el y na t ional charac t e r t o t ak e on a

charact er mor e and mor e int ernat iona l The animosi ty of
.

rival nat ionali t i e s s eems t o b e in proce ss of atte nuat ion as

the r e sul t of t his incr easin g in t erna t ional soli dari ty This .

sol i dari ty was mani f e s t ed in a s t rikin g f ashion in the las t

indus t ria l and mon e t ary crisis This crisis which appeared
.
,

in i t s mos t se ri ous f orm in the Uni t e d S ta t es and G ermany ,

f ar f rom bein g an y profi t t o rival nat io ns has been injurious

,

to th e m The na t ions comp e t in g with Am e rica and G erman y

.
,

such as Engl an d and France hav e su ff ere d onl y l e ss t han

,

the coun t ri e s dir e c t l y aff e c t e d I t mus t not be f orgo tt en

.

that qui t e apar t from the financ ial in t er e st s invo l v eddirec t ly

,

or in di r ec tly in t he in dus t ry of o t h e r coun t ri e s e v e ry pro

,

du c ing coun t ry is a t one and the sam e t im e as we l l as be i ng

,

a comp e t i t or and a riv al a cli ent and a mark e t Financial

, .
48 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
and comm ercial solidari ty is incre asing e ve r y day a t the
e x p ens e of comm e rcial and in dus t rial comp e t i t ion This .

w as c e rt ain ly one o f the pr incipal caus e s which a y ear or

tw o ag o pr e v e n t e d the ou t br e ak of war b e t w ee n G erman y

an d Franc e apropos of Morocco and which led t o the un de r
,

s t an ding of A lge ciras The r e can be no doub t f or thos e

.
,

w ho hav e s t u di ed the qu e s t ion t ha t the infl u ence of t his

,

in t ernat ional e conomic so l i dari ty iis incre asin g despi t e

ours e l v e s I t has no t r e su lt ed f rom the conscious ac t ion
.

on the part of an y of us and i t ce rtain ly canno t be arr e s t ed

,

by an y conscious act ion on our

A fi e ry patriot s e nt to a London p a p e r the following
l ett e r :
Whe n the G e rman army is l oot in g the ce ll ars of the
B ank of Englan d and carry in g off the f o u n dat i ons of our
,

whol e na t ional fort un e p e rhaps the t waddl e rs who are now

,

scr e aming abou t the was t e f u ln e ss of buil din g f our mor e

D readnoug hts wi l l unde rs t an d why san e m en are r e g ar d
”
ing t his opposi t ion as t r e asonabl e nons ens e .

What would be the r e sult of such an action on the

p art of a G e rman army in Lo ndon ? The first effe ct ,

o f cours e would be that as t he Bank of E ngland is t he

, ,

bank e r of all oth e r banks th e r e would be a run o n e ve ry

,

bank in England and all would sus p e nd paym e nt B ut

,
.
,

simultan e ously G e rman bank e rs many w ith cr edit in

, ,

London would fee l the e ffe ct ; m e rchants the world

,

ove r thr eat e n e d w ith ruin by the effe ct of the colla p s e

in London w ould imm e diat e ly call in all th e ir cr edits in
G e rmany and G e rman financ e would pre s e nt a c on
,

dition o f chaos hardly l ess t erribl e than that in England .

The G e rman G e n e ralissimo i n London mi g ht be no

more civiliz e d than Attila hims elf but he would soon ,

L I nf orm ation, A u gust

’
2 2, 1
9 09 .
 T H E I M P O S S I B I LI TY O F C O N FI S CAT I O N 49

find t he di ffe re nc e b etw e e n h ims elf and Attila Attila .

,

luckily for him did not ha v e to worry about a b ank

,

rat e and such lik e complications ; but the G e rman

-

G e n e ral whil e tryi ng to sack the Bank of England

, ,

would fi nd that his ow n balanc e in the Bank of G e rmany

would hav e v anish e d into thin air and the v alu e of e v e n
,

t he be st of his in v e stm e nt s d w in dle d as t h ough b y a

miracl e ; and that for the sak e o f loot amounting to a
,

few sove r e igns a p i e c e am ong his soldi e ry he would ,

h ave sacrific e d the gr e at e r p art of his ow n p e rsonal

fortun e It is as c e rtain as anything can be that w e r e
.
,

the G e rman army gu ilty of such economic vand alism ,

th e re is no consid e rabl e institution in G e rmany t h at

would e sca p e grave damag e—a damage in cr edit and
s ecurity so s e rious as to constitut e a loss imm e ns e ly
gr eat e r than the valu e of the loo t obtain e d I t i s not
*
”

putting the cas e too stron g ly to say that for every p ound
tak e n from the Bank o f England G e rm an trad e would
p ay a thou sand The influ e nc e of the w h ol e financ e
.

of G e rmany would be brought t o be ar on the G e rman

Gove rnm e nt to p ut an end to a situation ruinous to

G e rman trad e and G e rman finance would only be
,

sa ve d from utt e r colla p s e by an und e rtaking on the

p art of the G e rman Go vernm e nt scru pulously to

r e s p e ct p ri v at e p ro p e rty and e s p e cially bank r e s e rv e s
, .

I t is tru e the G e rman J ingo e s m i g ht wond e r wh at t h e y

had mad e war for and an el e m e ntary l e sson in int e r
,

national financ e which the occasion afford e d would do

mor e than the gr e atn e ss of t he B ritish N avy to cool
th e ir blood F or it is a fact in human natur e that m e n
.

will fi g ht m or e r eadily than th ey will p ay and that th e y

,

Very m any ti m es gr eat er b e cause, the bul lion r es erve i n the

Bank of E ngl and is r el ative ly small .
50 T HE G REAT I LL U S I O N

will tak e p ersonal risks much mor e r e adily t h an th e y

”
will disgorg e mon e y o r for that matt e r e arn it
,
M an .
,

“
in the languag e of B acon lo v e s dang e r b ett e r than
,

travail .

E ve nts which are still fre sh in the m e mo ry of busi

n e ss m en show the ex t raordinary int e rd e p e nde nc e of
the mode rn financial world A financi al cr is is in N e w
.

York se n ds u p the En g lish bank rat e t o 7 per c e nt .

,

thus involvi ng the ruin of many English busine ss e s

which mi g ht ot h e rwi se have we at h e re d a di ffi cult
p e riod. I t thus ha p p e n s that one s e ction of the
financial world is against its will c om p e ll e d to com e
, ,

to t he r e scu e of any oth e r consid e rabl e s e ction which

may be in distr e ss .

From one o f the v e ry lat e st tre atis e s o n int e rnati onal

fi nanc e *
I mak e the fo llowing ve ry sugg e stiv e
,

quotation s
B ankin g in a l l coun t ri es hang s t og e th er so c l os e ly that
the s t r e n gt h of the b e s t may e asi ly be t ha t of the w e ak e s t
if scan dal aris e s owin g t o the mis t ak e s of the wors t .

Jus t as a man cy clin g down a crowde d s tr e e t de pe nds f or

his l i fe no t only on his ski ll bu t more on the cours e of the
,

traffi c t her e . B anks in B er l in we re obl ig ed f rom ,

mot ive s of s e l f prot ec t ion (on the occasion of the W al l

-

S t re e t crisis ) t o let some of t he ir go l d go t o assuag e the

,

Am e rican cravin g f or i t I f the crisis b ecam e so

.

s ev er e t hat Lon don had t o r e s t ric t i t s facili t i e s in this

respe c t ot her cen t r e s which habi t ually k e ep balance s in
, ,

London which t hey r e g ar d as so much gold becaus e a draf t ,

on Lon don is as good as gol d wou l d fi nd thems e l ve s ve ry

‘

se riousl y incon v eni enc ed; and i t t hus f o l lows t ha t i t is t o the

in te r e s t of all ot he r c en tre s which trade on t hos e f acili ti e s
H artl ey W ithers ,
“
The Meani ng of Mon ey . S m ith , l r
E de
and Co L on don
.
,
.
52 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N
s elling goods t o us and as t he y hav e not ye t r eache d the
,

poin t of economic al t ruism a t which they are pr e par e d t o s ell

goo ds for nothing the incr eas e in th e ir product ion me ans an
,

in cr e asin g de man d for our commodi t i e s and our s e rvice s .

And in the mean t ime the in t e r e s t on our capi tal and cr e di t ,

and the profi t s of workin g the machin e r y of e x chan g e are a ,

”
com fort ab l e addi t ion t o our na t ional income .

But what is a furth e r corollary of thi s situation ? I t

is that G e rm any is to day in a larg e r s e ns e than she
-

e v e r was b e for e ou r d e btor and that he r industrial

,

succ ess is bound u p with ou r fi nancial s ecurity .

What would be the situation in B ritain th e r efore on , ,

the morrow of a con fl ict in which she w e r e succ e ssful ?

I hav e s ee n m e ntion e d the p ossibility of the c on
qu e st and ann exation o f the fr ee p ort of H amburg by
a victorious British fl ee t L et us assum e that the .

Britis h Gov e rnm e nt has don e this and is p roc eedin g to ,

turn the ann e xe d and confiscat e d p rop e rty to account .

N ow the p ro p e rty was originally o f tw o ki nds : p art

,

was privat e prop e rty and p art was G erman Go v e rn

,

m e nt or rath e r H amburg Gove rn m e nt pro p e rty The

, , .

incom e o f the latt e r was e armark e d for t he paym e nt of

int e r e st of c e rtain Gove rnm e nt stock and the action of ,

the B ritish Gov e rnm e nt th e r e for e r e nd e rs it all but

, ,

valu e l e ss and in the cas e o f the share s of the p rivat e

,

com p ani e s e ntire ly so The p ap e r b e com es u nsale

.

abl e But it i s h e ld in v arious forms—as collat e ral

.

and oth e rw is e— by many im p ortant banking conc e rns ,

insuranc e com p ani es and so on and this sudd e n c ol

, ,

laps e of v alu e shatt e rs th e ir solv e ncy Th e ir collaps e .

not only involv e s many cr e dit institutions in G e rmany ,

but as th e s e in th e ir turn are consi de rabl e de btors o f

,

London En g lish institution s are also invol v ed London

, .
 T HE I M P O SS I B I LI TY OF C O N FI SCATI O N 53

is also invol ved in anoth e r way As e x p lain e d p re viously

.
,

many for eign conc e rn s k e e p balanc e s in London and ,

t he action of the B ritish G o v e rnm e nt having prec ipi

tate d a m on e tary crisis in G e rmany t h e r e is a ru n o n ,

London to withdraw all ba lanc e s I n a doubl e se nse .

London is feeling the p inch and it would be a miracl e

,

if alre ady at this point the w hol e influ e nc e of B ritish

financ e we r e not thrown against the action of the B ritish
Go ve rnm e nt Assum e how eve r t h at the Gove rnm e nt
.
, , ,

making the b e st o f a bad job continu e s its adm inistra

,

tion of the p ro p e rty and p roc e e ds to arrange for loan s

,

for the p ur p os e of p utting it onc e mor e in good c on

dition aft e r the ravag e of war The banks howeve r
.
, ,

finding that the original titl e s hav e through the action

of the British Go ve rnm e nt be com e wast e p ap e r -
,

and B ritish financi ers havi ng alr e ady burn ed th e ir

fing e rs with that p articular class of pro p erty with ,

hold su pp ort and mon ey is only p rocurabl e at e xt e r

,

t ionate rat e s of int e r e st — so e xtortionat e that it be com e s

quit e e v id e nt that as a Go v e rn m ent al e nt e r p ris e the

thin g could not be mad e to pay A n att e m p t is mad e .

to s ell the p ro p e rty to British and G e rman conc e rns .

But the sam e p aralyzing s e ns e of ins e curity hangs

o v e r the whol e busin e ss N e ith e r G e rman nor B ritish
.

financi e rs can forg e t that the bonds and shar e s of this

p ro p e rty hav e al r eady b e e n turn e d into wast e p a pe r -

by the action of the B ritish Go ve rnm e nt The British .

Go ve rnm e nt fi nds in fact that it can do not hing wit h

, ,

the financial world unl e ss p r e c e d e ntly it confirm s the

titl e of the ori g inal own e rs to the p ro p e rty and gi v e s ,

an assuranc e that titl e s to all prop e rty throu gh out t he

conqu e red t e rrito ry shall be r e s p ect e d I n oth e r w ords .
,

confiscation has b ee n a failur e .

54 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
I t w o u ld re ally be int e re sting t o know how thos e
w ho talk as thou g h confiscation w e r e still an e conomic

p ossibility would p r oc e e d to effe ct it As mat e rial .

p rope rty in the form of that booty which u se d to c on

st it u t e the spoils of v icto ry in anci e nt tim e s the g old ,

and silve r g o blets e tc would be quit e inconsid e rabl e

, .
, ,

and as w e cannot carry away s e cti ons o f B e rlin and

H amburg w e could only ann e x the pape r tok e ns of
,

—
w e alth the shar e s and bonds But the v alu e of thos e
.

tok e ns d e p ends upon the r e lianc e whi ch c an be place d

upon the ex e cution of the contracts which th ey e m
body The act o i m ilitary confiscation ups ets all c on
.

tracts and the court s of the country from which con

,

tracts de rive th e ir forc e are par alyze d be caus e j udicial

d e cision s are thrust asid e by the sword .

The v alu e o f th e stocks and shar es w ould collaps e ,

and t he cr e dit o f all thos e p e rsons and institutions

int e r e st ed in suc h prop e rty would also be shak en o r
shatt ere d and the w hol e cre dit syst e m be ing thus at
, ,

the m ercy of ali e n g ov e rnors only conc e rn ed to e xact

tribute w ou ld colla p s e lik e a hous e of cards G e rman
, .

fi nanc e and indust ry would show a condition o f panic

and disord e r be sid e which the worst cris es o f Wall
Stree t would p ale into insig nifi c anc e Again what .
,

would be the ine vitabl e r e sult The fina ncial influ e nc e

o f London its e lf w o uld be thrown into the scal e t o

p re v ent a panic in which London financi e rs would be

in v olve d I n ot h e r words British fi nanc i e rs wo u ld
.
,

e x e rt th e ir i nflu en c e upon the B ritish Go v e rnm e nt to

s te p t he proce ss of con fiscation .

 C H A PTE R V

F ORE IGN T RA D E AN D MI L I TAR Y P OWE R

W hy tr ade cannot b e destr oyed or capt u r ed by a m ili tary P ower

—What the processe s of trade r eally are and how a navy
aff e cts t he m —D readnoughts and b usi n ess —W hil e D read
,

noughts pr ot ec t tr ade f rom hypotheti cal G er m an warships ,

the r eal G erm an m erchant is carryi ng it off or the Swiss or

—
,

the B e lg ian The c omm erc ial aggr ess ion of Switzer lan d
“ ”

What l i es at the bottom of the f u ti lity of military conquest

—Governm ent brigandage b ec om e as profi tless as pri vat e
b rigandage—The r eal basi s of com m erci al honesty on the
part of Government .

J U S T as M r H arrison has d eclar ed that a succ e ssful

.

invasion would m e an to us the total e clips e of o u r

comm e rc e and trad e and with that trad e the m e ans of
,

fee ding forty m illions in th e s e islands so I have s e e n

,

“
it stat e d in a l e ading English p ap e r that if G e rm any
w e re e xtinguish e d to morrow the day aft e r to morrow
-
,
-

t h e r e is not an En g lishm an in t he world w ho w ould not

be the rich e r . N ations have fou g ht for y ears ove r a
city o r ri g ht of succ e ssion M ust th ey not figh t fo r tw o
.

”
hundr e d and fifty million pounds of yearly comm e rc e ?
O ne almost d e spairs o f e v e r r e aching e conomic sanity
wh e n it is possibl e for a r e s p onsibl e English n e ws p a p e r
to print matt e r which ought t o b e as o ffe nsive to
e ducat e d folk as a d e f e nc e o f astrolog y o r o f witchc raft .

”
What do e s the e xtinction of G e rmany m ean ?
55
56 THE G R EAT I LLU S I O N

D oes it m ean that w e shall slay in cold blood sixty or

s e v e nty millions of m e n wom e n and childr e n ? O th e r
, ,

wis e e ve n though the fl eet and army we r e annihilat ed

, ,

the country s sixty million odd o f work e rs still r e main

’
,

w ho w ould be all the mor e industrious as th e y would ,

have und e rgon e gr e at su ff e ring and p rivation —p re p ar ed

to e xploit th e ir min e s and worksho p s with as much
thoroughn e ss and thrift and industry as ev e r and c on ,

s e qu e ntly j ust as much ou r trad e rivals as e ve r army o r ,

no army navy or no navy

, .

Eve n if w e could annihilat e G e rmany w e should ,

annihilat e such an im p ortant s e ction of o u r d ebtors as

t o cr e at e ho p e l e ss p anic i n London and such panic ,

would so re act on ou r ow n trad e that it w ould be in no

sort o f condition to tak e the plac e which G e rmany had
pr e viously occu p i e d in n e utral mark ets l e aving asid e ,

the qu estion that by such annihilation a mark e t e qual

t o that of Canada and South Africa combin e d woul d be
d estroye d .

What do e s thi s sort of t h in g m ean ? And am I

wrong in saying that the whol e subj e ct is ov e rlaid and
dominat e d by a j ar g on which may have had som e r e la
tion to facts at one tim e but from w hich in ou r da y all
,

m e aning has d ep art e d ?

O ur p atriot m ay say that he do e s not m e an p e rman e nt
”
d e struction but only t e m porary annihilation
, ( And .

this of cours e on the oth e r sid e would m ean not

, , ,

p erman e nt but only t e m p orary acquisition of that tw o

,

hundre d and fi fty millions of trade ) .

He might like M r H arrison p ut the c as e con v e rs e ly

—
.
, ,

that if G e rmany could get command o f the sea she

could cut us off from ou r custom e rs and int e rc e p t ou r
trad e for her b e n e fit This notion is as absurd as the
.
F O RE I G N TRA D E AN D M I LI TA RY P O WE R 57

first I t has already be en shown that the

. utt e r
“
d e struction Of credit and incalculabl e chaos in the
”
financial world which M r H arrison for e s ee s as t he
, .

result o f G e rm any s invas ion could not p ossibly l e ave

’

G e rman financ e unaffect ed I t i s a v e ry O p e n qu es tion

.

wh e th e r he r chaos would not be as g r eat as ours I n .

any cas e it would be so gr eat as thorou g hly to dis

,

organiz e he r industry and in that disorganiz ed condition

,

it would be ou t Of the qu e stion for he r t o s e cur e the

mark ets l eft unsuppli e d by England s isolation M ore ’
.

o ve r thos e mark e ts would also be disorganiz ed be caus e

, ,

th e y d ep e nd u po n England s ability to buy which ’

G e rmany would be doing he r b e st to d e stroy From .

the chaos w h ich she h e rs e lf had cr e at ed G e rmany could ,

d e ri ve no possibl e be n e fit and she could only t e rminat e

,

financial disord e r fatal to he r ow n trad e by brin g ing to

, ,

an e nd the condition which had p r oduc e d it—that is by ,

brin g in g to an end the iso lation Of Gr eat Britain .

With r efe renc e to this s e ction of the subj ect w e c an

with a bs olut e c e rtainty say tw o t hings : ( I ) That
G e rm any c an only d e stroy ou r trade by d e stroying ou r
po p ulation ; and ( 2 ) that if she could d e stroy ou r
p o p ulation which she could not she w ould d e stroy o ne
, ,

of he r most v aluabl e mark e ts as at t he p r e s e nt tim e s he

,

s ells to u s mor e than w e s ell to her The whol e point .

Of v i ew in v ol v e s a fundam e ntal m isconc ep tion of the

r e al nature o f comm e rce and industry .

Comm e rc e is simply and pur e ly the exchang e o f one

p roduct for anoth e r I f the British manufactur e r c an
.

mak e cloth o r cutl e ry or machin e ry or pott e ry or

, , , ,

ships ch e ap er or b e tte r than his rivals he will obtain the

t rade ; if he cannot if his good s are infe rior o r d eare r or
, , ,

ap p e al l e ss to his custom e rs his rival s w ill se cure the

,
58 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N
trad e and the poss e ssion of D readnoug hts will mak e
,

not a whit Of di ffe r e nc e S witz e rland wi t hout a sin g l e

.
,

D readnought w ill dri ve him ou t Of t he mark e t eve n

,

*
o f his ow n coloni e s as i ndee d she is dri v in g hi m ou t
, , ,
.

The factors whic h r e ally con stitut e prosp e rity h av e not

the re mot e st conn e cti o n with military or na v a l p o we r ,

all ou r p oli tic al j argon not w it hstan ding TO d e stroy the .

c omm e rc e o f forty million p eo p le Ge r m any wo uld hav e

to d e stroy ou r coal and iron min e s to d e stroy the ,

e n e rgy c haract e r r esourc e fuln e s s Of o u r p op ulati o n ; t o

, ,

d estroy in short the de t erm i nation of forty m il lion

, ,

p e o p l e to mak e th e ir livi ng by the work Of th e ir hands .

W e re w e not hyp notize d by this extraordinary optical

illusion w e should acc e p t it as a matt e r of cours e that
,

the p ros p e rity Of a pe o pl e d e pe nds u pon such facts

as the natural w e alth of the count ry in whi c h th ey liv e ,

th e ir social disci p lin e and indust rial charact e r the ,

r e sult o f ye ars of g e ne ratio ns of c enturi e s it may be

, , , ,

Of traditio n and slow e laborat e s ele ctive proc e ss and

, , ,

in ad ditio n t o all th ese d ee p s e at ed ele m e n tary factors -

,

u po n countl ess com m ercial and fin anci al ram ifi c a

tions —a s p ecial t e chnical capacity for s u ch and such - -

a m anufactur e a sp ecial a p titu de for m ee ting the

,

p eculiariti e s of such and such a marke t the effic i ent

- -
,

e qui p m e nt of e laborat ely c o nstruct e d worksho p s t he ,

e xist e n c e of a p o p ulation train ed to g iven trad es a —

training not infr e que ntly invol v ing y ear s and e ve n ,

g e n e rations of e ffort All this accordi ng to M r H arri

, .
, .

so n is to go fo r nothing and G e rmany is t o be a b l e to

, ,

r e p lac e it in the t w inkling of an e ye and forty million ,

pe opl e are t o sit down h el ples sly b ecau se G e rm any has

be e n v ic torious at sea On the m orro w of he r marvel
.

See p 6 1 . .
60 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N

T h e re is j ust one oth e r p oss ibl e m e aning that the

patriot may hav e in his m ind He may p l ead that .

gre at m ilitary and naval e stablishm e nts do not e xist

for t he p urp os e o f the conqu est Of t e rritory o r o f
”
d e stroying a ri v al s trad e but for p rot e cting o r
’

indire ctly aiding trad e and in dust ry We are allow ed .

t o inf e r that in som e not cl e arly d e fin e d way a gre at

Po we r can aid the trade of its nation als by the u se of
the p r e stig e which a g r e at na vy and a gr e at army bring ,

and by e x e rcising bargaining p ow e rs i n the matt e r o f

tari ff s with oth e r nations B ut agai n the fact Of the
.

sm all nations in Europ e giv e s the lie to this assumption .

I t is e vid e nt that the for e i g n e r do e s not buy ou r

p roducts and r e f u s e G e rmany s be caus e w e have a ’

larg er navy I f o ne c an im agin e t he r e pr e s e ntatives

.

Of an English and Of a G e rman firm in Ar g e ntina o r ,

Brazil or Bulgaria or Finland m eeting in t he O ffi c e

, ,

Of a m e rchant in Arg e ntina or B razil or B ulgaria o r

, , ,

Finland bo th Of th e m s elling cutl e ry the G e rm an is

, ,

not going t o se cure the ord e r be caus e he is abl e t o show

t he Arg e ntinian or the B razili an

, or the B ul g arian , ,

o r the Fi r m that G e rm any has t wel v e D readnoug hts

and E ngland only e i g ht The G e rm an w ill tak e the
.

ord e r if o n the whol e he c an m ake a m or e ad v antag eous

, ,

o ffe r to the p ros p e ctive buye r and for no oth e r r eason

,

w hat so e ve r and the buye r will go to the m e rchant Of

,

what ev e r nation wh eth e r he be G e rm an or Swiss or

, , ,

B e lgian or B ritish irr e sp e ctive of the armi e s and navi e s

, ,

whic h may lie be hind the nationality of the s ell e r N or .

do e s it ap pe ar that arm i e s and navi es w e i g h in the l east

wh e n it com e s to a qu e stion of a tariflb argain Switze r .

land wag e s a tari ff w ar with G ermany and wins The , .

whol e history Of the trad e of the s m all nations sho w s

F O R EI G N T RA D E AN D M I LITA RY PO WE R 61

that the p olitical pr e stig e o f the great on e s g ive s th e m

p ractically no comm e rcial ad vantag e .

We continually talk as though ou r carryi ng trade

we r e in som e s p e cial s e ns e the re sult of the growth Of
ou r gr e at na vy bu t N o rway has a carrying trad e whic h
, ,

r elative ly to he r p o p ulation is n early thr ee tim e s as gr eat

,

as ours and the sam e r easons w hic h would mak e it

,

im p ossibl e for a fore ign nation to confiscat e the gold

r e s e rv e Of the Bank of England w ould mak e it im pos
sibl e for a for eign nation to confiscat e B ritish shipping
o n the morrow Of a B ritis h naval d e f e at I n w hat way.

can o u r carrying trad e o r any oth e r trad e be said to

d ep e nd u p on military p ow e r
As I writ e t h e s e lines the re com e s to my notic e a
s e ri e s Of articl e s in the D ai ly Mail writt e n by M r ,
.

F A Mc K e nzie ex p laining how it i s that England is

. .
,

losing the trad e of Canada I n one articl e he quot e s

.

a numb e r Of Canadian m e rc h ants

W e buy very l i tt l e dir ec t f rom En gl and sai d Mr ,
’
.

Harry M c G ee one of the vic e pre si den t s of the compan y

,
-

in answer t o my que s t ions W e k eep a s taff in Lon don of

.

twen ty sup e rvi sin g our Europ e an purchas es bu t the orde rs

, ,

go mos tly t o France G erman y and Swi tze r l an d and no t t o

, , ,

England .
’

And in a furth e r articl e he not e s that m any ord e rs

are going to B e lgium N OW the qu e stion aris e s : What
.

more can ou r navy do that it has not don e fo r us in

Canada ? And yet the trad e go e s to Switz e rland and
B e lgium Are you going to p rot e ct us ag ainst the
.

“ ”
comm e rcial aggr e ssion of Switz e rland by building
a doze n mor e D readnoughts P Su p pos e w e could conqu e r
Switz e rland and B e l g ium with o u r D readnoughts would ,

not the trad e of Switz e rland and B elgium go o n all

 62 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
the am e ? O ur arms have brou g ht us Cana da—but
s

not t he Cana dian ord e rs which go to Switz e rland

, .

I f t he tr ad e rs of l ittl e nations c an sna p th e ir fi ng e rs

at the g r e at w ar lords why do B ritish trad e rs n ee d
,

D readnoug hts P I f Swiss com m ercial p rosp e rity is

s e cur e from the aggr e ss i on Of a n e i g hbour w ho ou t
w e ig h s S w itz e rland i n m ilitary p ow e r a hundre d to
o ne how com e s it t hat t he trad e and industry the v e ry
, ,

life bread Of he r children as M r H arrison woul d have

-
, .

us be li ev e Of the gr eate st nati on in hi story is in dang e r

,

Of im min ent annihilation

I f t he stat esm en Of Europ e would t e ll u s how t he
military pow e r Of a gr e at nation is us e d to a dvanc e the
comm e rcial int e r e st Of its c itiz e n s would e x p lain to us
,

the m odu s op erandi and not r e fe r u s to larg e and va gu e

,

“
phras es about e x e rcising du e w eight in the councils
O f t he nation s ,one mi g ht acc e pt th e ir philosophy .

B ut until th ey do so w e are sure ly j ustifi e d in assuming

that th e ir political t e rminolo gy is simpl y a sur v ival
an in he rit anc e from a stat e Of things which has in fact , ,

p ass e d away .

I t is facts of the n ature Of thos e I hav e instanc ed

which consti tute the r eal p rot e ction o f the sm all Stat e ,

and which are bound as th e y gain in g e n e r al r e co g nition

to c onstitute the r e al p rot ection from outsid e ag g r e ssi on
of a ll S tat e s g reat o r small
,
.

One financi al authority from whom I have quot e d

note d that thi s e labor at e financial int e rd ep e nd e nc e of
the mod e rn world has g rown u p in spit e of ours e l ve s ,

“
withou t ou r noticing it until w e p ut it to so m e rud e
t es t.
”
Me n are fundam entally j ust as dispos e d as t h e y
w e re at any tim e to tak e w ealth that doe s not be long to
th e m which th ey ha v e not e arn ed
,
B ut th e ir r e lati ve
.
F O RE I G N T RA D E AN D M I LI TA RY P O W E R 63

int e r e st in the matt e r has chan g ed I n ve ry prim itive

.

condition s robb e ry is a mod e rat ely p rofitabl e e nt e rp ris e .

Wh e r e the r e wards Of labo ur owing to the in effi ci e ncy

,

of the m e an s Of p roduction are small and u n c e rtain

, ,

and wh e r e all w e alth is portabl e raidi ng and th eft o ff er

,

the be st r e ward fo r the ent e r p ris e of the cou rag eo u s ;

in such co ndit ions the siz e o f m an s w e al th de pe nds a
’

good d e al on the siz e Of his club and the a g ility with

which he wi e ld s it B ut to the m an whose w e al th so
.

larg e ly de pe nds u p on his cre dit and on his paper be in g

“
good p ap e r in the City dishon e sty has be com e as
,

pr e carious and profi tle s s as hon e st toil w as in mo r e

p rimitive
The instincts of the City man may at bot tom be j ust
as pre da tory as tho se of the cat tle lift e r or the robber
-

baron but t aking pro p e rty by forc e has be com e one Of

,

the l east p rofitabl e and the most s p e culati ve form s of

e nte rp ris e u p on w hich he could e ngage The force of
.

comm e rcial e ve nts has r e nd e r e d the t h ing im possibl e .

I know that the d e fe nd e r Of arms wi ll re ply th at it is

th e polic e w ho hav e r e nd e re d it impossi ble Thi s is
.

not tru e . Th e re w er e as many arm ed m en in E urop e

in the days w he n the robbe r baron carri ed o n his
occupation as th e r e are in ou r day TO say th at the .

polic e man make s him impossibl e is to put the cart

b e for e the hors e W h at cr eat ed t he p olic e and m ade
.

th e m p ossibl e if it w as not the g e n e ral r ecognition

,

o f the fact t hat disorde r and aggr e ssi o n mak e tra de

i m possibl e ?
J us t not e what is takin g plac e in South Am e rica .

Stat e s in which r e p udiation was a commonp lace Of e very

S ee C hapt er V P ar t I I f or the com p l et er exp lanation of the
.
,
.
,

pri nc i pl e under lyi ng thi s deve lop m ent .

64 T H E G REAT I LLU S I ON

day politics ha ve of r e c e nt y e ars be com e as stabl e and as

r e sp ec t abl e as the City o f London and have com e to dis ,

charg e th e ir obli g a t ions as r egularly Th e s e countri e s .

w e re during hundr e ds o f ye ars a slough of di so rd e r and

a n ev e r e n ding san g uinary scrambl e for the spoils and
-
,

e t in a m att e r o f fift e e n o r tw e nty y e ars t he condi

y
tions have radically chang e d D o e s this m ean that the .

natur e o f th e s e po p ulations has fundam e ntally alt e r ed

in l e ss than a g e n e ratio n ? I n that cas e many a
m ilitarial claim must be r ej e ct ed Th e r e is a simpl e r
.

e x p lanation .

Th e s e countri e s lik e Brazil and the Arg e ntin e have

, ,

be e n drawn into the circl e of int e rnational trad e e x ,

change and financ e

, Th e ir e conomic r elationships
.

have b ecom e su ffici e ntly e xt e nsive and compl e x to

mak e r ep udiation the l e ast p rofitabl e form of th eft .

“
The financi e r will t e ll you th e y cannot afford to
”
re p udiat e I f any att e m p t at r e pudiation w e re mad e
.
,

all sorts of p rop e rty e ith e r dir e ctly or indire ctly c on

,

ne c t e d with t he ord e rly e x e cution o f Gov e rnm e ntal

.

functions would suffe r banks would b e com e involve d

, , ,

gre at busin e ss e s w ould stagg e r and the W hol e financial ,

com munity would p rot e st To att em p t to e scap e the .

p aym e nt of a sin g l e loan would involve the busin e ss

world in loss e s am ounting to many tim e s the valu e of
“
the loan .

I t is only wh e r e a community has nothing t o lose no ,

ban ks no p e rsonal fortun e s d ep e n de nt upon public good

,

faith no gr eat busin e ss e s no industri e s that the Go ve rn

, , ,

m e nt can afford to r e p udiat e its obligations o r to dis

r e gard the g e n e ral code of e conomic morality This .

was the cas e with Arge ntina and B razil a g en e ration

S ee Chap ter I V P art I I .
F O RE I G N TRA D E AN D M I LITA R Y P O WE R 65

ago ; and also to som e e xt e nt with som e C e nt ral

Am e rican Stat e s to day I t is not because the arm ies in
-
.

these S tates have grow n that t he public cr edit has im

pro ved Th e ir arm i e s we r e gr e at e r a g e n e ration ago
.

than th ey are now I t is b e caus e th e y kno w that trad e

.

and financ e is built u p on cr e dit— that is confid e nc e in ,

the fulfilm e nt of obligations u p on s e curity of t e nur e in

,

ti t l e s u p on the e nforc e m e nt of contract according to law

—and that if cr edit i s p rofoundly touch e d th e re is not a
,

s e c t ion of t he elaborat e fabric which is not aff e ct ed .

The mor e ou r com m e rcial syst e m gains in com p lica

t ion the more do e s the com mon p rosp e rity o f all o f us
,

com e to d e pe nd u p on the r e lianc e which can be p lac e d

o n the du e p e rformanc e o f all contracts This is the
.

r eal basis of pr e stig e national and i ndividual ; cir

”
,

c u m stanc e s strong e r than ours e l v e s are pushing us ,

d e spit e what the cynical critics of ou r comm e rcial

ci vilization may say towards the un v arying obs e rv anc e
,

o f this simpl e id e al Wh en eve r w e dro p back from it

.

and such r ela p s e s occur as w e should e xp e ct th e m to

occur e s p e cially in thos e soci e ti e s which have just
,

e m e rg e d from a mor e o r l e ss p rimiti v e stat e — p unish

m e nt is g e n e rally swift and sur e .

What was the real origin o f the bank c ri sis in the

U nit e d Stat e s which had for Am e rican busin e ss m e n
,

such disastrous cons e qu e nc e s ? It was the loss by

Am e rican financi e rs and Am e rican bank e rs of the c on
fi de nc e of the Am e rican public At bottom th e re was
.

no oth e r r e ason O ne talks o f cash r e s e rv e s and

.

curr e ncy e rro rs ; b ut London which do e s the banking,

o f the uni v e rs e w orks on t he small e st cash r e s e r ve in t he

,

world b e cau s e as an Am e rican au t hority has p ut it

, , ,

En g lish bank e rs work wi t h a p sychological r e s e rv e .

’
66 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

I quot e from M r With e rs .

I t is b e caus e t he y (E ngl ish bankers ) are so sa fe so ,

s t raigh t so se nsib l e f rom an Ame rican poi n t of vi ew so u n

, ,
-

e n t e rprisin g t ha t t he y are ab l e t o buil d up a bi gg e r c r

,
e di t ,

f abric on a sm al l e r gold basis and e ve n carry t his bui l din g t o

‘ ,

a he i gh t which t he y thems elve s have de c ide d t o be qu es t ion

able This psy chol ogi cal r e se rv e is the price l e ss poss e s
.

'
, ;

sion t ha t has bee n handed dow n t hrough gen erat ions of good
banke rs and e ve ry in divi dual of e v e ry g en erat ion w ho
, .
.

”
r e ce ive s i t can do som et hing t o main t ain and improve i t ‘

But it w as not alw ays thus and it is m e r ely t he , ,

many ram ifications of ou r comm e rcial and financi al ,

worl d t hat hav e brought t h is about I n the e nd the .

‘

Am e ricans w ill imitat e u s o r the y will su ffe r from a

, ,

ho pe l e ss disadva ntag e; in th e ir finan c ial com p etition

w ith us Co mm e rc ial d eve lop me nt i s broa dly illus
.
,

t rating one profou nd t r u th t h at the real bas is of social , ,

m oral ity is s elf int ere st I f ; E nglish banks and in

-
. ?

sura nc e com p ani e s have beco m e abs olutely hon est in ,

th eir administration it is becau se dishonesty of any o ne

, ,
.

thre at e n ed the pro s p erity o f all ,

Wha t b e aring has ; the dey elopm e nt of co m me rc ial

m orality on the matt e r in h and A ve ry dir e ct o ne
,
.

I f as M r C ham be rlain ave rs the su bj ect of rivalry be

, .
i
,

twe e n nations is bu s ine ssflthe code which despite the , ,

i

promptin g s of the natural man has com e t0 dom inate ,

, ~

busine s s m u st n e c e ssaril y co me if t he ir obj e ct re ally is , ,

bu si ne ss gi t o dominat e t he co nduct of Gove rn me nts , .

One can not tak e u p t he s pe e c h of a stat e sman e ve n

-
,

of rthe fi r st ,
l e ading art icle, in eve n ou r fore .

mos t pape rs de aling w i th int e rnatio nal r ela t ions wit h ,

o u t fi nding it as su m e d as a m at te r o f co urse , as M r
, ,
.

Ha rrison ass u m e s in the quotations t hat I hav e mad e ,

68 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
r e si l i ence of Franc e and was sore ly disappoin t e d wh en the
,

Fr ench pai d off the inde mni ty wi t h such as t onishing rapi di ty ,

and t hus lib e rat ed th ems e lv e s from the e qually crushin g

burde n of having t o main tain the G e rman army of occupa
t ion He r eg r e tt ed not havin g Z
. de m ande d an inde m ni ty
t wice as large G erman y would no t r e p ea t the mis t ak e and
.
,

an y coun t ry havin g the mis fortun e t o be vanquishe d by he r

in f ut ur e will be lik el y t o fi nd i t s comm e rcial prosp e r ity
”
compromis ed for decades .

To which I r e p li e d
W i ll your corr e sponde n t forg iv e my sa yi ng t hat whi l e he
t al ks of ha l f t ruths the whol e of this passag e indicat e s the
-

dominat ion of j us t t ha t par t icular hal f t ru t h which l i e s a t

-

the bo tt om of the i l lusion wi t h which m y book de als ?

W hat is a mark e t ? Your corr e spon den t evi den tly con
c e iv e s i t as a plac e wh er e t hin g s are sol d Tha t is only ha l f
.

the tru th I t is a p l ace whe r e t hing s are bought and sol d

.
,

and one op e rat ion is impossibl e wi t hout the o th e r and the ,

not ion that one nat ion can s ell f or eve r and n e v er buy is ‘

simp ly the t heory of p erp e t ual mot ion applie d t o economics ;

and in t e rna t ional tra de can no mor e be bas ed upon p e rp e t u al
mot ion t han c an e ngin e ering As b e tween e conomical ly
.

high ly or gani ze d nat ions a cus t om er mus t also be a com

-

p e t i t or a f ac t which bayon e t s cannot al t e r To the e xt en t

, .

t o which t h e y de s troy him as a comp e t i t or t he y de s t roy him

, ,

sp eaking ge n e ra l ly and large ly as a cus tomer , .

The l at e Mr S eddon conce iv ed Eng lan d as makin g her

.

p urchas e s wi t h a s t r eam of go l de n sove r ei gn s fl owing ’

f rom a s t ock all the t im e g e tt in g small e r Tha t prac t ical

.

m an howe v e r who so de spise d m e r e t he ori e s w as hims el f

’

, , ,

t he vic t im o f a pur e t h e ory and the pic t ur e which he con

,

j ur ed up from his inn er consciousne ss has no e x is t ence in

f ac t Engl an d has har dl y enough gol d t o pay one y ear s ’
.

t a x e s and if she paid f or her import s in gol d she would

,

e xhau st her s tock in six mon ths ; and the proc e ss b y which
F O R EI G N TRA D E AN D M I LITA RY P O WE R 69

she r eally pay s has b een goin g on for si xty y ears S he is a .

buyer j us t as l on g as she is a s elle r and if she is t o a fford a ,

mark e t t o G e rmany she mus t procure the mone y whe re w i th

t o pay for G e rmany s goods by s e l ling goo ds t o G e rman y or
’

e ls ewh er e and if t hat proc e ss of sale s t ops G e rman y l os es

, ,

a mark e t not onl y the En glish mark e t bu t also t hos e

, ,

mark e t s which dep end in th e ir t urn upon Eng lan d s capaci ty ’

t o buy—t ha t is t o sa y t o s e l l for again the one op e ra t ion

, , , ,

is impossib l e wi thou t the o ther .

If y our corr espon den t had had the whol e proc e ss in his
min d ins t ea d of half of i t I do not think that he woul d have
,

wri tt e n the passag e s I have quot ed In his e ndorsemen t of .

the B ismarckian conc ep t ion of poli tical e conom y he e vi den tly

de ems t ha t one nat ion s gain is the m easure of ano t he r
’

na t ion s loss and t hat nat ions live b y robbin g t he ir n e igh

’

bours in a l e sse r or gr eat er degr ee This is e conomics a la .

Tamerlan e and the R ed In dian and happi ly has no , , ,

r elat ion t o the r eal f act s of mode rn comme rcial int e r

cours e.

The concep t ion of one hal f of the cas e only domina t e s

-

you r corr e sponden t s l e tt e r t hrou ghou t He say s G ermany

’
.
,

has de riv ed and con t inu e s t o de ri v e gr e a t advan t ag e f rom

, ,

the mos t f avour e d na t ion claus e which s he comp el l ed Franc e

- -

t o ins e rt in the Tr eaty of Frank f ur t which is qui t e t ru e ,

’
,

bu t l e ave s out the o the r half of the t ru th which is somewhat ,

importan t t o our discussion—viz t ha t France has also .

,

gr eatly b en efi t ed in t ha t the scop e of f rui t l ess t ariff w ar has

,

been b y so much r e s tric t ed .

A f ur the r illus t rat ion : Why should G erman y hav e be en

sore ly disappoin t ed a t Franc e s rapi dr e cov ery ? The G erman
’

peop l e are no t goin g to be the riche r f or havin g a poor n eigh

bour—on the con t rary t hey are goin g t o be the poorer and
, ,

there is no t an e conomis t wi th a r eput at ion t o los e wha t ,

e v e r his vi e ws of fiscal polic y who woul d chal l eng e t his for

,

a momen t .

How woul d G e rman y impos e upon a vanquished Eng

lan d comm e rcial arran g emen t s which woul d impoverish the
70 T H E G REAT I LLU SI O N
vanquish ed and e nrich the vic t or ? By en forcing ano the r
Frank f ur t treaty by which E n glish port s shoul d be k ep t
,

Op en t o G erman goods B u t tha t is pre cis ely what Engl ish

por t s hav e b e e n for si xty y e ars and G e rman y has n ot b ee n
,

oblig ed t o wag e s cos t ly w ar t o e ff e c t i t W ould G ermany

. . .

cl os e her ow n mark et s t o our goods ? B u t aga in that is

w ha t sh e has done —
, ,

p r e ci se ly -
ag ain w i thou t w ar and b y a ,

ri gh t which w e n e ver dream of chal le ng in g How is w ar .

goin g t o aff e c t the ques t ion one w ay or anot her ? I have

b een asking f or a de tai l e d answe r t o t ha t que s t ion from
Europe an publicis t s and s ta t esmen f or the las t ten y ears ,

and I hav e n e ve r yet b een answere d sav e b y much vagu e ,

n ess much fine phrasing conc ernin g commerci al supremacy

, ,

a spiri t ed f ore ign p olicy nati onal p r es t i ge and much else

, , ,

which no one s e ems a ble t o de fine bu t a r eal policy a , ,

m odus of n andi a balanc e sh ee t whi ch one can analy ze n e v e r

,
-
, .

And un t il such is for t hco m i ng I shall c on t inu e t o beli e v e

that the whol e t hin g is bas e d upon an illusion .

The tru e t es t of f allaci es of t his kind is progr e ss ion .

Imag in e G erman y (as o ur J ingo es se em t o dr eam of her)

abso l ut e mas te r of E u rop e and able t o dic tate an y policy
‘

that she pl e as ed How would she tre at such a E u ropean

.

e m pire ? By impove rishi ng its compon en t part s ? B u t

t hat woul d be s u ici dal W he re wou l d her bi g indu st rial
. , .

popula t ion find the ir mark ets ? I f she set ou t t o deve lop
and e nrich the compon en t parts the s e would bec om e m e r e ly
,

e ffici en t compe ti tors and she n eed not hav e u n dertaken the
,

—
cos t li e s t w ar of his tory t o arriv e at that re sul t This is the .

par adox the f u tili ty of conques t the g r eat illusion wh ich

,

the his tory e f our ow n e mpi r e s o we ll i llus t ra t es We .

ow n our Emp ire b y all owin g i t s compon e n t part s t o de v e lop

‘

th e ms elve s in the ir o w n way and in vi e w of th e ir ow n e n ds

, ,

and all the e mpir e s wh ich hav e pursu e d an y o th er po l icy

hav e on ly e nded by im poveri sh irig t he ir ow n populat ions
and f a ll in g t o pi e c e s .

Y ou r corre spon den t asks Is Mr N orman Angeli

. .

prepare d t o maintain t ha t japan has derived no po l i ti cal or

FO R E I G N TRA D E AN D M I LI TA RY P O W E R 71

comme rcia l advan tage s from her vi ct ories and t hat Russia
‘

has suff e r e d no loss f rom de f e a t P

“
W hat I am pre pared t o main tain and what the e x per t s ,

know t o be the tru th is t hat the Japane se pe op l e are the

,

poor e r not the riche r f or t he ir w ar and t hat the Russian

, ,

pe ople wi l l gain more f rom de f eat t han they cou l d possibl y

hav e gain ed by vict ory since de fe at wil l cons t itu t e a check
,
‘

on the e conomical ly s t eril e policy of ~m ilitary and t e rri t orial

aggrandi zemen t and t urn Russian e ner g ie s t o social and
e conomic de v elopm e n t ; and i t is b ecaus e of t his f ac t t ha t

Russia is a t the pr e s en t mom en t de spi t e her desp e rat e ,

in t ernal t roub l es showing a capaci ty for e conomic r egen e ra

,

t ion as gr eat as if not gr eat er t han t ha t of Japan This

, , .

latt e r coun t ry is br e akin g all mode rn r e cords civilized or ,

uncivi l i ze d in the burden somen e ss of her ta x at ion O n the

, .

ave rag e the Jap an e se peopl e pay 3 0 pe r cen t —ne arly one
t hird—o f t he ir net income in t a x at ion in one form or anot he r
.
,

and so far hav e t h e y b ee n comp e ll ed t o push the progr e ssiv e

principl e t ha t a Japan e s e l uck y enough t o poss e ss an income
of te n t housan d a y e ar has t o surre n de r ov e r si x t housan d of

i t in ta x a t ion a condi t ion of t hing s which wou l d of cours e

, , ,

cr e at e a re vol u t ion in an y Europ ean count ry in tw en ty four -

hours And t his is quot ed as a r es u l t so bri ll ian t that t hos e

.

w ho qu e s t ion i t canno t be doin g so se rious ly ! O n the o th er

side for the firs t t ime in tw enty y ears the Russian B udge t
,

shows a surplus .

“
This re cov ery of the de fea t ed nat ion aft er wars is be
comin g one of the com monp lace s of mode rn his t ory Ten .

years af t e r the Franco Prussian W ar France w as in a be tt e r

-

financial posi t ion t han G ermany as she is in a be tt er ,

financial posi t ion t o day and t hough her f ore i gn trade doe s
-
,

not show the e x pansion t hat that of G er m an y doe s

becaus e her populat ion r emains absolu t ely s t at ionary whil e ,

that of G ermany increas e s by l eaps and boun ds—the Fr ench

p eop l e as a whol e are mor e prosp e rous mor e comfort ab l e , ,

more e conomicall y s ecur e wi t h a gr eat e r r e s e rv e of saving s

, ,

and al l the moral and social advan t ag e s tha t g o th ere wi t h ,

72 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

than are the G e rmans . In the same w ay the social and

indus tr ial r e naissanc e of mode rn Spain da t e s f rom the day
that she w as de fea t e d and los t her co l oni e s and i t is sinc e her
,

de f eat t hat Spanish s e curi t i e s hav e j us t doub l ed in valu e .

I t is since Engl an d added the gol d fi elds of the wor l d t o

‘ -
’

he r poss e ssions t ha t B ri t ish Consols hav e dropp e d t wen ty

‘

poin t s Such is the ou t come in t erms of social w ell b eing of

.
-

”
mi li tary succe ss and pol i t ical pr es t i ge l
 C H APTE R V I
THE I N D E MN I TY F UT I L I TY
What i s r l profit of a nati on f rom an indemnity —How a
the e a
p ers n i rs fr om a Stat e—An old ill usi on as to gol d and
d ff e
wealth What happ ened i n 1 87o—G ermany and France in
o
-

the de cade 1 870 1 880 —B i smarc k s t esti m ony

’
-
.

IN politics it is unfortunat ely tru e that ten sove re igns

which c an be s e e n bulk more larg ely in the p ublic mind
than a million w h ic h ha pp e n to be ou t o f si g ht but are
non e the l e ss r e al Thus how e ve r cl e arly the wast e
.
,

fuln e ss of war and the im p ossibility o f eff ecting by its

m e ans any p e rman e nt e conom ic or social advantag e for
the conqu e ror may be shown the fact that G e rm any
,

was abl e to e xact an ind e mnity of tw o hundr e d m illions

st e rling from Franc e at the clos e o f the war of 1 8 70— 71
is tak e n as conclusi v e e vid e nc e that a nation can mak e
”
mon e y b y war .

A v ery promin e nt E nglish p ublic m an p ush e d r ec e ntl y ,

in privat e con ve rsation to show an ad e quat e moti ve for

G e rmany s aggr ession u p on England ur g ed s e riousl y
’

that G ermany would fight sim p ly to mak e m on e y that

she mad e mon e y ou t of Austria and again ou t of ,

Franc e and that she would fight England for the sake
,

of a thousand m illion ind e mnity .

I n r e ply to such a p l e a it would of cou rs e be easy to

, , ,

e stablish a balanc e sh e e t p utting o n the d e bit sid e som e

-
,

such list as the following : the cost o f w ar p r ep aration

73
74 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
during the ye ars that p re c ed e a con fl ict the disor de r
and ruin which w ar its e lf caus e s ; the killing and dis

ablem e nt o f a lar g e numb e r o f a nation s sturdi e st

’

citize ns (sturdi e st be caus e s e l e ct e d so that war cons t i

,

tu t es the e limination not of the unfit but o f the fitt e s t )

, ,

t he corr e s p onding loss e s w h ich limit the subs e qu e nt

purchasing p owe r of the d efeat e d nation and whic h
cons e qu e ntly re act in the s ha p e of los t mark ets o n the
conqu eror ; the subs equ e nt burd e n which e v e n victory
e ntails—that is to say the p r e ve ntive m e as u r es to be
,

tak e n against a g uerre de revanche the i ncre as e of forc e

'

which it is n e ce s sary to maintain again st the e nmity

e ntail e d in g e n eral politics by the e fforts and intri g u e s
o f the vanq uish ed ? and in addition to all this the
, ,

f"
T he f ollow i ng, part o f a rep ly to an ar ti c l e whi ch ap pear ed i n
the D aily Mai l, pr of essi ng t o show that G
e r m any had m ade

profit of tw o hu ndr ed milli ons out of the w ar, m ay give an i dea

the real b al anc e sheet
I n arrivi ng at thi s b alance, my critic, like the c om
‘

promoti ng gemu s w ho pr omise s you 1 50 per c e nt f or

'

money , l eaves so mu ch out of the account H er e are a f ew .

not cons i der e d F or the p u rpose s and p er i od of the w ar

i ncr eased h er peac e arm y by fi ve hundr ed and thi rty
'

conseq u ent l oss es at l east

,

ti on of the f am ili es of f or ty
th e e i ghty t housan d wou n d
re l ative s th e p ensi ons only
,

of rep u t e lik e De Mo li nar i

, ,

al on e at e igh

l s t o hundre d m illi on st er ling

to at ea tw .

on bit si de as m y cr iti c p l aced the

t h e de
‘

and I h ave not e nu m e rat ed half the ite m s

trade du ring the w ar l oss oi m ar k e ts f or
,
.
76 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
worth consid e ring th e r e fore wh eth e r in the c irc u
, ,

stanc e s of p r e s e nt day p olitics an actual transfe r

-

a thousand million s worth of we alth from one nation

’

anoth e r is e ith e r p ossibl e or in the t e rm s of p r ed

‘

, ,

nant political e conomy d e sirabl e from the p oint of

,

o f thos e who are t o r e c e iv e it L e t it be said at onc e

.

th e r e is nothing t h e or e tically im p ossibl e i n

p ayi ng an ind e m nity o f a thousand million 5
mor e) pro v id ed that tim e we r e g i ve n and pro
, ,

the G e rm an Gov e rnm e nt w e r e p r e par e d t o s e e

trad e and fi nanc e su ffe r to a gr eat e r e xt ent
than a thou sand million o wing to the v e ry g
,

barrassm e nt which w ould c e rtainly affect a

of G e rman trad e s by t he withdraw a l of E
and English ch ea p mon ey I t is im p .

figur e s e ve n approximat ely but wh en it is r e m e m

,

that 9 5 pe r c e n t of the highly organiz e d G e rman i

.

tri e s e xist on a basis o f borrow ed mon ey (which is ,

have s e e n in the last r e sort lar g e ly English

,

that gre atly incr e as ed banking charg e s woul d si

pur e ly wip e ou t the ve ry sm all margin o f p rofit on
so much o f G e rman trad e is don e it is e asy t o ,

that a thousand m illions paid to the Gov ernm e nt

not s ee m a v e ry brilliant comp e nsation t o the G

m anufacture r whos e busin e ss had foun de r ed in a

o f financial instability and hi g h bank rat e t hr

Euro p e w hich the withdrawal of such a

London would infallibly caus e) “
F or— and

The Cologne G azette r ec ently p oi nt e d ou t that, so

than ks to the i ndustri al b anks, has b ecom e the u se 0
G er m an b u s i n ess es , that many of the m m ay b e c o
-
j
Stock E xchange argon, as tradi ng on a m argi
“

“
p erat or knows what
o

the b an k r at e t ak es a j um p , and e s cu rities f all i n val u e .

 THE I N D E MN I TY F UTI LITY 77

factor in the whol e mat t e r— the situation woul d

at all p arall e l to that which follow e d the Franco
War G e rman trad e in 1 8 70 w as no t in any
.

nde nt upon Fr e nch m on ey—d e p e nd e nt that is , ,

b e in g abl e to s ecure Fr e nch cre dit wh e re as as w e ,

see n G e rman trad e i n 1 9 1 0 is in a v e ry sp e cial

,

d e p end e nt u po n En g lish mon ey and the faciliti e s

cr edit . A —
nd all this is assuming a v e ry
p t io n ind ee d —that t he thousand m illion s o r ,

p art of it would r e main as booty aft e r the p aym e nt

,

xpe nse s o f t he war r ep ai ring damag e caus e d by t he

,

and providing against futur e hostility I f a war .

a handful of farm e rs wi t hout so much as a

,

t to th eir nam e cost Gre at B ritain a quart e r

,

sum in qu e stion it is a littl e di ffi cult to see

,

the actual cost o f a w ar against t he gr e at est

ire of histo ry w ith the gre at e st fl ee t of history
, ,

the gr e at e st na v al traditions of h istory be hind

going to l e ave much chang e ou t of a thou sand
ns—in any cas e not e nou g h to m ak e
, att ack
Gov ernm e nt s whil e as a busin ess p roposition
’
.

public man w ho d e fe nde d this th e sis was

d by a London morning n e ws p a p e r as the
flu e ntia l m an in England wh eth e r w e lik e
,

And if such a one talk in this strain what ,

o f propo rtion in th e s e matt e r s c an w e e x p e ct

he m e r e m an in the str ee t
u s mak e in this matt e r ho wev e r the larg est
, ,

ion o f all—that the e ntire sum b ecom e s avail

for the G e rman p e opl e as a whol e .

ould it be possibl e for th e m r e ally to p rofit by it ?

said j ust now that th e re is nothing inh e r e ntly
’
gr eat diffi c u lty A n England s
-
78 T H E? G R E AJT I LLU S I O N
paying an inde mnity of a thousand m illions B .

in th e p re s e n t stat e of national fiscal polici e s it

. .
,

as c e rtain as any thi ng we ll could be that it woul d

. .
.

im possibl e for the Ge rm an p e opl e to re c e ive anyt hi .

mor e tha n a fraction o f it e ve n thou g h non e of it w e r e ,

sto ppe d en route for expe ‘

A ccordi ng to the economi c

G ermany , and coming to

German . p rosperi ty w ould
more by receiving W ei!

money than y p ayi ng it

w ou ld E ng lish b That t his . fac t
has ; ne ve r b een brou g ht into re l i e f show s ho w li ttl e re al
att e ntion the subj e ct has : re c eive d . .

N otwith st andin g that political e conomy is not a

si m pl e bu t t a ve ry c ompl ex : subj e ct not w ithstandi
:
.
,

th at the analogy as b e tw ee n an indi vidual? and a nati

is al ways bre aking dow n if is? acc ept ed '

is as sim p le a matte r to e nrich a nat ion -

'

a su m of mon ey like a thousand milli -

it wo uld be te en ric h an indi vidual

. x
' '
.

sum m ary e xam ination she w s that the tw o cas e s -

in any w ay go on all fours

:
, I n this as i h so many -
.
,
'

—
matt e rs in the dhmain of po litics the influ enc e o f m e r e
'
'

l
,

—
wo rd s and m e taphors words which are g e n e rally i h
‘

acc u rat e and m et aph ors whic h misl e ad cou pl ed wi th

‘ '
:

the sh ee r indol e nt inatt e nt ion c f the av e ra g e s e n sual

”
man ha v e cau se d us t o acce p t without doubt or
,

qu e stion as absolut ely identi cal in r e su lts an o p e ration ’

whi ch t he com m o n facts of w orkaday p olitics r end e r .

'
'

ab sol ut e ly di ffe re nt :
What is this di ff e re nc e as bet ween the transfer of 1

w ealth fro m one indi vidu al to an others and from one

'
' ‘

nation to anoth e r ?
-

If J o ne s the indi ividu al, cou ld by any m ean s wh at

,
'
 T HE I N D E M N I TY FU TI LIT Y 7g

o ve r in duc e his trad e sm e n to suppl y him w ith bre ad

s e ,

m eat w in e cloth e s and motor cars fo r nothin g J on e s

, , ,
-
,

be com pl e t e ly satisfi ed and th er e would n ev e r

-
,

e nt e r his mind fo r an in st ant t hat such w as not an

.
.

absolut e ly id e al arrangem e nt .

But sup pos e that J on es is the Prot ectionist Stat e o f .

'

in any w ay the sam e ? Su pp os e

Stat e w ere re c eiving its m eat .
,

cloth e s and motor cars from ot h e r c ountri es

,
-

for nothing or eve n n e arly nothin g w hat w o u ld t he

’

, , ,

butc h e rs farm e rs bake rs tailors and motor car make rs

, , t ,
-

o f J o ne so nia h a v e to say ? D o w e not kno w that

t he re would be such a howl about the rui n of hom e
industry t h at no Go v e rnm e nt could stand the clamo ur
a w e e k ? and do w e not kn ow that imm ediate
p s would be tak e n as far as p o ssi b l e to shut o ut .

5 flood of for e ign goods po u red in at p ric e s so

.

imm e ns ely be low tho se at which the h om e p roduc e rs -

co uld p rodu ce th e m ? D o w e no t kno w that th i s -

influx of goods fo r not h ing would be r e p r e se nte d as

p laid
-
p lot on t he part of for e ign nations to !

trad e of th e Stat e of J onesonia and that the

, .

o f J oneso nia wo uld rise in t h e ir wrath to re

.

p ,

cco m plishm e nt o f such a p lot ? D o w e not

t h is v e ry op e ration b y w hic h fio re ig n nations . r .

abroad goods no t for nothing , . .

he a crim e at present but at

,

is an o ff e nc e to w hich w e ha ve gi v e n t he ,

“
c nam e of du m ping and that w h en it is
,
, .

ve ry far as in the Case of sugar e ven Fr ee

.
, , , .

nation s li ke Gre at Britai n jo in ln ternational z

'

e nce s to pr e v e nt th e se gif ts b e ing mad e ,

.

analog y as be t w ee n
80 THE G R E AT I LLU S I O N
’

j on s and Stat ? A d what shall be sai d of the

'

e a e n

political e conomy of thos e Prot ectionists w ho calm ly talk

as thou g h the tw o Op e rations w e re absolut ely id e ntical
B ut may obj e ct the militari st wh e n an ind emni ty is
, ,

paid it is not p aid in goods but in gold

, , .

R e ally ought not such an obj e ctor to buy a sixp e nn y

,

t extboo k and get som e e l e m e ntary notion of the r eal

,

proc e s s o f int e rnational exchang e ? I s it n e c e ssary at

thi s dat e to p oint ou t that no such p aym e nt could be
made in gold ? E n g land could not p ay fifty millions in
gold S he w ould p ay in cr e dit equivale nt — p a p e r—and
.

unl e ss such p ap e r could be exchan g e d for commoditi e s

-
m e at bre ad fruit cloth e s
, , , ,

p ap e r and nothing e lse .

o f e xchan g e with oth e r

gold soo n e r or lat e r the gold must be e xchang e d for

,

com moditi e s o r it r e mains d e ad m e tal I n oth e r words

, .
,

if w e can imagin e a thousand m illions of mon e y g oing

into a country and n e ve r coming ou t t hat co untry has
'

i
no t r e c e iv e d any a ddit on in r e al w e alth Wh e n Paris .

was b e si eg ed by the G e rmans and was starving for ,

want of food and fu el the hun dr eds of millions in the

'

Bank of France mi g ht have b e e n distribut ed amon g its

starv ing p o p ulation and non e of th e m would hav e had
,

so much as a mouthful t he mor e o f r eal w e alth unl e ss ,

the gol d could ha v e b e e n tak e n outside the w alls And .

t he sam e i s as t ru e of a community of tw e nty million s

as o f tw o .

What would hav e hap p e n e d if the millions in the

Bank o f Franc e had b e e n distribut e d among the popu
lation of Paris ? Food an d fu e l would have b e e n as
scarc e as e ve r and the p o p ulation would ha ve di e d as
,

rap idly as e ve r and gon e as hun g ry as eve r The only

,
.
 T H E I N D E MN I T Y F U T I L I TY 81

chan g e would have b ee n that e ve rything woul d have

gon e u p in p ric e roughly in dire ct ratio to the addition
,

which had be e n mad e to th e ir m e an s of e xchan g e the

po p ulation would have had mor e mon ey corr e spond
ing to the ri s e o f tho se p ric e s but g e n e ral comfort,

would have b een exactly what it was be for e And .

this ind eed is e xactly what tak e s p lac e wh e n a P ro

, ,

tec tionist nation r e c e ive s an ind e mnity of a larg e

amount of gold O ne of tw o things ha pp e ns : e ith e r
.

the m on e y is e xchang ed for r e al w ealth with oth e r

nations in which case the gre atly incr ease d im p ort s
,

co m pe t e dire ctly with the hom e p roduc e rs or the mon e y ,

is k ep t within the fronti e rs and is not e xc h ange d

for r e al w ealth from abroad and p ric e s in ev itably ri s e
, ,

in w h ich cas e the situation as j ust illustrat e d in the cas e

,

o f Pari s and the si e g e i s r e p e at ed

, Th e r e is ho w ev e r
.
, ,

as touching r e lations with oth e r nations a furth e r e ffe ct : ,

the ris e in p ric e o f all com m oditi e s ham p e rs t he re c e iving

nation in s elling tho se com moditi e s in the n e utral mark e ts
o f the world e s p e cially as the loss of so larg e a sum by
,

the vanquish e d nation has j ust the inv e rse efl

'

e c t of

ch e ap e ning p ric e s and th e r e fore e nabling t h at nation

,

to com p et e on b ett e r t e rm s wit h t he conqu e ror in

n eutral m ark ets The dil e mma as state d abo ve is
.
, ,

cl ear and sim p l e and I chall e nge any e conomist to

,

show any r e al e sca pe th e r e from O f tw o t h ings one

.

e ith e r the ind e m nity is p aid in r e al w e alth ( comm oditi e s )

dire ctly or indir ectly a r e sult which the Prot ectionist

,

r e gards as unmitigat e dly mi schi ev ous ; or the mon e y

r e main s within the fronti e rs in which cas e th e re is
,

no incr e as e o f r e al w ealth among t he comm unity and ,

pric e s ris e so that the e ffe ct of the e xtra am ount o f

,

mon e y in circulation is nullifi e d by its lowe r pu rchasin g

6
82 TH E G R E AT I LLU S I O N
pow e r Th er e can be no qu e stion but t h at the coun t ry
.

paying the inde mnity c e rt ainly do e s lose that amount

of w e alth be caus e in ord e r to obtain t he gold she must
,

g e t it from oth e r countri e s giving r e al w e alt h in ex

chang e ; but what is equally ce rtain is that the country

r e c e iving suc h mon e y r ece iv e s it e ith e r in the form o f
r e al w e alth wh ich constitut e s a s erious com p e tition to
,

th e ir ow n manufacture rs and trad ers and constitut e s ,

in the t e rm s of t he Prot e ctionist cr ee d a gri evous wrong ,

o r it has the simpl e effect of raising p ric es in w h ich ,

case the co m munity do not re c e i ve any addition to

th e ir re al w e alth The di fficulty in the cas e of a larg e
.

ind e mnity is not so much the paym e nt by the vanquished

as the r e c e iving by the victor .

How far doe s the history o f the p e riod 1 8 70—1 8 80

the pe riod that is durin g which the war ind e mni t y
was p aid by Franc e and s p e nt by G e rmany —be ar ou t
, ,

the appar e nt paradox j ust indicat e d ? Pr ep ost e rous

as the thing m ay s ee m it hears it ou t to the l ast d e tail
, ,

and the m att e r is worth a littl e car e ful e xamination .

The d ecad e from 1 8 70 1 88 0 was for Franc e a gre at

-

re cup e rativ e pe riod and for G e rmany aft e r a boo m

, ,

in 1 8 72 one of gr eat d e pr e ssion N o l e ss an authority

, .

than B ismarck hims e lf t e stifi e s to the doubl e fact We .

’
know that B ismarck s life was cloud ed by watc h ing
w hat a p pe are d to him an abs urd m iracl e : the r eg ene ra
tion of Franc e aft e r t he w ar taking plac e more ra p idly
and m ore com p l e t e ly than the re ge n e ration in G ermany ,

to such an e xt e nt that in introducing his Pro te ctionist

I am awar e that par t of the i ndemnity r em ai ned i n the

f or tr ess of Sp andau b u t on ly a sm all p ar t ab out s ix m illi ons
, ,

st er ling ( one hu ndr ed and twenty milli on mar ks) The bulk w as .

sp ent i n the p er i od i ndi cated .

84 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
I n examining the effe ct which m ust follow the pay
m e nt of a larg e sum of mon ey by o ne country to
anoth er w e saw that e ith e r goods must be im po rt ed
,

by the nation r e c e i ving the ind em nity to com p e t e w ith

thos e p roduce d at hom e or the mon ey must be k e p t at
,

hom e and p ric es ris e and so ham p e r ex p ortation ; in the

cas e of the count ry losing the mon ey p rice s must fall and
e x ports ris e That this in v arying d e gr ees is p r ecis e ly
.
, ,

what did t ak e p lac e aft e r the p aym e nt of the ind e mnity

w e hav e am p l e confirmation The G e rm an e conomist
.

M ax Wirth G e schicht e der H and elskris e n e x p r e ss ed

in 1 8 74 his astonishm e nt at Franc e s fi nanci al and indus
’

“
trial r e cove ry : The m ost striking e xam p l e of the
e conomic forc e of t he country is shown by the e x p orts ,

which ros e imm ediat ely aft e r the signatur e of p eac e ,

d e s p it e a war w hich swallo w ed a hundr e d thousand

li ve s and m or e than ten m illiards (four hundr e d million
ste rling) A similar co nclusion is drawn by Profe ssor
.

Bi e rm e r F tirst B ismarck als Volkswi rt w ho indi

cat e s that the Prot e ctionist mo v e m e nt in 1 8 79 was i n

larg e p art du e to the re sult o f the p aym e nt of the in
de m nity a vi e w which is confirm e d by Mauric e B lock
, ,

w ho adds

The fi ve mi l liar ds provoked a rapi d incr eas e in impor t s

g iving ris e to e xt ravag ance and as soon as the eff ect of the
,

e x pe n di tur e o f the mon ey had pass ed t he r e w as a s l ack e nin g

.

The n followed a f all in price s which has le d t o an incre ase

,

”
in e x por t s which t e ndency has con t inu ed sinc e
, .

B ut the of —
t mporary stimulus im p orts not the r e sult
e

o f an incr e as e d ca p acity fo r consum p tion arriv e d at by

b ett e r trad e but m e re ly the sh ee r acquisition of bullion

,

did grave dama g e to G e rman industry as w e have s ee n

, ,
 TH E I N D E M N ITY F UTI LITY 5

and thr ew thou sands of G e rman w orkm e n ou t o f e m

ploym e nt and it was durin g that de cad e that G e rm any
,

suff e r ed the wors t financial crisis e x p e ri e nc ed by any

country in Euro p e At the v e ry tim e that the Fre nch
.

million s we r e raining in u p on G e rmany ( 1 873 ) she was

su ffe ring from a grav e financial cri sis and so littl e effe ct ,

did the transfe r of the m on ey have u p o n trad e and

financ e in g e n e ral that twe l v e months aft e r the p ay
,

m e nt of the last o f the inde mnity w e fi nd the bank

rat e hi g h e r in B e rlin than in Pari s ; and as w as shown ,

by t he G e rm an e conomist S oetbe er by the year 1 878 ,

far mor e m on e y w as in circulation in Franc e than in

’
G e rmany . H ans B lum ind e ed dir ectly ascribe d the
, ,

s e ri es of cris e s be tw e e n the years 1 873 and 1 880 to the

“
ind e m nity : A burst of p ros p e rity and th e n ru in for
”
thousands 1 Throu g hout the y ear 1 8 75 the bank rat e
.
‘

in Paris w as uniformly 3 per c e nt I n B e rlin ( Pr eus .

sis e h e B ank which pr e c ed ed the R e ichs Bank) it v ari ed

,

from 4 t o 6 pe r c e nt A lik e di ffe r e nc e is re fl e ct ed also

.

by the fact that b e tw e en the y e ars 1 872 and 1 8 77 the

d e p osits in the Stat e sa v ings banks in G e rmany actu ally
Mauri ce B loc k L a Cr i s e Econom ique , R evu e dcs D eux
,
“

Mondcs March 1 5 S ee al so L es C onseq u enc es Ec o

“
, , 1 879 .

nomi q u e s de la P rochai n e u e rr e, Captaine G ern ar d S errigu y B .

P ari s, 1 909 . The author s ays (p It w as evidently the

.

di sas trou s fi nanc i al positi on of G

er m any, whi ch had c omp e ll ed

P r u ss i a at the ou tb r eak of the w ar to b orrow money at the

unheard oi price of 1 1 per c ent , that i m p ell ed ism arc k to make
-
. B
the i n demn ity so l arge a one He hop ed thus to r epair hi s
.

c ou n try s fin anc ial s ituati on E vents crue lly dec eiv ed him , how
’
.

ever A f ew m onths aft er the l as t paym ent of the i ndem nity the
.

gol d despatched by F rance had alr eady r eturn ed t o her t err itory ,

whil e G erm any poor er than ever w as at gri ps with a cris i s

, ,

whi ch w as i n l ar ge part the dir ect r es ult of her t em p orary

”
wealth .

Das D eu tsche R e i ch zur Zeit B i sm arc ks

”
t .
86 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
f ell b y rou g hly 20 pe r c e nt whi le i n the sam e pe riod
.
,

the Fr e nch d e p osits i ncreased about 2 0 pe r c e nt .

It will be r e pli ed that aft e r the fi rst d e cad e G e r

many s trad e has shown an e x p ansion w hich has not
’

be e n shown by that of Franc e Tho se w ho are hypno

.

t ized by th is qui e tly ignor e altog e th e r o ne gr eat fact

which has mark e d both Franc e an d G ermany not ,

sinc e the war b ut during the whol e o f the nin et ee nth

,

ce ntury and that fact is that the populatio n of Franc e

, ,

from cause s in no way conn ect e d with the Fran co

P russian War sinc e the t e nd e ncy was a p ronounc e d
,

o ne fo r fifty y e ars b e for e is practically quit e stationary ;

,

whil e the population of G e rm any also for r easons in ,

no wa y conn e ct e d with th e war sinc e the fact was also

,

p ronounc ed half a ce ntury pre viously has shown an ,

abounding e x p an sion . S inc e 1 8 75 the po p ulation of

G e rm any has incr e as ed by tw e nty million souls That .

o f Franc e has not incr e as ed at all I s it as tonis hing

.

t hat the labou r o f twe nty m illion souls as against nil

mak e s som e stir in the industrial world ? and is it no t
e v id e nt that the n e c e ssity o f e arnin g a liv e lihood fo r

this incr easing p o p ulation give s to G e rm an industry

an e xpa nsion outsid e the lim its of he r t e rritory which
cannot be l ook e d for in the case o f nations whos e social
e n e r g i e s are not fac e d with any such p robl e m ? And
th e re are oth e r facts which ex p lain G e rman indust rial
e x p ansion — notably t he fiscal u nification o f t he G e rman

C onfe d e ration which p r ec ede d the w ar M or eo ve r this .

,

industrial progr es s is not p eculiar to G e rmany ; it has

bee n re latively to po pulation j ust as good in Stat e s
like D e nmark Sw e d e n N orway and B e lgium Th e re
, , , .

is this m or e o v e r to be born e in mind G e rmany has

, ,

sec ur e d he r for e ign trad e o n w hat are in the t e rms o f

88 THE GREAT I LLU S I O N

I t may be argu e d that if the for egoing is tru e of an

ind e mn i ty it is e qually tru e o f a fore ign loan r ec ei v ed
,

b y a Prot ectionist Stat e and that th e re for e the millions

,

that Russia re c e i ves from abroad in this way do not

a vail her anyt hing Russia has howe ve r larg e for e i g n
.
, ,

commitm e nts for the p aym e nt of int e r e st o n old loans ,

and much of the m on ey rais ed abroad is r e turn e d abroad

in that form Th e n much of her w ar mat e rial is pur
.
,

chas e d abroad so that she has g e n e rally su ffi ci e ntly

,

larg e paym e nt s to mak e abroad to avoid the fi nancial

s tu lt ifi c at ion which t he r e c e i p t of larg e s ums w ould
“ ”
involve w e r e it to be sp ent i n the country That .

Russia do e s not altog eth e r e scape such stu lt ifi c atio n is

shown by the fact o f which w e are assured by D r
, .

D illon that the g e n e ral ris e in w ag e s w h ich has tak e n

,

plac e in r e ce nt ye ars in Russia has bee n mor e than

nullifi ed by the i ncr e as ed cost of living I t should be .

not ed m ore o ve r that the st eady incre as e of normal

, ,

hon e st r eve nu e from abroad as the r es ult of for e i g n .

in v e stm e nt or for e ign trading is not in the sam e

cat e g ory e conomic ally as an ind e mnity s ecure d by war .

I n the first cas e the incr eas e of w e alth is r eal in t he s e cond,

fictitious or e v an e sc e nt b ecaus e in the first a mark e t has

,

be e n im p ro v ed or cr e at ed and in the s e con d inj ured or

,

de stroye d . I f w e we r e s e nding a h un dred millions of

goods a y ear to G e rmany in the ordinary cours e o f
ordinary b usi ne ss it would m ean that G e rman industry
had cr eat e d a m ark e t for thos e goods by hav in g
p r eviously found a marke t ; if the amount we r e s e nt as
part of a w ar ind e mnity it would m ean that G ermany
,

had not e x p and ed he r b uying ca p acity that much by

g e n e ral comm e rcial acti v ity and that it could only absorb
,

thos e goods by d e priving its ow n pro duc e rs of t he trad e .

 THE I N D E M N ITY F U TI LITY 89

I h ave not com p licat ed this ex po si t ion by the qu e s

tion of a g ol d r e s e rv e as a factor in bankin g as ,

that do e s not p ro p e rly S p e aking be ar on the qu e stion

, , .

Som e o f the countri e s with the larg e st gold r e s e rv e have

the worst fi nanc e—cg G e rmany has a lar g e r gold
,

re s e r v e than E ngland w hich has one of t he small est

,

in Europ e T h is do e s not p r e ve nt G e rmany b e ing a

.

larg e borrowe r from E n g land and England b e ing the

,

bank e r of the uni ve rs e Som e of the sound e st bankin g

.

and the larg e st trad e in the world are don e on the

sm all e st g old r e s e rve Wh e r e banking is sound and
.

cons e rv ati v e gold can in larg e pa rt be dis p e ns e d with .

To add o ne final word as to anticipat e d criticism : I

do not urg e the absurdity that it is im p ossibl e for o ne
Gove rnm ent to mak e a p aym e nt o f a larg e sum of
mon e y to anoth e r o r for the Gove rnm e nt r e ce i v ing it
,

to b e n e fit th er e by but that the p o p ulation as a whol e

,

o f any nation r e c e iving a larg e ind e m nity must su ff e r .

from any con sequ e nt financial disturbanc e in the cr edit

o f the paying nation that if the Prot e ctionist doctrin e
is j ust th e y must su ff e r g r eat disadvantage from the
re c e ipt of w eal th—La com moditi e s—which has not
,

e m p loy e d the h om e p o p ulation and from t he ris e of

,

pric e s whic h ch ecks th e ir e x p orts ; that thos e are factors

which must be tak e n into consid e ration in e stimatin g
the real ad v antag e t o the g eneral p op u lation o f any
country which may succ eed in e xto rting bullion from
anoth e r as w ar plund e r .
 C HA PT E R V I I
HOW CO L ON I E S AR E OWN E D

The vag ueness of our concep tions of stat ecraf t—How w e ow n

ou r co l oni es—S om e littl e r ec ogn i zed f act s—W hy f or eign ers
-

cou l d not fight E ngland f or her se lf governing Col oni es

-

Sh e does not ow n t he m si nc e they are mas t e rs of the i r

o w n des tiny—The p ar adox of c on q u est : E nglan d i n a wors e
,

position i n r egard to her ow n C oloni es than i n r egar d to

f or ei gn nati ons —Her expe ri enc e as the ol des t and m ost
practi sed coloni zer i n hi st ory—Col oni es not a source of fi scal
p ro fi t—Co u l d G e r m any h0p e t o d o b e tt e r — I f not inc on
,

c eivab le she shou l d fight f or s ak e of m aki ng hop e l ess

exp erim en t .

WE fo regom g ch ap t e r s dis p o se of the fir st six of the

s e ve n pro p osition s outlin e d in Cha p te r I I I Th e r e
.

r e main s t he se v e n th d e aling with the notion that

,

in som e way ou r se curity and p ros p e rity would b e

“
threat e n e d by a for eign nation t aking ou r Coloni e s
from us —a thi ng which w e are assur e d ou r rival s are
burnin g to do as it would involve the br e aking up o f
,

”
the B ritish E mpir e t o th e ir advantag e .

L et us try to r ead som e m e an ing into a p hras e w hich ,

how eve r childish it m ay app e ar o n an alysis is ve ry ,

commonly in the m ouths o f thos e w ho are r e sponsibl e

for ou r p olitical id e as .

I have stat e d the cas e thu s

N o for e ign nation could g ain any advantag e by the
conqu e st of the British Coloni e s and G re at B ri t ain
,

90
92 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N

t hat outlin e d by Sir C P Lucas o ne of the great e st

. .
,

authoriti e s o n colonial qu e stions He w rit e s s p e ak ing .

,

of the history o f the B ritish C oloni e s on the Am e rican

contin e nt thus :
,

I t was s e en— bu t i t mi ght not hav e b een s ee n had the

Uni t ed S ta t e s not won t heir in dep endence—that Engl ish
col onis t s like Gr eek coloni e s of old g o out on t e rms of
, ,

be in g equ al not subordina t e t o t hos e w ho are l ef t behind ;

, ,

t ha t whe n the y have eff e ct ive ly p l an t ed anot he r and a

dis t an t lan d th ey mus t wi t hin the wide s t limi t s be l ef t t o
, , ,

ru l e t hemse lve s ; that whe th er th ey are ri ght or whether

, ,

t hey are wron g— mor e p erhaps when t he y are w rong t han

, ,

when th ey are right —the y cannot be made ame nab l e by

forc e t ha t mu t ua l g ood f ee l in g com muni ty of in t e r es t and
, ,

abs t e n t ion f rom pr e ssing right ful claims t o the ir log ical con
c lu s ion can a l on e hol d t og e t h e r a tru e Coloni al Empir e
"
.
,

B ut what in the nam e o f com mon s e n se is the

ad v antag e of conqu e rin g th em if the only p olicy is
“
to let th e m do as th ey lik e wh e th e r th ey are ri g ht
,

or wron g
—mor e p e rhaps w h e n th e y are w rong than
, ,
”
wh e n th e y are ri g ht ? And what a v ails it to conqu e r
th e m if th ey cannot be m ade am e nabl e to forc e ? Sur e l y
this mak e s t he whol e thing a redu ctio adabsu rdu m W e r e .

a Pow e r lik e G e rm any to u se forc e to conqu e r coloni e s ,

s he would find ou t that th ey w e r e not am e nabl e t o forc e ,

and that the only workin g p olicy was to let th e m do

e xactly as th ey did be for e she conqu e r e d th e m and to ,

allo w th e m if th ey choose —and many of the B ritish

Coloni e s do so choos e—to treat the M oth er Count ry
,

abs olut e ly as a for e ign country Th e r e has re c e ntl y .

b ee n g oing on in Canada a discussion as to the position

which that D ominion should hol d with r e fe r e nc e to t he
B ritish in the ev e nt of war and I take from a Fr e nch
,
 H O W C O LO N I E S A R E OW N E D 3

Canadian pap e r ( L a P resse M arch 2 7 1 9 09 ) a p assag e

, ,

which is quot e d wit h a p pro v al by an E nglis h Canadian -

p ublication I t is as follows :
.

I f, aft e r the org aniza t ion of a Canadian N avy England

fin ds hers el f a t war wi t h a f or ei gn Power—ii t ha t war is a
,

j us t one and Canada conside rs i t t o be so Englan d may

, ,

alway s r ely upon the eage r support of Canadian soldi e rs

and marin e s B u t w e mus t alw ays be fr e e t o g ive or t o
.

”
r ef us e t his support .

Could a for eign nation say more ? I n wh at s e ns e do

“
w e ow n C anada wh e n Canadian s must always be
fr e e to gi v e or r e fu se th e ir m ilitary su pp ort to England ;
and in wh at w ay do es Canada di ffe r from a fore ign
nation whil e England may be at war wh e n Canada c an
be at p e ac e M r Asquith formally e ndors e s t h is con
.

c e pt io n On August 2 6 1 9 09 in the H ous e o f Commons

.
, , ,

aft e r ex p laining the conclusion s of the I m pe rial C on

fe re nc e he said :
,

The r esu lt w as a p l an for so organizin g the force s of the

Crown where v e r they are t ha t w hile preserving the complete
, , ,

autonomy of each D ominion shou ld these D ominions desire to

,

assist in the def e nc e of the Empir e in a r eal e m er g e nc y ,

th e ir f orc e s could be rapi dly combin ed int o one homog e n eous

Impe rial
The N ew Yor k p ap e rs of N ovem b er 1 6 , 1 909 , r epor t the
f ollowi ng from Si r Wi lfr i d Lauri er i n the D omi nion P ar li am en t
du r i ng the de b at e on the Canadi an N avy : My honourabl e f ri end
G
( Mr Mon k ) has bl am ed the overnm ent f or proposi ng t o b egi n
.

the org an i zati on of a naval f orc e What i s the ob ec t of that j

—
.

f orc e what i s the occasi on ? W e n ever had one b ef or e , he says .

I r eme m be r the ti m e whe n w e had no r ail ways, no publi c schoo l -

syst em ; and if now w e have to organize a naval force, it i s

b ecause w e are growi ng as a nati on—it i s the penalty of be i ng a
nation I know of no nati on having a sea coas t of its ow n whi ch
.
-
94 THE G RE AT I LL U S I O N
This shows cl early that no D ominion is h e ld t o be
boun d by vi rtu e of its all eg ianc e to the S o v e r ei g n of
the Briti s h Empir e to p lac e its forc e s at his di s p osition ,

no matt e r how r e al m ay be the e m e rg e ncy I f it should .

not d e sir e so to do it is fr e e t o r e fus e so t o do

, This is .

to conv e rt t he B ritish E m p ir e into a loos e allianc e o t

ind e p e nd e nt Sove r e ign Stat e s which are not e ve n bound ,

to h e l p e ach oth e r in case of w ar The allianc e be .

twee n Austria and G e rmany is far m or e strin g e nt than

the t ie which unit e s for p ur p ose s o f w ar t he com p on e nt
part s of the B ritish Em p ir e .

O ne critic comm e nting on this says

, ,

W hat e ve r l an g uage is use d to de scribe this new move

men t of Imp e ri al de fe nc e i t is virt ually one mor e s t e p
,

towar ds comp l e t e nat ional in de p en denc e on the par t of the

Coloni e s For not onl y wi ll the consciousn e ss of the ass u m p
.

t ion of t his t ask of s el f defe nc e f eed wi th new vi gour the

-

spiri t of nat ionali ty i t will en tail the f ur t he r power of f ull

,

con t ro l ov er for ei gn r elat ions This has a l r eady be en

.

virt ually admi tt ed in the cas e of Canada now en t i tled t o a ,

det erminant voice in all t r e at i e s or o t h er e n gag em e n t s in

which he r in t eres t s are esp ecially involv ed The ext ension .

o f this ri gh t to the oth er coloni a l na t ions may be t ak e n as a

ma tte r of cours e Home rul e in nat ional de fence t hus e s tab
.

lishe d r educ e s the Imp e rial conn e c t ion t o i t s th inne s t

has no n avy except N orway b u t N orway will never t e mp t the

, ,

i nvader Canada has its c oal mi nes its gol d m in es its wh eat
.
-
,
-
,

fi el ds and its vast wealth m ay off er a t em p tati on t o the i nvader

, .

The r ec ent t ar i ff negoti ati ons b etw een Canada and the U n it ed
Stat es wer e carried on di r ect b etween O ttawa and W ashington ,

without the i nt ervention of London Si r W i lf ri d L auri er r ec ently

.
,

i n a sp eec h at H u m bo lt sai d : B u t whil e w e acknowl edge the

“
,

sover eignty of the B ritish Ki ng w e say that the part Canada,

shall p l ay i s not the p art of a dep endency b u t the part of a ,

nati on .
"
96 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N
against the British I n di an in the Transvaal and
N atal the sam e Bo e r r e gulations w hich w e re one of
o u r gri ev anc e s b e for e the war and the H ous e s of
,

Parliam e nt have j ust ratifi e d an Act of U nio n in w h ich

the B oe r attitud e with r ef e r e nc e to the nativ e is codi
fi ed and mad e p e rman e nt Sir Charl e s D ilk e in the
.
,

d e bat e in the H ous e o f Commons o n the South African

B ill m ad e this quit e cl ear He said : The old British
, .
“

p rinci p l e in South Africa as distinct from the B o e r

,

p rincipl e in r egard to the tr e atm e nt of nati ve s was

,

e qual rights fo r all civiliz e d m e n At the b eg inning o f

.

the South A frica n War the country was told that one
o f it s m ain obj e cts and c e rtainly that the o ne pre
,

domin ant factor in any tr e aty of p eac e would be the ,

ass e rtion of the British p rincipl e as against the B oe r

p rinci p l e N ow the Bo e r princi p l e dominat e s throu g h
.
,

”
ou t the whol e o f South Africa M r Asquith as r e p t e
. .
,

se nting t he British Go v e rnm e nt admitt e d that this was

,

the cas e and that

, the o p inion of this c ou ntry is almost ‘

unanimou s in obj e cting to the colour bar in the U nion

Parliam e nt He w e nt on to say that the Opinion of
the British Gov e rnm e nt and t he O p inion of the B ritish
p e opl e must not be allow e d to l e ad to any inte rfe r e nc e
”
with a s e lf gove rning Colony
-
S o that h aving e x
.
,

p e nd ed in the conqu e st of the Transvaal a gr e at e r sum

than G e rmany e xact e d from Franc e at the clos e of t he
Franco Prussian War E ngland has not eve n the right
-
,
.

t o e nforc e he r v i e ws on thos e whos e contrary vi e ws

cr eat e d the easus belli ! Again it is to t h is p aradox ,

th e s e conqu ests l e ad As one critic d ec lar e s

.

The has not made the Union but i t has made

w ar ,

D u t ch m as t e ry wi t hin the Union I f Lord Milne r had .

look e d be for e he l eap ed ten years ag o he woul d hav e ,

 Ho w C O L O N I E S AR E O WN ED 97

recogni zed that the sur e s t w ay to re nde r ce r t ain for the

fu t ure tha t dominion of A frikan de rdom which he hat ed
’
‘

w as t o conv e rt the tw o R e pub l ics b y forc e in t o tw o s e lf

gov e rning B ri t ish Coloni e s Thos e w ho ten y ears ago in

.
, ,
.

sis t e d wi t h so much assurance upon the in e vi t abi l i ty of w ar

in Sout h A f rica f ai l ed t o r ecogni ze t hat the s e qu e l of the
,

w ar w as equall y in e vi tabl e That the mos t re doub t ab l e ‘

.

B oe r g en erals w ho e i ght y ears ag o w er e in the fi eld agains t

,

our troops should now be in Lon don imposin g on the B ri t ish

,

Gove rnmen t the t erms o f a nat ional Cons t i tut ion which wi l l
mak e t he m and t he ir al l i e s in the Cape the r u l e rs of a
virt uall y inde pe n de n t Sout h A frica is in dee d one of the , ,

bright e s t humours of modern his t ory .

"

Just r e ce ntly th e r e was in London a d ep utation from

t he B ritish I ndians i n the Transvaal p ointing o u t that the
r egulations th e r e de prive th e m o f t he ordinary rights of
B ritish citiz e ns The British Gove rn m e nt has inform ed
.

th e m that the Transvaal be ing a s elf gove rning Colony -

,

“
the I mp e rial Go v e rnm e nt can do nothing for th e m .

A B ill has be en in tr od ced i nto the I ndi an L egis l ative Council

u

enabli ng the Governm ent to prohibit m igrati on to any countr y e

where th e treat m ent accorded t o Br itish I ndi an s b j ects w as not u

such as m et with the appr val of the Governor G n ral

o As -
e e .
“

j ust treat m ent f or f ree I ndians has not b en secured says the e ,
”

Ti m es, prohibiti on will undou bt edly b e app li ed agai nst Natal

“

u nl e ss the p os iti on of f r e e I ndi ans ther e i s am e li or at e d The .

p ositi on i n N atal b ecom es mor e di ffi cu lt as the num b er of free

I ndians i ncr eases ; hence it i s desirabl e to stop e m igrati on c om
pletely though N atal m ay s tave off pr ohibition by am e li orating
,

the tr eat m ent of f r ee I n di ans A strong b ody of edu cat e d Op i ni on

.

desir e s the c essati on of i n dent u r ed em igr ation b e cau se it i nj u r es ,

f r ee I ndi ans The i m m e di at e e ff e c t of pr ohibiti o n on the di str i cts

.

f r om whi ch the e m igrant s are m ai nly drawn m ay b e s ever e .

Conc erni ng som e c orresponde nc e on the sam e s u b j ec t app eari ng

i n the we e kly p ap er y ohn B u ll that j ournal com m ents ( J u ne 1 1
, ,
“
Thi s i s the tre at m ent met e d o u t to a B r iti sh sub j ect i n
the Tr ansvaal an I ndi an g entl em an highly edu cat ed and of
, , ,

u n bl e m i shed char act er Mr L W Rit ch w ho di rec t s our att en

. . . .
,
98 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

N ow it will not be forgott e n t hat at a tim e wh e n w e ,

w e r e quarr e lling with Paul Kr ug e r one of the li v eli e st ,

o f o u r gri e vanc e s was t he tre atm e nt of British I ndi ans .

H aving conqu e re d Kr ug e r now owning his country , ,

do w e ours e lve s act as w e w e r e trying t o com p el Paul

K riige r as a for e ign rul e r to act ? We do not We (o r .

rath e r t he r e sponsibl e Gov e rnm e nt of the Colony with ,

whom w e dar e not int e rfe r e al t hough w e we re r e ady

,

e nough t o m ak e r e p r e s e ntation s t o Kr ug e r ) simply and

pure ly e nforc e his ow n r e gulations Mor e ove r the .

,

Australian Coloni e s and B ritish Columbia have sinc e

tak e n the V i ew with r e f e re nc e to B ritish I ndians which
Pre sid e nt K r ug e r took and which vi e w w e m ad e almost
,

a casus belli Yet i n the cas e o f ou r C oloni es w e do

.

absolut e ly nothing S o the proc e ss i s this : The

.

Go v e rnm e nt of a for e i g n t e rrito ry do es so m e thing

which w e ask it to ce ase doing The r e fusal o f the .

fore i g n Gove rnm e nt constitute s a oasns belli We fight .

,

w e conqu e r and t he t e rritory in qu e stion b e com es o ne

,

o f ou r Coloni e s and w e allow t he Go v e rnm e nt o f that

,

Colony to continu e doing the ve ry thing which c on

stitut e d in the cas e of a for e ign nation a casus belli
, , .

What did w e un de rtak e the war of conqu e st for ? D o

w e no t arriv e th e r e for e at the absurdity I hav e alr e ad y
, ,

indicat e d— that w e are in a w orse p osi ti on to enforce ou r

view s in ou r ow n terri tory —that is to say , i n ou r Colonies
—than inforeign terri tory P Would w e subm it tam e ly
if a fore ign Gove rn m e nt should e x e rcis e p e rman e ntly
ti on to thi s m att er and whose effor ts on b ehalf of the I ndi ans i n
,

the Transvaal have b e en so p ers i st ent and s tr en u ou s t ell s us that ,

he has app e al e d agai n and agai n to the I m p eri al Governm ent t o

take som e eff ective steps to c orr ect the disgracef u l stat e of thi ngs
w e have descr ib e d ; b ut e ither the p ower or the will or b oth , ,

wou l d app ear to be l ac ki ng .

1 00 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N

and could as w e ll be mad e by any for e i g n nation d e siring

*
to c ou rt clos e r fiscal r e lations with Gr e at Britain .

I s it conc e ivabl e that G e rmany if the r e al r e lations ,

b e t w ee n Gre at B ritain and he r Coloni e s w e re u nde r

stood would und e rt ak e the costli e st war of conqu e st in
,

history in ord e r to acquir e an absurd and pro fi tless

position in which she could not e xact e ven the shadow
,

o f a mat e ri a l advantag e
I t may be p l e a de d that G e rmany mi g ht on the morrow
o f conqu e st att e mpt t o e nforc e a policy which gav e he r

a mat e ri al ad vantag e in t he Coloni e s such as Spain ,

and Portugal att e m p t e d to cr eat e for th e ms e lve s B ut .

in that cas e is it conc e ivabl e that G e rm any without

, ,

colonial e x p e ri e nc e wo u ld be abl e to e nforc e a policy

,

which Gr eat B rit ain was oblig e d to abandon a hun dr e d

y e ars ag o ? I s it imaginabl e that if Gr e at B ritain has ,

b ee n utt e rly unabl e to carry ou t a p olicy by whi ch the

Coloni e s shall pay anything r e s e mbling tribut e to the
M oth e r Count ry G e rmany without e xp e ri e nc e and at
, , ,

an e normous disadvantag e in t he matt e r of languag e ,

tradition racial tie and the r e st would be abl e to

, , ,

mak e such a policy a succ e ss ? Surely if the e l e m e nts ,

of this qu e stion w e r e in the l e ast un de rstood in

G e rmany such a pr e post e rous notion co u ld not be
,

e nt e rtain e d fo r a mom e nt .

B r itai n s t ot al overseas trad

’
thousand and
e f or 1 90 8 w as o ne

f orty n i ne m illi ons of whi ch s even hu ndr e d and e ighty f our

-
,
-

m illi ons w as w ith f or e ig ners and tw o hu ndr e d and s ixty fi ve

,
-

milli ons with her ow n p ossessi ons And whil e it i s tr u e that with .

som e of her C ol oni es B r itai n has as m u ch as 52 pe r cent of thei r .

tr ade Au str ali a) it al so happ ens that s om e ab sol u t e ly f or eign

,

countr i es g ive a gr eat er p erc entage even of trade with B ritai n

than do ou r Co l oni es B r it ai n p ossesses 3 8 per c ent of Argen
. .

ti na s f or eign trade b u t only 36 p er c ent of C anada s althou gh

’

, .
’

C anada has r ec ently given c ons i derabl e pr e f er enc e .

 H O W C O L O N I ES A R E O W N E D 1 01

Th e r e cannot be found a singl e authority from Adam ,

Smith to S eel e y (or t o J os ep h Chambe rl ain for that ,

matt e r) p r ep ar ed to risk his r eputation by d e claring that

,

any fiscal arrang e m e nt constituting a monopoly b e n e fit

for the M oth e r Country can in ou r day be im p os e d
u pon any conside rabl e colony of Euro p ean p e o p l e
e xc e p t by th e ir cons e nt and c o Op e ration And fiscal
-
.

arrange m e nts which are for the b e n e fit o f both p arti e s ,

and are e nforc e d by the con s e nt of both can be effe ct e d ,

as be tw ee n any communiti e s wh e th e r th e y stand in the

,

r e lation of M oth e r Country and Colony or not

,
.

Yet so littl e is t he r eal r e lationship of mod e rn

coloni e s und erstood that I have h e ard it m e ntion e d ,

in p rivat e conve rsation b y an En g lish public m an ,

whose p osition was such m ore o ve r as to e nabl e him to

, ,

give v ery gr eat effect to his opinion that One of the ,

motives p ushin g G e rmany to w ar was the p roj e ct ed

ca p tur e of South Af rica in ord e r that she could s e iz e
,

the g old m in e s and by m eans of a tax of 50 pe r c e nt

-
, .

o n th eir out p ut s e cure for h e rs elf one of the chi ef

,

sourc e s o f gold in t he world .

O ne h eard a good d e al at the outbr e ak o f the South

African War o f t he part that the gold min e s p l aye d -

in p r e ci p itating that conflict Alik e in E ngland and on

.

t he Contin e nt it was g e n e rally assum ed t hat Gr e at

,

“ ”
B ritain was aft e r the gold min e s A long corr e
-
.

sponde nc e took p lac e in the Ti mes as t o t he r e al v alu e

of the min e s and sp e culation as t o the amount o f

,

m on ey which it was worth G r eat B ritain s whil e to ’

s p e nd in th e ir ca p tur e W e ll now that Englan d

.
,

has w on the war how many gol d min e s has she

,
-

captur e d ? I n oth e r words how many shar e s in the

,

gol d min e s d oe s the British Gov e rnm ent hold ? How

-
1 02 T H E G REAT I L LU S I O N

many min es have b e e n transfe rre d from th e ir th e n

own e rs to the British Go ve rn m e nt as the r e sult o f
British v ictory ? How much tribute do es the Go v e rn
m e nt of W e stminst e r e xact as the result of i nve sting
t w o hundre d and fifty m illion s in the e nt e r p ris e ?
The fact is o f cours e that the B ritish Go ve rnm e nt
, ,

do e s not hold a p e nnywo rth o f t he p rop e rty The min e s

.

b elong to the shareholde rs and to no one e ls e and in

'

the condition s o f the mod e rn w orld it is not p ossibl e for

“ ”
a Go v e rnm e nt to ca p tur e so much as a sin g l e pound
of s uch p ro p e rty as t he r e sult of a war of conqu e st .

Su pp osing t h at G e rm any or any oth e r conqu eror w er e

to put o n the out p ut o f the min e s a du ty of 50 per c e nt .

What would she get and w hat would be the re s u lt ?

,

The output of the South African min e s to d ay is ,

roughly thirty millions st e rling a ye ar so tha t she would

, ,

*
get about fift e e n millions a y e ar The annual total
.

incom e of G e rmany is calculat ed at s om e thing lik e thr ee

thousand m illions so that a tribut e of fift ee n millions
,

w ould h old about the sam e p roportion to G e rmany s ’

total incom e that say t e n p e nc e a day would to a

, ,

m an in r e c e i p t of three t h ousand p ounds a y e ar It .

w ould re p r e s e nt say the e x p e nditur e that a m iddle

, ,

class hous eholde r with an incom e of four or fi ve hundred

pounds a ye ar m ak e s u p on (say) m atch es C ould one.

imagin e such a hous e holde r in his right m ind c om

mitting burglary and murd e r in ord e r to e conomiz e
a fe w p e nc e a wee k ? Yet that would be the p osition
o f the G e rman E m p ir e e ngaging u p on a gr eat and

costly w ar for the p ur p os e of e xacting fift ee n millions

st e rling a y ear from the South African min e s ; or ,

Afi nanci er to whom I showed the proof s of thi s chapt er

not es her e If su ch a tax wer e i m pos ed the ou tput woul d b e nil
“ ”
.
1 04 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N

of t h e m toppl e ove r I s that the way e ffi ci e nt G e rmany

.

would se t about the d eve lo p m e nt of he r n e wly acquire d

E m p ir e ? S he would soon find that she had a ruin e d
colony on her hands And if in South Africa the sturdy
.

D utch and English stoc k did not produc e a G e o rg e

Washington with a b ett e r m ate rial and m oral case for
ind e p e nd e nc e than G e org e Washington e v e r had th e n
,

history has no m eaning And if it cost England tw o

.

hundre d and fifty m illions to conqu e r D utch South

Africa what w ould it cost G e rmany to conqu e r Ang lo
,

D utch South Afri ca ? Such a p olicy could not of ,

cours e last six m onths and G e rmany would e nd by

, ,

doing what Great B ritain has e nd ed by doing—she

would r e nounc e all att e m pt t o e xact a t ribut e or c om
m e rc ial advantag e oth e r than thos e which are the r e sult
o f fr ee c o Op e ration with the So u t h African p e opl e
-
. In
oth e r words she would l e arn that the policy which
,

Gr e at B ritain has ado p t e d was not adopt e d by p hilan

thropy but in t he hard sch ool of bitt e r e x p e ri e nc e
, .

G e rmany would se e that the last word in colonial

stat e smanship is to e xact nothing from y our coloni es ,

and wh e r e the gre at e st colonial pow e r of history has

b ee n unabl e to follow any oth e r policy a p oor intru de r
,

in the art o f colonial administration would not be lik e ly

to p rov e mor e succ e ssf u l and she t oo would fi nd that
, , ,

the only way t o tr e at coloni e s is t o tr e at th e m as

ind e p e nd e nt or for e ign t e rritori es and the only w ay
,

to ow n th e m is to mak e no att e m p t at e x e rcising any of

the functions of own e rshi p . And all the r e asons which
gave forc e to this p rinci p l e in the s ev e nt e e nth and
e i g ht ee nth c e nturi e s — and the whol e monopolistic
syst e m had brok e n down long be for e it was abolish e d
by law—have b ee n r einforc ed a h undr edfold by all the
 Ho w C O L O N I E S AR E OWN E D 19 5

mod e rn con t rivanc e s of cr e dit and ca p i t al quick c om ,

m u nic atio n p o p ular gove rnm e nt p o p ular pr e ss the

, , ,

conditions and cost of wa rfar e— the whol e w e ight ,

ind ee d o f mod e rn progr e ss It is not a qu e stion h e re

,
.

o f th e orizin g o f the e r e ction o f an e labo rat e th e sis no r

, ,

is it a qu e stion of arguing what the re lations of ou r

C oloni e s ou g ht to be The di ffe r e nc e s b etw ee n the
.

I m p e rialist and the Littl e E ngland e r do not e nt e r into

the discussion at all I t i s sim p ly a qu e stion of what
.

t he unmistakabl e outstanding facts of e x p e ri e nc e ha v e

tau g ht and w e all know I m p e rialists and Littl e
, ,

En g land e rs alik e that what e ve r t he r e lations with the

,

Coloni e s are to be that r elationshi p m ust be fix ed by

,

the fr ee cons e nt o f the Coloni e s by th e ir choic e not , ,

ours And En g lishm e n know as inform ed G e rmans

.
,

must know that to att e m p t now what was im p ossibl e

,

tw o hundr e d y e ars ago is sh ee r m idsumm e r madn e ss .

And to sup p os e that G e rmany woul d s e riously set abou t

conqu e ring first England and th e n South Africa would ,

att e mpt a p olicy which all history shows to be doom ed to

failur e is midsum m e r madn e ss in still wors e d e g r e e ye t
, ,

it is the sort of madn e ss that o ne may fi nd blatant in t he

mouths of e v e n r e s p e ctabl e p ublic m e n lik e M r H arrison .
,

and in the colum ns of s e rious organs lik e the Ti mes .

Sir J R S eel e y not e s in his book The Expansion o f

. .
,

E ngland that b e caus e the e arly S p anish Coloni e s w e re

,

in a tru e s ens e o f the word p oss e ssions w e acquired ,

”
the habit o f talking of poss e ssions and own e rship ,

and ou r whol e id e as of colonial policy w e r e vitiat e d

during thre e c e nturi e s sim p ly by the fatal hyp notism
,

o f an incorr e ct word I s it not tim e that w e shook Off

.

the influ e nc e of th e s e fatal words ? Cana da Australia , ,

“ ”
N ew Ze aland and South Afri c a are not
, p oss e ssions .
1 06 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N
Th ey are no mor e p oss e ssion s than is Arg e ntina o r
Brazil and the nation which conqu e re d England which
, ,

e v e n ca p tur e d London would be hardly n ear e r to the

,

conqu e st of Can ada or Austr alia than if it hap p e n e d to

occu p y Constantino p l e or St P e t e rs b urg
. . Why ,

t h e re for e do w e tol e rat e the loos e talk which assum e s

,

that the mast e r of London is al so mast e r of M ontr e al ,

Van c ouve r Ca p e Town J ohann e sburg M e l bourn e and

, , , ,

Sydn ey ? H av e w e not had about e nough of this

t e rrorist chatt e r which is p e rsist e ntly blind to t he
,

simpl e st and mo st e l e m e ntary facts of th e cas e ?

I s it not tim e w e r ealiz e d that the world has move d
in thi s matt e r ? And surely it is tim e al so w e r e al iz e d
how grossly e rron e ous m ust be the conc e p tion of
Euro p ean stat e sm e n w h e n i n the common j argon of
,

th e s e discussion s it is tak e n as an axiom that the

,
“ ”
loss o f her Coloni es is going t o invol ve Gr eat
“
Britain in ruin and the conqu e st o f he r C oloni e s
,

is going to achi e v e for t he conqu e ror in som e mys t e rious

way advantag e s w hich the pr e s e nt own e r has n e ve r
bee n abl e to s ecur e !
1 08 TH E G R EAT I LLU S I O N
Alge ria has be e n a tan g ibl e advantag e to Franc e ; that
it is be tt e r for Am e ricans that California which was ,

acquir e d by conqu e st should be unde r Am e rican rath e r

,

than un de r M exican rul e ; that both conqu e sts hav e

brou g h t t e rritori e s suitabl e for colonization by the con
qu eror and that th ey would not have b ee n suitabl e
,

e xc e pt fo r such conqu e st ; and that circumstanc e s may

aris e in which similar contin g e nci e s may pr e s e nt th e m

s el ve s ( di p lomacy do e s indeed attribut e to G e rmany
similar sch e m e s of conqu e st in Asia M inor) and tha t ,

t he scrambl e for s e miciviliz e d t e rritory is lik e ly to

furnish as fruitful a sourc e of conflict b e tw e e n t he gr ea t
Pow e rs as did the scrambl e for the N e w World .

H e re as in e ve ry s e ction o f this subj ect w e are

, ,

dominat e d by t he tyranny of an obsol e t e t e rminolo g y ,

and are t he victims of t he confusion which r e sul t s th e r e

from I t is important to k ee p c e rtain tangibl e facts of
.

the cas e in mind .

I n a subs e qu e nt s e ction of this b ook I h ave at t e mpt ed

*

to sho w how e normously t he m e chanical d e v e lopm e nt

o f civilization is shifting t he r e al con fl ict of humanity

from the physical to t he int e ll ectual plan e I t is as .

c e rtain as anything can be that stru gg l e will in the

futur e go on as vigorou sly as eve r Forc e will rul e t he
'

world in the future as in t he past but it w ill be the

‘

forc e of hard work and su p e rior brain not the forc e of ,

cannon rind D readnoug hts .

Wh e n o ne nation say E ngland occupi e s a t e rritory

, , ,

do e s it me an that that t e rritory is lost to G e rm ans ?

“

We know th is to be an absurdity G e rmany do e s an .

e normous and incr e asing trad e with t he t e rritory that

“
C hapt er V P ar t I I
.
,
The D i m i ni s hi ng F act or of P hysi c al
F orc e
"
.
 C ON Q U E R O R O R P O L I C E MAN ?
‘
1 09

has be e n pre e m pte d by t he An g lo Saxon rac e M illions

- -
.

of G e rmans in G e rmany gain th e ir live lihood by virtu e

o f G e rman e nt e rpris e and G e rman industry in An g lo

Saxon countri e s —ind ee d it is the bitte r and growing

,

c om p laint of Englishm e n that th e y are b e ing dri v en

ou t o f th e s e t e rritori e s by t he G e rman s ; that wh e r e

originally British shi pp ing was unive rsal in t he East ,

G e rman ship p ing is now coming t o occupy the p romi

n e nt p lace ; that the trad e of w hole t e rritori e s which
Englishm e n orig inally had to th e m s el ve s is now be ing
ca p tured by G e rm ans and this not m e re ly wh e r e the
,

fiscal arrang e m e nts are mor e or l e ss u nde r t he control of

t he British Go v e rnm e nt as in t he Crown Coloni e s but in
, ,

thos e t e rritori e s originally B ritish lik e the U nit e d Stat e s

, ,

and nominally so no long e r as w ell as in thos e t e rri

,

tori e s whic h are in r eality ind e p e nde nt lik e Australia ,

and Canada thou g h nom inally still und e r B ritish control

, .

M or e o ve r why n eed G e rm any occu p y the extraordin

,

“
ary p osition o f p hantom own e rshi p which England
occu p i e s in ord e r to e njoy all t he re al be n e fits which
in o u r day r e sult from a Colonial E m p ir e ? M or e
‘

G e rm ans have found hom e s in the U nit ed Stat e s in the

last half c e ntury than E nglishm e n ha ve in all th e ir
-

Coloni e s It is calculat e d that b etw een t e n and tw e lve

.

millions of the po p ulation o f the U nit ed Stat e s are of

dire ct G e rm an d e sc e nt I t is tru e of cours e that
.
, ,

G e rmans do not liv e und er th e ir flag but t he trut h ,

is that th ey do not re g ret that fact but r ejoic e in it !

,

The maj ority o f G e rman e migrants do not d e sire that

the land to which th e y go shall ha v e t he p oli t ical
.

charact e r Of the lan d which th e y l e ave b e hind The .

fact that in adopting the U nit e d Stat e s th ey have

sh e d som et h ing of the G e rman tradition and creat e d
1 10 T H E GR EAT I LLU S I O N
a new nation al ty p e p artakin g in p art of the English
,

and in part o f the Ge rm an is on the whol e ve ry much

to th e ir advantag e—and incid e ntally t o ours
, , ,

Writing .

r ec e ntly o f H om e Sickn e ss am ong the Em igrant s

-

(the World J uly 1 9 , M r Afl alo says

, .

The G e rmans are of a ll na t ions the l eas t troub l ed wi th

, ,

this w eakn e ss Though far mor e warm ly att ache d t o the

.

hearth than the ir n ei ghbours across the Rhin e th ey f e el ,

e x il e l e ss Their one i dea is t o evade conscript ion and this

.
,

o ffe rs t o all Con t in ent al na t ions a comp e nsa t ion for e x il e

which t o the E nglishm an me ans nothin g I r ememb er a .

co l ony of G e rman fishermen on Lake Tahoe the l oveli e s t ,

wat e r in California where the p in e s of the Si erra N evada

,

mus t have vivi dl y r ecall e d t he ir n at ive Harz Ye t t hey .

r ej oiced in the f r ee dom of the ir a dop t ed coun tr y and n e ver ,

”
knew a momen t s r e gr et for the Fathérland
’
.

An English j ournalist giving his , e x p e ri e nc e s in

Austr alia write s ,

The his t ory of the f oun da t ion of the Co l ony of Sou th

Aus tral ia is int e re s t ing A t one t ime Sil esian Lut herans
.

f orm eda t en t h part of the populat ion of the whol e Co l on y , and

ther e are now t o w nships in whi ch e ve ry name on the shop
f ron t is G e rman and G e rman is the common lan g uage of the
,

home One such t ownship is Tanunda

. .

Almos t e v e ry one of i t s inhabi tan t s is G erman by de scen t ,

if no t b y birt h The church e s are Lu t heran and one of

.
,

th em is old wi t h a fl ow er grown grav ey ard in f ron t and a

,
-

fl agge d pa t h l e ading up t o i ts door I w as ther e on Sunday .

,

and saw the G e rman f arm e rs f rom the surroun din g dis t rict
drivin g th eir f amili e s home af t e r s e rvic e and the G e rman ,

hausfrau s walking the s tr ee ts wi th th eir se rvic e books -

,

dresse d in th eir be s t The G ermans mak e e x c ell en t col

.

”
onists and hav e t ak en kin dly t o Aus tralian li f e
,
.

A . Marshall i n the D aily Mail , London, April 1 1 , 1 9 1 0.

112 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
t he English the gre at e st coloniz e rs of t heworld conqu e r
, ,

a t e rritory lik e the Transvaal or the O rang e Fre e Stat e ,

th e y have no re sort having conqu e r e d it but to allow its

, ,

ow n law its ow n lit e rature its ow n languag e to hav e

, ,

fre e p lay j ust as though the conqu e st had n e ve r tak e n

,

place Thi s w as e ve n t he cas e with Qu e be c mor e than o ne

.

h u ndr ed ye ars ago and G e rmany will have to be guide d by

,

a like rul e O n the morrow of conqu e st she would have

.

to proc ee d to e stablish he r r eal asc e ndancy by oth e r

—
than m ilitary m eans a thing she is free t o do t o day -
,

if she can I t cannot throughout this discussion be too

.

oft e n re pe at e d t hat t he world has be e n modifi e d and ,

that what was p ossibl e to the Canaanit e s or t he Romans ,

o r e v e n to t he N ormans is no long e r p ossibl e to us

, .

The e dict c an no long e r go forth to slay e ve ry mal e

child that is born into t he conqu e r ed t e rritory in ,

orde r that t he rac e may be e xt e rminat ed Conqu e st in .

—
t h is s e ns e is im p ossibl e The most marv e llous coloni al
.

history in the world—B ritis h Colonial history d e m on

strat e s that in this fi e ld ph y sical forc e is no long e r o f
a v ail.

M or e ove r always as be aring upon the actual p olicy

,

which conce rns us th e r e is a furth e r important fact to

,

be consid e r e d : G e rmany s e ra of e migration has for the

’
,

tim e be ing at l east p as s e d G e rmans no longe r emigrat e

, .
,

and the chi ef caus e is that factor which modifi e s this

—
whol e probl e m at numbe rl e ss points the d e ve lopm e nt
of t he m e ans o f communication The man u facture r in
.

Prussia j ust as the manufacture r in Lancashire is abl e to

, ,

e xploit a distant t e rritory without going th e r e and will ,

support him se lf and his factory ou t of such t e rritory with

ou t e v e r m oving from Prussia o r Lancashir e E n g land s ’
.

gr e at est industry is carri e d o n thanks to the p roduct of

 C O N Q U E R O R O R P O LI C E MA N ? 1 1 3

Stat e s ove r which she has no sort o f p oli t ical control .

H e r e a g ain w e se e t he distinction b e tw ee n mo de rn and

anci e nt con ditions G e rmany by virtu e o f im p roved
.
,

m eans of communication is doing an e normous t rade ,

with South Am e rica ; thousands it may be millions of , ,

G e rmans gain the irlivelihood in G e rmany by the e xploita

tion of South Am e rican t e rritory I n the pre e conomic .
-

e ra such a thing would no t ha v e be e n possibl e e xc e pt

by virtu e of the actual p olitical conqu e st of such t e rri

tory To day G e rmany knows such conqu e st to be
.
-

impossibl e D o e s she for that re ason surre nd e r any

.

hop e of having South Am e rica h e lp su p port her popu

lation ? N ot the l e ast in the world and as I have , ,

*
r e mark e d in the n ext p ar t of this book which de als ,

mor e com p l et ely wi t h this s e ction of t he subj ect ,

G e rmany who n eve r s e nt a soldi e r into South Am e rica

, ,

t o day draws mor e w ealth th e r e from e xacts infinit e ly

-
,

more tribut e th e re from than do e s Spain which has , ,

“
pour ed ou t oc eans of blood in its conqu e st H e re .
,

as at e ve ry p oint do w e se e the futility of m e re m ilitary

,

conqu e st .

This is t he re al stru ggl e th e r efor e the r eal forc e of ,

t he futur e— the forc e of work int e lli g e nc e e ffici e ncy , , ,

which r e ally achi e ve s thin g s ; not the forc e of arms ,

which achi e ve s nothing .

At o ne point how e ve r o ne may look for arm e d inte r

, ,

ve nt ion Th e r e is a radical di ffe r e nc e b e tw ee n cas e s

.

lik e Alsac e Lorrain e and cas e s lik e Alge ria and Cali
-

fornia which curre nt political conc e p tion do e s not

'

s ee m su ffi ci e ntly to r e alize The compl et e r e xposition .

of this di ffe r e nc e which r e ach e s down into t he

,

fundam e ntal principl e s of human progr e ss into the ,

S ee Chap t er V P ar t I I .
, .
1 14 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

ve ry biology of human d e ve lopm e nt be lon g s also to ,

the n ext s e ction of this boo k d e aling with t he psycho

,

logical asp ect of the cas e B ut it has al so an e conomic

.

sid e which should bri efly be touch e d on h e re I w ill

, .

try to mak e this distinction cl ear by an appar e nt digre s

sion .

To a c ritic w ho maintain e d that t he armi e s of the

world we re n e c e s sary and j ustifiabl e o n the sam e
grounds as the polic e forc e s o f the world adding , ,

Eve n in communiti e s such as London w h e r e in ou r , ,

ci vic ca p acity w e have n early r ealize d all your id eals

, ,

w e still maintain and are constantly im p roving o u r

”
p olic e forc e I r e p li e d :
,

When w e l earn t ha t the Lon don County Council ins t ead ,

of us in g t h e ir po l ic e f or the runnin g in of burgl ars and

drunks is usin g t hem t o l ead an a ttack on B irmin gham

,
’

f or th e p u rpos e of cap t u rin g t ha t ci ty as part of a po l icy of

‘
municipal e x pansion or Civic Imp erialism or Pan
,
’
,
’

Londonism or wha t not ; or is usin g i ts f orce to r epe l an

,
’

att ack f rom the B irmingham police ac tin g as the r e s u l t of a

simi l ar po licy on the part of the B irmingham patrio ts —when
t ha t happ e ns you can sa fe ly appro x ima t e a police f orce t o a
Europ ean army B u t un t il i t doe s i t is qui t e e vi den t t hat
.
,

t he tw o — the arm y and the polic e f orc e — hav e in r e ali ty

diam e trical ly oppos ed rOle s The po l ic e e x is t as an ins tru
.

m en t of social c o op e ra t ion ; the armi es as the na t ural out

-

com e of the qu ain t i ll usion t ha t though one ci ty coul d ne ve r

e nrich i t s el f b y cap t u ring or subj ugat ing ano the r in
‘ ’ ‘ ’
,

some won derf ul (and une x pla in e d) way one coun t ry

e nrich i t s e l f b y cap t urin g or subj u g a t in g ano t h er .

I n the e xisting con di tion of things in En g land this

illus t ration cove rs the w h ol e cas e : t he citiz e ns of
“
Lo ndon would have no imag inabl e int e re st in c on
11 6 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

w ith it is impossibl e w e may e xp ect the int e rve ntion

,

o f military forc e not as t he r e sul t of t he

, ann e xationist
”
illusion but as t he outcom e of re al social forc e s pushin g
,

t o t he maint e nanc e of ord e r That is the story of

.

En g land in E gypt o r for that m att e r in I ndia B ut

, , , .

for e i g n nations have no n ee d to maintain ord e r in the

British Coloni e s nor in the U nit e d Stat e s ; and though
,

th e re might be such n e c e ssiti e s in the cas e of countri e s

like V e n ezu ela the last fe w y e ars have taught u s that
,

by bringing th e s e countri e s into t he gr e at e conom ic

curr e nts o f the world and so s et ting up in th e m a
,

whol e body of int e re sts in favour of ord e r more ,

can be don e than by forcibl e conqu e st We occa .

s ionally h e ar rumours of G e rman d e signs in B razil

and e ls ewh e r e but e ve n t he modicum of e ducation

,

poss e ss e d by the av e rag e Europ ean stat e sman mak es

it plain to him that th e s e nations are lik e the ,

“
oth e rs too firmly set for military occu p ation and
,

conqu e st by an ali e n p eopl e .

What afte r all is the practical qu e stion in this whol e

, ,

discussion ? Eve n thos e who will not admit to the full

t he principl e s which I hav e att e mpt e d t o e laborat e in
this book will c e rtainl y be obli g e d to admit in the fac e ,

o f t he facts outlin e d in t he pr e c e ding chapt e r that any ,

talk of the G e rman conqu e st of B ritish Coloni e s is

j ust so m uch moonshin e I t will n e ve r be ae com
.

lis h e d ; it will n e v e r be att e mpt e d ; and thos e who

p
writ e and talk as thou g h it would must be guilty e ith e r
of v e ry gr e at ignoranc e o r som e insinc e rity Th e re .

will n eve r be any duplication of that fi g ht for e mpty

t e rritory which took plac e b etwe e n Europ ean nations
in the s e ve nt e e nth and e i g ht ee n t h c e nturi e s ; the com
le te ly e m p ty t e rritory fit for whi t e colonization is no t
p
 C O N Q U E R O R O R P O LI C E M A N ? 1 1 7

the re Happily as I have att e mpt e d bri e fly t o indicat e

.
, ,

the n e c e ssit y for so fi nding t e rritorial outl e t fo r incr e asin g

p o p ulations is nothing like so gre at as it w as G e rman y .

is ab sorbing her incr e asing p o p ulation not by se n ding ,

th e m abroad but by so im p ro v ing he r m eans of pro

,

duction that thanks to th e m and to the im p ro ve d m eans

,

o f communication she is abl e to fee d th e m at hom e

, .

I nd ee d it is doubtful judging sol e ly by e x p e ri e nc e

, , ,

wh e th e r eve n if she had the e m p ty t e rrito ry she could

cre at e in it new G e rman nations of the G e rman rac e ,

as En g land has cr e at e d new E nglish nations of t he

English race sinc e he r v e ry comm e rcial succe ss re nde rs
,

it unn ec e ssary for G e rmany s p o p ulation to l e a ve h om e

’
.

It is not t e rritory in the political s e ns e that she n ee ds ,

but a safe fi e ld for inve stm e nt and ric h mark et s for he r

p roducts To conqu e r England would not mak e such
.

fi e lds any safe r or such mark et s any rich e r G e rman y s .

’

military activiti e s if us e d at all will be us e d quit e

, ,

oth e rwise .

I t is one of the humours of t he whol e An g lo G e rman -

conflict that so much has the B ritish p ublic be e n c o n

ce rn e d with the myths and bogi e s of the matt e r that
it se e ms calmly to ha ve ignor e d the r e aliti e s W h il e .

e v e n the wild e st Pan G e rman has n e ve r cast his e ye s

-

in the dire ction of Canada he has cas t th e m an d do e s

, ,

cas t th e m in the dire ction of Asia M inor ; and the

,

politi c al activiti e s of G e rmany may c e ntre on that area

for p re cis e ly the r e asons which re sult from the dist inc
tion be twee n policing and conqu e st which I have drawn .

G e rman industry is coming to have a dominating situa

tion in the N ear Eas t and as those int e re sts—her
,

—
mark e ts and inve stm e nts incre ase the n ec e ssity fo r ,

be tt e r ord e r in and the be tt e r organization of such

, ,
1 18 T H E G REAT I LL U S I O N
t e rritori es incr eas e s in corre spo nding d eg ree G e rmany .

may n ee d to polic e Asia M inor .

What int e r e st have w e in att e m p ting to p reve nt her ?

It may be urg e d that she would clos e the mark ets of
thos e t e rritori e s against us But ev e n if she attem p t e d it
.
,

which she is n ev e r likely to do a Prot e ctionist Asia

,

M inor organ iz e d with G e rman e ffici e ncy w ould be be tt e r

from the po int of vi e w o f English trad e than a Free
Trade Asia M inor organiz e d e la Tu rq ne Prot e ctionist
.

G e rmany is one of the b e st mark ets that w e have in

Euro p e I f a se cond G e rmany we re cre at e d in the
.

N e ar Eas t if Turkey had a p o p ulation with the G e rman

, ,

p urchasing po w e r and the G erman tari ff the mark ets ,

would be worth som e forty to fi fty m illions inst ea dof

som e te n t o fift ee n . Why should w e try to p r eve nt
G erm any inc reasing ou r trad e ?
It is tru e that w e touch h e r e the whol e p robl e m of the
fight for the o p e n d oor in the und e ve lop e d t e rritori es .

But the r eal difl i c u lty in this p robl e m is not t he o p e n

door at all bu t the fact that G e rmany is be ating u s—o r
,

w e f e ar she is be ating u s—in t h os e t e rritori e s wh e r e w e

h ave t he sam e tariff to m ee t that she has or e v e n a ,

small e r one ; and that she is e ve n beating us in the

t e rritori e s that w e alr eady ow n —in ou r Coloni e s in ,

t he E as t in I ndia
, . How th e refore w ould ou r fin al
, ,

crushing of G e rmany in the military s e ns e change

anything ? Sup p os e w e crush e d he r so com p l et e ly that
w e own ed Asia M inor and P e rsia as com p l et ely as
w e ow n I ndia o r H ong Kong would not t he G e rman
,

m e rchant continu e to b eat us eve n th e n as he is be ating us

,

now in that part of t he East o v e r which w e alr eady hold

,

p olitical sway Again how would the disa pp earanc e of

,

t he G e rman N a vy affe ct the p ro b l e m one w ay or th e ot h e r ?

1 20 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N

marke ts as the U nit e d Stat e s Arg e ntina South Am e rica

, , ,

and the l e ss e r Contin e ntal Stat e s .

I f w e r eally e xamin e d th e s e qu e stions without the old

m eaningl e ss pr ep oss e ssions w e should see that it is
,

mor e to ou r int e r e st t o have an ord e rly and organiz e d

Asia Minor unde r G e rman tut e la g e than to h ave an
org anize d and disord e rly one which should be ind e
p e nd e nt Pe rha p s it would be be st of all that Gr eat
.

B ritain should do the organ izing or share it with G e r ,

many though England has he r hands f ull in that r e s p e ct

,

— E gy pt and I n dia are p robl e m s e nough And why .

shoul d w e forbid G e rmany to do in a small d egree what

w e have don e in a larg e d e gr e e ? Sir H arry J ohnson in ,

t he N ineteenth Centnry fo r D e c e mbe r 1 9 1 0 com es a gr e at , ,

d eal n e ar e r to touching t he real k e rn e l of the p robl e m

that is preoccupying G e rm any than any of the writ e rs
o n t he Anglo G e rman conflict o f w hom I know
-
A s the .

r e sult of car e ful inve stigation he admits that G e rmany s,

’

r eal obj e ctive is not prop e rly sp e aking En g land o r

, ,

En g land s Coloni e s at all but the und eve lo p e d lands of

’
,

t he Balkan P e ninsula Asia M inor M eso po tamia down

, , ,

e v e n t o the mouth o f t he Euphrat e s He adds that the .

b es t inform e d G e rmans u se this lang u ag e t o him

“
In r eg ar d t o En glan d w e would re call a phras e dropped
,

by e x Pr e siden t Roos e ve lt at an impor tan t pub l ic sp eech in

-

Lon don a phras e which f or some r e ason w as not r e port ed

,

by the London pre ss Roos e v el t sai d t ha t the bes t gu aran t e e

.

f or Gr ea t B ri t ain on th e N i l e is the pr e s ence of G e rman y

on the Euphrat e s Putt ing asi de the usual hypocrisi e s of
.

the Te u t onic p eopl e s y ou know t ha t t his is so

, You know .

t ha t w e ought t o mak e common caus e in our dealing s wi t h

the backwar d rac e s of the wor l d L et B ritain and G erman y .

once come t o an agr ee men t in r e gard t o the qu es t ion of the

 C O N Q U E R O R O R P O LI C E MA N ? 121

N ear Eas t and the worl d can scarcel y again be dis t urbed by
,

any gr ea t w ar in any part of the gl obe if such a war is

,
”
con t rary t o the in t er e s t s of the two Empir es
.

Such d e clare s Sir Harry is G e rman o p inion And

, , .

in all human p robability he is absolut ely ri g ht .

It is b e caus e the work of p olicing backward or dis

ord e rly p o p ulations is so oft e n confus ed with the
ann e xationist illusion that the dang e r of squabbl e s in
the matt e r is a r e al one . N ot t he fact that E ngland is
doing a r e al and us e ful work fo r the world at larg e in
policing I ndia cr eat e s j ealousy of her work th e r e but ,
“ ”
t he notion that in som e way she p oss e sse s this
t e rritory and draws tribut e and exclusive ad v antage
,

th e re from W h e n Euro p e is a littl e m or e e ducat ed on

.

th e s e matt e rs the Euro p ean p o p ulations will r ealiz e

,

that th e y have no p rimordial int e re st in furnishing the

polic e m e n G e rman public O p inion w ill se e that eve n
.
,

if such a thing w er e p ossibl e the G erm an p e o p l e would

,

gain no a dvantage by r e p lacing England in I ndia ,

e s p e cially as the final r e sult of t he administrati ve work

of Euro p e in the N e ar and Far East will be t o m ak e

p o p ulations like thos e of Asia M inor in the last r e sort

t h e ir ow n p olic e m e n Should som e Pow e r acting as
.
,

polic e m e n ignoring the l e s sons of history try again the

, ,

e x p e rim e nt tri e d by S p ain in South Am e rica by England

,

in N orth Am e rica lat e r should she t ry to cr e at e for

,

h e rs e lf exclusi ve pri v il e g e s and m ono p oli e s the oth e r

,

nations have numbe rl e ss m e ans of r e taliation oth e r than

h
t e military on e s — in the num b e rl e ss instrum e nts which
t he e conomic and financial r e lationships of nations
furnish .
 C H APTE R I
THE P S YC H O LO G I CA L C AS E FOR WAR

You cannot l eave hum an nature ou t of the account vanity ,

pri de of p l ace p u gnacity the i nherent hostility of nati ons

N ati ons too g ood to fight al so too b ad—D es i r e f or m er e
, ,

m at er i al c om for t not the mai n motive i n m any human

ac ti viti es—M ilit ary r ival ry of n ati ons n e e ds l ong pr epar ati on
—S u ch r ival ry does not ari se f rom “ hot fits therefore but ”

act ual con fl i c t m ay b e pr ec i p it at ed th er e by—S c ientifi c j u sti

, ,

fi c ation of i nt ernati onal p u gnac ity—Str u gg l e b etween nations

the law of su rv ival —If a nati on not p u gnac i ou s i n som e
degree it will be e li m i nat e d in f avou r of o n e that i s
,

P ug nac ity ther ef or e a factor i n the str u gg l e of nati ons and ,

m us t nec essar ily p ersi st .

I O U G H T more pro p e rly p e rha p s t o have e ntitl ed this

, ,

“
s e ction The Cas e in its B iological and Psychological
As p e ct. But it is as w ell to av oid t e chnical lan g uag e
wh e n p ossibl e and the phras e us e d at t he b eginning of
,

this p a rt is a pp osit e for tw o r ea sons N ot only is it usually .

urg ed that man s nature— the instinctive part of him

’

his im p uls es—will always r e nde r war a lik ely contin

,

b tw n m e n but al so that man s v it al qualiti e s

’

g e n c y e e e , ,

his v irility and courag e and d e t e rmination hardihood , ,

t e nacity and h e roism are the l e gacy o f war and are

, ,

p r e s e rve d by war .

I hav e d e sire d to ge t at t he v e ry b e st s tat em e nt o f

this cas e which as w e shall se e p re s e ntly has not only
, , ,

the sup p ort of man y authori t i e s of t he v e ry g r e at e st

1 25
 1 26 T H E G REAT I L LU S I O N

w e i g ht—Of sci e ntists philosoph e rs soldi ers stat e sm en

, , , ,

po e ts cl e rg ym en —but r ep re s e nts w hat is p e rha p s the

, , ,

ve ry common e st obj e ction urg ed to a p ure ly e conomic

stat e m e nt of the cas e for p e ac e : the obj e ction that thos e
w ho pl e ad fo r ra t ionalism in the int e rnational r e lation

ship l e av e human natur e ou t o f account With .

many the f ee ling t hat all this logic do e s not amount

”
to anything e v e n wh e n th ey are unabl e to form u lat e
,

any d e finit e r efutation of the argum e nts outlin e d i n the

first p art o f this book is v e ry p rofound and pow e rful
, .

I t is f elt that eve n admitting the g e n e ral soundn e ss of

,

t hos e argum ents th e r e are a wh ol e rang e of motive s

,

which r e main unaccount e d for N ations do not fight

.

m e rely about th e ir mat e rial int e r e sts but fr e qu e ntly on

,

p ur e ly non e conomic grounds from vanity from rival ry

-
, ,

from p rid e of plac e the d es ir e to be first to occupy a g r eat

, ,

situation in the world to have pow e r or p r e sti g e o r from

, ,

sh ee r hostility t o p e o p l e w ho di ffe r from u s ; from quick

r e s e ntm e nt o f insult or inj u ry the unr e ason e d d e sire

,
'

which com e s of quarre l o r disa g re e m e nt to dominat e a ,

“ ”
ri v al at all costs ; from the inhe r e nt hostility that
e xists be tw e e n rival nations from the contagion of
sh ee r p as sion —the blind strife of mutually hatin g m en ;
and g e n e rally be caus e m en and nations alway s have
fought and always w ill and be caus e lik e the animal s
, ,

“ ”
in Watts dogg e re l it is t h e ir natur e to
’
, .

Thu s the S p ectator whil e admitting the trut h of t he

,

princi p l es outlin ed in the first p art of this book d ee ms that ,

such fact s do not s e riously afl ec t the basic caus e o f w ar

“
Jus t as in divi duals quarr el amon g t hems e lves andfi ght as ,

bi tte rly as the polic e and the L aw Cour t s w ill al low th em ,

no t be caus e t hey t hink it will mak e them rich but b ecause ,

1 28 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

And so on and so on . And e ve n Admiral Mahan

w ho t e lls u s tha t —
,

«
l
Lik e indivi dual s nat ions and empire s have souls as well
,

as bodi e s Gr eat and benefi cent achi evemen t minis t ers t o

.

worthi e r con t en t men t than the fi ll in g of the pocke t S ent i .

men t imaginat ion aspirat ion the sat is fact ion of the rat iona l
, , ,

and mor al fac u l t i e s in som e obj e c t b e tt e r t han br e ad al on e ,

all mus t find a part in a worthy mot ive Tha t e xt ension of .

nat ional au thori ty ov er ali en communi t i e s which is the ,

dominan t not e in the wor l d poli t ics of t o day di gnifi e s and -

e nlar g e s e ach ci t iz en t ha t e n t e rs i t s f ol d

—t e lls us also
I t is as t rue now as when W ashington p e nn ed the words ,

and wil l alway s b e t ru e t ha t i t is vain t o e x p e c t na t ions t o

,

act consis t en tl y f rom an y mo t iv e o th er than t ha t of in t e r es t .

This un der the name of r ealism is the f rankly avowed

,
‘
,
’

mot iv e of G e rman s ta t e craf t I t f oll ows from t his dir ec tly

.

tha t the s t udy of int er e s t s in t e rnat ional in t er e s t is the one

, ,

basis of soun d of provi den t policy f or

, ,

From this incoh e r e nc e a few indisputabl e facts

“ ”
e m e rg e .Thou g h e xpon e nts o f the in e vitability of
“ ”
war may p l e ad that war in the abstract may hav e
oth e r than motive s o f int e re st t hos e I have j ust m e n ,

t ione d are agr e e d that b e hind t he An g lo G e rman c on -

fli ot lie int e re st and p olicy E v e n the Sp ectator i n the

.
,

articl e from which I have quot e d admits as much and , ,

“
urg e s that as th e r e are burglars about it is wis e not
, ,

”
t o t e m p t th e m by op e n doors and windows and adds ,

us has t e n t o say t ha t w e do no t accuse the G e rman

L et
p eopl e of b ein g a nat ion of bur glars Th ey are an ythi n g .

but that Un fort unat e l y howev e r the dominant and gove rn

.
, ,

“
The I nt er est of Am eri c a i n I nt ernati onal Conditi ons p "

, . 80
S am pson L ow , London .
 THE PSYC H O L O G I CA L CA S E F OR WAR 1 29

ing cas t e in G e rm any has as w e have sai d above not b e en

, ,

conv e rt ed t o Mr Ang ell s vi ews true as t hey may be bu t

.
’
, ,

hol ds e xac tl y the opposi t e Opinion .

We may tak e it th e re fore that , main factor in t he , t he

An g lo G e rm an con fl ict is not at bottom se ntim e ntal bu t
-
,

mat e rial ; it is b as e d on a conc e p tion of int e r e st and

p olicy though a m istak e n one
, .

The s econd fact which e m e rg e s is this : Eve n ad

mitting that wars may r e sult from hot fits from sudd e n ,

bursts of nation al t e mp e r the l e ngthy p r e paration for ,

war t he condition of arm e d p e ac e t he bur de n of arma

, ,

m e nt which is alm os t wors e than an occasional w ar

, ,

do e s not r e sult th e r e from .

The para p h e rnalia o f war in the mod e rn world c an

not be improvis ed o n the s p u r o f the mom e nt t o m ee t

e ach gu st of ill feelin g and dro pp e d wh e n it i s

-
,

o ve r The building o f battl e s h i p s the di scussion

.
,

of budge ts and the v oting of th e m the t raining

, ,

o f armi e s t he pr e p aration of a cam p ai g n is a long

, ,

busin e ss and mor e and mor e in ou r day do e s e ach

,

distinctiv e cam paign involve a sp e cial and di stinctive

pre paration The pundits d e clar e that the G e rman
.

battl e ships h av e be e n e s p e ci ally built with a v i e w to

work in the N orth S ea I n any cas e w e kno w that the
.
,

con fl ict wi t h G e rmany has b ee n going on for t e n y e ars .

This is sure ly a rath e r p rolong ed hot fit The truth

is that war in the m od e rn world is t he outcom e of arm ed
p eac e and i nvolve s with all its e laborat e machin e ry o f
, ,

ye arly bud g e t s and slowly building warships and

forts and slowl y train e d armi e s fi xity of policy and ,

pu rpo s e e xt e nding ove r ye ars and som e tim e s g e n e ra

tions Me n do not mak e th es e sacrific e s month aft e r
.

mon t h year aft e r ye ar pay t ax e s and ups e t Gove rnm e n t s

, ,
1 30 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N
and fi g ht in Parliam e nt for a m e re passing whim ; and
as con fl icts n e c e ssarily b ecom e m ore sci e ntific w e shall ,

in t he nature of things be forc ed to p re par e ev e rything

mor e t horo ughly and have cl eare r and sounde r ide as as
to th e ir e ss e nc e th e ir cau se and their e ffe c ts and to
, , ,

watch mo r e clos e ly th e ir r e lation to national moti v e

-

and policy N o one of t he gr eat au thoriti e s o n war so

.
,

f ar as I am awar e tak e s this vi e w as t o its accid e ntal ,

characte r Th e y o ne and all from Grotius to Von de r

.
,

G oltz tak e the view t hat wars r esu lt from d e fi nit e and
,

de t e r m inabl e laws lik e all t he gre at proc e sses of human ,

-

d ev el op m e nt Vo n de r Goltz O n the Conduct of War

.

says : One m ust n e ve r los e si g ht o f the fact that war

is th e 7 con seque nc e and continuation Of p olicy One
~ - .

will ac t i o n l t he d efe n s iv e strat e gically or re st o n the -

d efe nsiv e according as the pol icy has bee n o ffe nsi v e or ‘

d ef e nsi v e An Offe n sive and d e fe n sive p olicy is in its turn

.
“

indic ated by t he zline of conduct dictat e d h istorically

‘
'
.

We see thiS very cl early in anti quity by the e xampl e

' '

furn i sh ed u s inLthe P e rsian s and t he Romans I n th e ir

‘

w a rs w e se e the st rategical r ol e following the curv e of the

'

h istorical rOle T he pe o p l e w hich in its historical d e v elo p

l
.

m e nt has arri v ed at the stag e of in e rtia o r e ve n r e tro ,

gression will not carry on a p olicy of o ffe nc e but m e re ly

, ,

one o f d e f e nc e ; a nation in that situation w ill wait to be

att ack ed and its st rat eg y w ill cons e qu e ntly be d efe n si ve

, ,

and from a d e fe nsi ve strat e g y will follow ne ce ssarily a

’

” *
d efe nsive tactic L ord E sh e r e x press e s a like thou g ht
. .

And still anoth e r fact e m e rge s : You cannot s e parat e

i n any abs olut e way the p sychological from the mat e rial
“
cau se or moti ve Q uarre ls which are wag e d be cau se .

ou r blood is u p in whic h w e do n t c are a hang about ’

,

“
To day and To m orr ow p 6 3 -
J ohn Mu rray -
, . . .
1 32 THE G R E AT I LL U S I O N

an axiom that no nation of fair political instruction w ill

knowingly in the long ru n p ersist in a cours e of action
-

which und ermin e s its economic w e ll b e ing S o again -

.
,

in the last r e sort the e conomic qu e s t ion li e s at the

,

bottom of the s e ntim e ntal qu e stion .

The m att e r is admitt edly mor e com p licat e d in the

fi eld of p olitics by factors which do not e xist in the
fi eld of busin e ss T h e re is the u nd e niabl e di ff e r e nc e
.

b e tw ee n m e n in th e ir coll e ctive and individual ca p aci

“ ”
ti es ; the irrationalism of the m ob mind ; the fact
that a m an will in politics in a matt e r wh er e p atriotism
,

is invol ved act with an irrationalism and an abs e nc e

,

o f any s e ns e o f r e s p onsibility which he would n e v e r

dis p lay in the conduct of his p rivat e busin e ss The .

p olitical history of e ve ry nation r e e ks with e xam p l es .

I n politics old catch words and id eas which are the ,

survi v al of conditions lon g sinc e vanish e d still hol d a ,

sway which has no parall e l in the ordinary co nduct of

comm e rcial busin e ss .

B ut wh e n all allowanc e s are mad e it will be found ,

t hat t he prolonge d condi t ion Of arm ed p eace which is ,

t he r e al burd e n has littl e r e latio nto the hot fits of m e n

, .

This d e libe rat e sust ain e d comp etition of nations the

, ,

l e ngthy p r e paration for conflict with som e unknown

adve rsary (fo r ou r adve rsary is s eldom the sam e for
t e n y e ars running First Franc e be for e that Russia
.
, ,

r ep li ed An d the conditi on of doing that i s that you shall m ake

m or e mon ey t han he do es You c ann ot m ak e thi s a big b u si n ess
.

an d b e at him un l ess y ou m ak e it an e conom i c s u cc ess Y ou have .

g ot to m ak e m on ey or let him b eat you It all com es to the

.

sam e t hi ng i n the end So f ar as the cas e i s an anal ogy to

.

nati onal com p e titi on the q u esti on shoul d b e : W ou l d it sati sf y

,
“

your pr i de to have it out by fi stic u ff s or to sti c k a k nif e i nt o him ?

,
”
You have to b eat hi m i n b us in es s not in b oxi ng
,
.
T HE PSYC H O L O G I CA L CA S E F OR WAR 1 33

now G e rm any to morrow p e rha p s J a p an ) is all

,
-
, , ,

“
as Clau se rw itz (with M r Blatchford ) says a part
.
,
”
of policy ; l e ss and l e ss do e s it be com e a p art o f

p assion .

The r e al p sychological d e fe nc e of the militarist cas e

go e s much d e e p e r than this We may fi nd it in a wid e
.

lit erature which has r e c e iv ed contribu t ions from som e of

,

the for e most m e n of o u r tim e The school whos e v i e ws

.

t h is lit e rature e x p r e ss e s is not at all agr ee d that m en show

a constan t t end e ncy to fight I nd ee d as w e shall see .
, ,

many of t he writ e rs admit e ith e r consciously or u nc on

,

sc io u sly that m e n are showing l e ss and l e ss t e nd e ncy

,

to fi g ht . But th ey r egard this drift from p ugnacity

as a form of d eg e n e ration and whil e subscribing
,

form ally to a d et e station of war p lainly imply and , ,

oft e n o p e nly av e r that t h ey re gard a p rolong e d p eace

,

as und e sirabl e .

E ve ry nation of the world p o ss ess e s e xpon e nts of

this p hiloso p hy and it constitut e s of cours e a c on
, , ,

stant e l e m e nt of r e sistanc e to any re form of ou r p r e s e nt

militarize d condition For Oft e n whil e the de fe nc e of
.
-
,

armam e nt s is bas e d formally on the n ec e ssity of pre

s e rv ing p eac e ve ry oft e n as can be j udge d from the
, ,

languag e e m p loye d by many m ilitarist advocat e s t he ,

real motive — subconscious it may be—which p rom p ts

re sistanc e to efforts at r e form and whic h s ets u p a r e al
,

d et e station of such effort is the hon e st b e li ef t h at w e

,

should be poor e r in charact e r and that life w ould be ,

m e an e r for the e limination of war and armam e nt I

, .

am p e rsuad e d that this is the r eal outstanding p sycho

lo g ical factor militating against diminution of arma
m e nt Wh e re conside rabl e numbe rs of e ducat ed m e n
throughout t he civ iliz ed w orld—s ci e ntists p hiloso p h e rs
.

, ,
1 34 TH E G R EAT I LLU S I O N

s t at e sm e n poe ts C l e rgym e n—are s inc e r el y c onvinc ed

, , .
.

that w e shou ld be the wors e for t he transfe r of th e . ,

'

struggl e o f m en to othe r fi e lds than the battl e fi eld the

.
-
,

e fforts t o diminish the machin e ry o f war are not lik ely

to mak e much he adway Opp osition to such e ffort . .

,

which is m ade ost e nsib ly on quit e oth e r grounds is .

,
.

oft e n in r e ality prompte d by a r egre t to s e e the soldie n:

‘

— the “ nation s strong ri g ht arm — re place d b oth er :’

y .

instrum e nt s .

Th es e philoso p h e rs do not desir e any l e ss e ning of the :

pr ep aration for t war ; it is th e y de clar e a valuable , :

,
.

dis c ipline : for the nations Th ey do not d e sir e to see . .

the human conflict shift e d from t he plan e Of physical .

for ce : They urge that the r ace will be p e rmane ntly

.
-
.

the p oo re r w hen as one oi th e m has de clare d t he g r eat

.
,
-

, .

st ruggl e s o f mankind bec ome m erely t he struggl e of

-
z

”
t alk and mon e y bags I n the de fe nc e of the ir the sis
-
. .

t h e y a ppeal to f u nd am e ntal biolog ical laws . .

It is urged that the c ondition of m an s advanc e In the

. z .
’
,

past has b e e n the rsnrv ival of th e fit by strug g l e and

' *

. .

warfare and t hat in such struggl e it is pr e ci se ly thos e

, .

e ndo w ed wi t h com bat iv en e ss and r e adin es s to fi gh t w ho

have su rvived Thus the t e nd e ncy to combat is not a. . ,

m e r e human p e r ve rsity but is p art of the se lf prot e ctive ,

-
-

i ns tinct r oot ed in p rofou nd biological laws—the s tru gg l e

o f nat ions fo r s urvi va l .

ThiS I point of view is e xp resse d by S R Ste inm e tz . .

“ ”
in his Ph iloso ph i e des Kri ege s
. War ac cording t o .
, .

this aut h or ; is an ord e al ins t itut ed by God who w e ighs ,

the nat io ns in its balan c e It is the e ss e nti al form of

. . .

the Stat e and th e only fu nction in w hic h p e o p l e s c an

, .

e m p loy a ll th e ir pow e rs at onc e and conv e rge ntly No .

victory is p os sibl e save as the re sultant o f a total ity o f .

1 36 T H E G R EAT I L LU S I O N

long e r obtain so p rofound is the p sychologic al im p e tu s

,

that oth e r than e conomic motive s will be found for

collision ; that if rivalry c an no long e r formulat e motive s
in mat e rial qu e stions it will con v e rt the moral conflicts
,

o f mankind into caus e s o f war ; and that just as in the

p ast m e n mad e such mo ral di ffe re nc e s as th e n e xist e d

r li ious dogma e g ) caus e s o f war s o in o u r day the
( e g , . .
,

m oral diffe re nc e s o f nation s wi ll be m ad e to se ive a lik e '

p urp os e ; that an autocratic G e rm any or Russ ia Will

fi nd su ffici e nt ground in the d e fe nc e of its sp e cial c on
c e pt ion o f national life for attacking a Lib e r al or
Radical Engl and w hos e influ e nces thr e at e n autocratic
conc e p tions the world ove r ; or that the fanaticism and
vani t y Of Asiatic rac es will o ne day of its e lf furnish
su ffi ci e nt motive for attack u p on a whit e race which in
th e ir vi e w m ak e s arrogant claim s of domination and
sup e riority .

Som e such V i e w has found lurid e xpr e ssion in the

r ec e nt work of an Am e rican soldi e r G e n e r al H om e r L e a * ‘

.
,

The author urg e s not only that war is in e v itabl e but ,

that any syst e matic att e m p t t o p rev e nt it is m e rely an

unwis e m eddling wit h the unive rs al law .

N at ional en t i t i es in t he ir birth ac t ivi t i e s and de ath are

, , , ,

con tro ll edby the same laws that gove rn all li f e—p l an t animal , ,

or nat ional — the law of s t ruggl e the law of survival The s e

, .

laws so universal as r egar ds li fe and t ime so u nalt erab l e in

, ,

causa t ion and consumma t ion are only variabl e in the dura
,

t ion of nat ional e x is t e nce as the knowl e dge of and ob edi ence
t o th em is proport ionat el y t ru e or f als e P l ans t o t hw art .

t he m t o short cut th em t o circumven t t o cozen t o deny t o

, , , , ,

scorn and vio l at e t hem is folly such as man s conce i t alon e

,
’

make s possib l e N e ve r has t his b een tri ed—and man is

.

“
The Val our of I gnorance . H arp ers .
 TH E PSYC H O L O G ICA L CAS E F O R WA R 1 37

e ve r a t it — but what the end has be en gangr enous and

fa t al
.

In th eory int ernat ional arbi t rat ion deni e s the ine x orabi l i ty
of na t ural laws and wou l d subs t i t u t e f or t h e m the v e ri e s t
,

Cagliostroic f orm ulas or woul d wit h the vani ty of Canu t e

, , ,

si t down on the oc e an si de of li f e an d comman d the e bb and

-

fl ow of i t s t i de s t o c eas e .

The i de a of in t e rna t ional arbi tra t ion as a subs ti tu t e for

na tural laws t hat gove rn the e x ist ence of poli tical en t i t i es
aris e s no t only f rom a denial of t he ir fl at s and an i gnorance
of th e ir app l icat ion bu t from a t o tal misconc e p t ion of war
, ,
”
i t s caus e s and i t s m eanin g
,
.

G e n e ral L e a s th e sis ls e m ph asize d in the introduction

’

to his work writt e n by anoth e r Am e rican soldi e r ,

G e n eral Jo h n J P Stor ey . .

A f ew i dealis t s may have vi sions t hat wi t h advancing

C iviliza t ion war and i t s dread horrors wi ll c eas e Civiliza .

t ion has not chan ged hu man na t ur e The natur e of man .

mak e s w ar in evi tabl e Arm e d s tri fe wi l l not disapp ear

.

f rom the earth until hum an na t ur e chan g e s .

M any of the d e fe nd ers of war ind e ed gi ve a still , ,

furth e r d e ve lo p m e nt to the t h ought r e ve al e d in t h e s e

p assag e s Th e y urg e that human natur e and hum an
.

soci ety ha v e not ye t r e ach ed a stat e o f d e v e lo p m e nt in

which th e y c an dis p e ns e with the moral disci p lin e o f

war ; that without such soci ety w ould los e its v irility ,

and be in da n g er of rotting from sh e e r fee bl e effe minat e

n e ss and l azy s e lf gratifi c ation W e ltstadt und F rie
-
.

”
de nS proble m t he book of Profe ssor Baron Karl vo n
,

St e ng el a j uri st w ho was one of G e rmany s d e l egat e s

, ,
’

at the first Hagu e P e ac e Conf e r e nc e has a chapt e r ,

e ntitl e d The Si g nificanc e of War for D e ve lo p m e nt o f

H umanity in which the author says
,
"
1 38 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N
W ar has more of t en f acili tat ed t han hinde r ed progre ss .

A th ens and Rome no t only in spi t e of bu t j us t be caus e of

, ,

th e ir m any w ars ros e t o the zeni t h of civ ili za t ion Gre at

, ,

S t at es l ik e G erman y and I t al y are welded in t o nat ional i t i e s ,

onl y through b l ood and iron .

S t orm p u rifie s the air and des troy s the f rail t r e es le aving ,

the s t ur dy oaks s t an ding W ar is the t e s t of a nat ion s ’

.

polit ical phy sical and in t e ll ec t ual wor th The S t at e in which

, , . .

there is mu ch t ha t is ro tt en may v egetat e for a w hile in

, . .

pe ace bu t in war i t s weakness is r eve al ed

, .

“ G rman y s pr para t ions f r w ar h v

a e not re su lted in
’
e e o . .

e conomic disas t e r bu t in un e x ampl ed e conomi c e x pansion

, ,

unque s t ionab ly b ecaus e of our de mons trat ed sup e riori ty ov er

France I t is be tt er t o s p en d mone y o n armam en ts and
s
-

battl e ships t han l u x ury , and other s ensual

, ,
!
. 1
”
living .

We know that Moltk e e xp re ss ed a li ke v i ew in h i s

famous l e tt e r t o B lunts ch li A pe rpe tu al pe ac e ” . . fl ,

“
d eclar ed the Fi eld M arshal is a dr e am and not e ven
-
,

a be autiful dre am ., War is one of the ele m e nts of

. , 7
-
.

orde r in the world est ablish ed by G od e The noblest z - -

.
w

vi rtu e s of m en are d evelop ed th e r e in Wit h o u t war the . .

world would d eg e n e rat e and d isapp e ar in a morass of

At the v e ry tim e that M oltk e was v oici ng this s e nti

m e nt a p r e cis e ly similar o ne was b e in g voi ce d by no l e ss
, .

“
a p erson than E rn e st R e nan I n his La R éform e .
~

I nt e ll e ctu ell e e t MOrale ( Paris : Le vy, 1 871 p 1 1 1 ) , .

he writ e s

I f the foolis hne ss , neglige nc e , i dl e n e ss , and shor t sigh te d

.
~

n ess of Stat es did not involve their oc c as ional collision, i t is . .

. .

F or pr ec is ely s i m i lar vi ews i n m ore defi nit e f or m , see R at ze n

“
D ie S oc i ologisc he E rkentni ss“ pp 2 3 3, 2 34 Lei p zig :
’
hof cr s . . , .

B roc kau s, 1 898 .

 1 40 T H E G R EAT I LL U S I O N
TheCobde nit e ideal of a S tat e in which eve ry ci t i zen is
cease le ssl y engag ed in the e nnobl in g proc e ss of buy ing ch eap
and s e llin g dear l eav e s som e thin g t o be de sir ed The .

accumu l at ion of rich e s and the s t ea dy pursui t of mat erial

C omf ort do no t t e n d t o the de v e lopm e n t of the hi gh e s t typ e
”
of charac t e r .

Anoth e r authority e xpr e sse s it som e what difl e re ndy

We appe ar t o hav e forgott en the truth f u n dam en tal ,

confirm ed by all his t ory t ha t the war l ik e nat ions inhe ri t the
,

e art h and t ha t N a t ur e de cr ee s the surv ival of the fi tt e s t in

,
”
the n e v e r e n din g s tru ggl e for e x is t e n c e
- .

Prof e ssor William J am e s cove rs the whol e ground

of th e s e clai m s in the following p assag e

The w ar par ty is assur edl y ri gh t in a ffi rmin g t ha t the

marti al virtu es al t hou gh ori ginall y g ain ed b y the race
,

t hroug h w ar are absol u t e and pe rman e n t human goods

, .

Pat rio ti c pri de and ambi tion in t h eir mili t ary f orm are ,

aft e r al l onl y sp e cifica t ions of a mor e univ ersal and

,

en during comp e ti tiv e passion .Pacifism make s no

conv e rt s from the mi l i t ary par ty The mi li t ary par ty
.

deni e s n e i t h e r the be s t iali ty nor the horror nor the

, ,

e x pe ns e ; i t onl y sa ys t ha t t h e s e t hi n g s t ell bu t half t he

s t or y I t onl y sa y s t ha t w ar is wort h t he se t hings ; that

.
,

t akin g human nat ur e as a who l e w ar is i t s be s t pro ,

tec tion ag ains t i t s weak e r and mor e cowar dl y s e l f and t ha t ,

mankin d canno t aff or d t o a dop t a p eace econom y .

Mili t arism is the g r ea t pr e s erver of our i deal s of har dihoo d ,

and human li fe wi t hou t har dihood wou l d be con t e mp tib l e .

This nat u ral fee l in g forms I t hink the inn e rmos t sou l
, ,

of arm y wri t in g s W i thou t an y e x cep t ion known t o m e

.
,

mili t aris t au t hors tak e a hi gh ly my s t ical vi ew of t heir

subj ec t and reg ar d w ar as a biol og ical or sociological
,

n e ce ssi ty . O ur anc es t ors hav e br e d pu gnaci ty in t o

our bon e and marrow and t housan ds of y ears of pe ace
won t breed i t ou t of u s —M cc lure s M agazine Au gus t 1 9 1 0
,
’ ” ’
.
, , .
 TH E PSYC HO L O G I CA L CAS E F O R WA R 1 41

E ve n famous English cl e rgym e n have voic ed the sam e

vi e w Charl es Kin g sl ey in his de fe nc e of t he C rim ean
.
,
“ ”
War as a j ust war against tyrants and o p pre s sors ,
“
wrot e : F o r t he Lord J e sus Chri st is not only the
Princ e of P e ac e He is the Princ e of War too He is
, , .

t he Lord o f H osts t he G od of arm i e s and who e ve r

, ,

fi g hts in a j ust war a g ainst tyrants and o p pr e ssors

is fi g hting on Chri st s sid e and Christ is fi g hting on
’
,

his sid e . Christ is his captain and his l ead e r and ,

he c an be in no b ett e r s e rvic e B e sur e o f it fo r the

.
,

Bibl e t e lls you

Canon N ewbolt D ean Farrar the Archbisho p o f
, ,

Armagh have all writt e n not dissimilarly .

The whol e cas e may be r e sum e d thus

R e aso ni ng inductive ly : All the e vid e nc e be aring o n
the r elations b e tw ee n nations shows that t hos e r elations
always have b ee n in p art mark ed by a hostility in w hich
m e r e ly mate rial int e r e st or cool re ason may ha ve no
a pp are nt or dir e ct he aring ; which may o n the surface
inde e d a p p e ar illogical and r e asonl e ss T hat th e re .

is no e v id e nc e that this charact eristic of the r e lations

b etw ee n Stat e s e ve r has bee n or is be ing greatly m odi
fi ed ; that it is mor e o v e r in com p l e t e accord with what
w e know of t he e ve rlasting unchang e ability o f human

nature ; tha t the warlike nations inh e rit the e arth and ,

t hat the p eac e ful on e s d e clin e and d e g e n erat e .

R easoning d educti v e ly : Sinc e struggl e is the law of

life and a condition of surv i v al as m uch with nations
,

as with oth e r organisms p u g nacity which is m e re ly

, ,

Thom as H ugh es i n his pr efac e t o the fi rst E ng li sh editi on of

,

Th e B ige l ow P ap ers r ef ers t o the opp on ent s of the C r i m ean

”
,

War as a vai n and m ischi evou s c liq u e w ho am ongst us have

“
,

raised the cry of pe ace ”

S ee al so Mr H ob so n s P sychol ogy of
.
“
.
’

Jingoism p 52 Grant Ri char ds

, . . .
 1 42 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N
inte nse in
strug g l e a re adi n e ss t o acc e pt stru gg l e
e nergy ,

in zits ac ut es t form m ust n e ce ssarily be a qualit y

-
,
.

m arking those individu als succe ss ful in th e v ital c o n

. .

te sts A nation wh i c h tho ugh in other re spec ts sup e rior

. .
,
'

t o£ it s n eighbours la c ks t h at ca p a c ity and r e adin e ss fo r

,
. .

Ps t ru
ggle w hic h pu gnac ity and co mbati ve ne ss imp ly , is
'
. s .

w ipe drou t a nd replac e dzby it may b e an in fe rio r bu t

‘
'
.
,

m orei pu gnac iou 3 rival so t hat in the matt e r o f p ug 4

,
'
s
'

nac ity it is not ne ce s sarily the b e st w hich se t t he

~ '
. . .

standard ; it may w e ll be the worst

.
sinc e the b est ,

have to be as pugnacious as any rival which thr eat e ns

th em . I t i s this d ee p s e at e d biological law which
.
-
,

r e nd e rs im p ossibl e the ac c eptanc e by manki nd of the .

lit e ral inj unction to : turn the oth e r c h e e k to the smit e r

' . . ,
,

nat u r e e ve r to conform to th e i d e al
. . .

imp li ed in t hat injunction sinc e w e r e it ac c e pted

h , , . .
,

i th a bes t zm e n and nations—in t he se nse o f the ki ndli e st

Hand m o st h umane—would b e plac e d at the m e rcy o f

'
. .

b he nrrms t b rut al w ho e liminatin g t he l e as t brutal

.
, , -
,

sur v ivo rs with the c harac te r of the '

'

w o rsg andf the q u aliti es o f t he militarist wo uld r e mai n

’

in i any rcas e An d fOI thlS r easo n a r e adin e s s to fight

.
f r
'
u
,

whi ch m e an s the q
"
- u a1iti es o f rivalry and p ride and .

com bat i v e n e ss hardihood te nacity and h eroism —what

,

, ,

we nk n ow as the manly
.. qu al iti
x e s — must in any cas e
sur v ive xas t he r ac e sur v i ve s and sinc e th e y stan d i n .
, ,
. .

t he way of ithe predomin anc e of the p ur ely brutal are a

‘

.
,
,

nec es sary part o f the high e st moral it y

. . .

ap par e nt forc e of the s e tw o pro p ositions

D e spit e t he .

fo un d ed c u pon a profound illu s io n and u p on ,

a g ross m isr eading of all t he fact s o f the e ase ‘

f '

.
1 44 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

warfar e and for r ej ecting any ex p ectation that pu g nacity

,

b e twe e n nations will s e riously dim inish o r that the ,

p roc e ss of man s d ev e lo p m e nt mak e s for its ex

’

tinction .

I n r e ply to the abo v e cas e I hav e w ritt e n four

,

cha p t e rs att e m p ting to show

I That the all eg ed unchang e ability of human natur e
.

is not a fact and all the e vid e nc e is a g ainst it

, t he
disap p e aranc e or at l east the att e nuation of t he t e mp e r
, ,

which l e ads us to e nforc e ou r r e ligious b eli e f on oth ers ,

and of the t e m p e r which p roduc e d the du el )

2 That the warlik e nations do not inh e rit the e arth ;
.

3 That p hysical forc e is a constantly diminishing

.

factor in human aff airs ; that this involve s p rofound

p sychological modifications and
4 That the incr e asing factor is c o O p e ration and
-
.
,

that this factor t e nds t o att e n u at e Stat e division s

which in no way r e p r e s e nt the lim its o f that c o
Op e ration .

The first t w o chapt e rs pr e s e nt the facts of the cas e ;

t he s e cond tw o t he factors displaying the g e n e ral law
,

und e rlying and d e fining the r eal charact e r of man s ’

struggl e and ad v anc e and the p sycholog ic al d eve lop

,

m e nt in v olve d th e re in .

The illusion und e rlying the cas e d etail e d in the

p r ec e din g chapte r and outlin ed abo ve aris e s from the in
discriminat e a p plication of sci e ntific formula Stru g gl e .

is the law of survival with m an as e ls ewh e re but it is

, ,

the stru g g l e o f man with the uni v e rs e not man w ith ,

”
m an D og do e s not eat dog E ve n tig e rs do not
.

live o n one anoth e r ; th ey live on th e ir pr ey The .

plan e t is m an s p r ey M an s stru ggl e is the strug g l e of

’
.
’

t he organism which is human soci e ty in its adaptation

, ,
T H E PS Y C H O L O G I CA L CAS E F O R PEAC E 1 45

t o i t s e nvironm e nt t he world —no t the struggl e be twee n

,

di ffe r e nt parts of the sam e organism .

The e rror h e r e i ndicat e d aris e s ind e ed from mistaking

, ,

the imp e rfe ct working of di ff e r e nt parts of the sam e

organism for the conflict of in dividual organisms B ritain .

to day support s forty m illion s in gr e at e r comfort t h an

-

it su pp ort e d twe nty a littl e ove r half a ce ntury ago This .

has b e en accom plish e d not b y the vari ous grou p s

Scots English W e lsh I rish — p r eying u p on one anoth e r
, , , ,

but by e xactly the r e ve rs e p roc e s s : clos e r c o o p e ration -

b etw ee n th e m s e lve s and with p o p ulations outsid e .

That mankind as a w hol e r ep r e s e nts the organism

and the p lan et the e nvironm e nt to whic h he is mor e ,

and mor e adapting hims e lf is the only conclusion that

,

consorts with t he facts If struggl e b e tw ee n m en is the

.

tru e r eading thos e facts are absolut e ly in e xplicabl e

, ,

for he is drifting away from con fl ict from the u se of ,

p hysical forc e and towards c o o p e ration This much

,
-
.

is unch all e ng e abl e as the facts which follow will

,

show .

But in that cas e if struggl e for e xt e rmination of ri v als

,

Si nce the p u bli cati on of the fi rst e dition of t his boo k there
has app ear ed i n F ranc e an adm ir abl e wor k by M N ovi kow .
,

L e D arwi ni s m e Soc i al ( F e lix Alcan P ari s) i n whi ch thi s

”
, ,

app li cati on of the D arwi ni an th e ory t o soc i ol ogy is discu ssed

wi th gr eat ability and at gr eat l ength and i n f u ll detail and
, ,

the bi ol ogi c al pr es e nt ati on of the cas e as j u st ou tli ne d , ,

has b een i nsp ir e d i n no small p ar t by M N ovikow s wor k

’
. .

M N ovikow has e stabli she d i n bi ol ogi cal t erms what pr evious

.
,

to the pu bli cati on of his b ook I att em p ted to establish i n

,

e c on om i c t er m s.The r eal app li c ati on of the bi ol ogi cal law t o

hu m an soci e ty had m or eover al re ady b een p artly anti cipat ed
, , ,

i n corr ecti on of som e of the conc l u si o ns drawn by Sp encer and

H uxl ey by P r ofessor Kar l P earson ( The Gram m ar of Sc i ence
,
“
,

pp 433 438 ; Walt er S cott L ondon)

.
-
, .
1 46 THE G R E AT I LLU S I O N

be tw e e n m e n is the law of life mankind is s e tting at ,

naught the na t ural law and must be on its way to

,

e xtinction .

H appily t he natural law in this matt e r has be e n

misr e ad The indi vidual in his s ociological asp e ct is
.

not the com p l et e organism He w ho att e m pts to live

.

w ithout as so ciation with his fe llows di e s N or is the .

nation t he com pl et e or g anism If B ritain att e m pt ed .

to liv e without co o p e ration with oth e r nations half

-
,

the population would star v e The com p l e t e r t he c o

.

o p e ra t ion the gre at e r t he vitali ty ; the more imp e rfect

the c o op e ration t he l e ss t he v itality
-
N ow a body .
,

the v arious parts o f which are so int e rd ep e nd e nt that

without c o ordination vitality is re duc e d o r d eath
-

e nsu e s m ust be r e gard ed in so far as the functions

, ,

in qu e stion are conc e rn ed not as a coll e ction of rival

,

organisms but as one This is in accord with what w e

, .

know of the charact e r of living organism s in th e ir con

fli ot with e nvironm e nt The high e r the orga nism the
.
,

gre at e r t he e laboration and int e rd e p e nd e nce of its part ,

h *
the g r e at e r t e n e e d for c o ordination -
.

I f w e tak e this as the r e ading of the biological law ,

t he whol e thing b e com e s plain ; man s irr e sistibl e drift

’

away from conflict and towards c o o p e ration is but the -

com p l et e r adap tation o f the org anism (man ) to its

e nvironm e nt (t he plan e t wild natur e) r e sulting in a
, ,

mor e int e ns e vitality .

The foregoing is the law stat e d biologically .

C o op erati on doe s not exc l u de c om p etiti on

-
I f a r ival b eats .

m e in b u si ness it i s b e caus e he f urn i shes m or e e ffi c i en t c o op era

,
-

ti on than I do ; if a thi ef st eal s from m e he i s not c o op erati ng ,

-

at all and if he s t eal s m u ch will pr even t m y co ope rati on

, The -
.

or gani sm (s oc i e ty) has eve ry i nt er est i n enco ura i ng the c om

g
p etit or and s u ppr e ss i ng the p aras it e .
1 48 THE G R E AT I LLU S I O N

are digging roots to do a littl e huntin g The p ugnacity

, .

r e c e ntly e x p e nd e d o n t he slav e s i s r e dir e ct e d to k ee p ing

h ostil e trib e s from ca p turing th e m —a di ffi cult matt e r ,

be caus e the sla ve s th e ms el ve s show a disposition to try

a change of mast e rshi p Th ey are bri be d into g ood
.

be haviou r by be tt e r tr e atm e nt : a furth e r diminution of

fo rc e a f u rt he r drift towards c o op e ration ; th ey g ive
,
-

labour w e giv e food and prot e ction

,
As the tribe s
.

e nlarg e it is found that thos e have most coh e sion

,

wh e re the p osition o f slave s is re cogn iz e d by d e finit e

rights and p rivi l e g es Slav e ry b e com e s s e rfdom o r
.

ville iny The lord g iv e s land and p rot e ction the s e rf

.
,

labour and m ilitary s e rvic e : a fu rth e r drift from forc e ,

a furth e r drift towards co o p e ration e xchang e Wit h

-
, .

the introduction o f mon ey e v e n the fo rm o f forc e dis

a pp e ars : the labour e r p ays r e nt and the lord pays his
soldi e rs It is fr e e e xchan g e on both sid e s and
.
,

e conomic forc e has r e p lac e d p hysical forc e And the

.

furth e r the drift from forc e towards simpl e economic

int e res t the b ett e r the r e sult for t he e ff ort e x p e nd e d .

The Tartar khan w ho s e iz e s by forc e the w e alth in his

,

stat e gi ving no ad e quat e r e turn soon has non e t o s eiz e

, , .

Me n will not work to cre at e what th e y cannot e njo y so ,

that finally the khan has to kill a man by tortur e to

, ,

obtain a sum which is the thousandth part of what a

London trad e sman will s p e nd to s e cur e a titl e carrying
no ri g ht to t he e x e rcis e o f forc e from a Sov e r e ign who
has lost all ri g ht t o t he u se or e x e rcis e o f physical forc e ,

t he h e ad of the w ealthi e st country i n t he world t he ,

sourc e s o f whos e w e alth are t he most r e mov e d from

an y p roc e ss invol v ing the e x e rcis e o f physical forc e .

B ut w hil e this proc e ss is g oing o n insi de the t ribe o r ,

g rou p o r nation
, forc e and hostility
, a s b e tw e e n di ffe rin g
TH E PS Y C H O L O G I CA L CA S E F O R PEA C E 1 49

tribe s or nations re m ain ; but not undim inish ed At .

first it su ffi c e s for the fuzzy h ead o f a ri v al trib e sman to

app e ar above the bush e s for primiti ve m an to w ant to
hit it He is a for e ign e r : ki ll him Lat e r he only
. .
,

wants to kill him if he is at war w ith his trib e T h er e .

are p e riods o f p e ac e : diminution o f hostility I n the .

first conflicts all of the ot h er tribe are kill e d— m e n ,

wom e n and childre n

, Forc e and p ugnacity are
.

absolut e But the u se of slav e s both as laboure rs and

.

as concubin e s att enuat e s this : th e r e is a diminution of

forc e The wom e n of the hostil e tribe be ar childr en by
.

the conqu e ror : th e r e is a diminution of p ugnacity At .

the n e xt raid into the hostil e t e rrito ry it is found that

th e r e is nothin g t o tak e be caus e e v e rything has be e n
,

kill ed or carri ed off S o on lat e r raids the conqu e ror

.

kills the chi e fs only ( a furth e r diminution of pu g nacity ,

a furth e r dri ft from m er e i mpuls e) or m e r ely dis ,

p oss e ss e s t h e m of th e ir lands and di vid e s th e m among

the conqu e ror ( N orm an Conqu e st ty p e) We h ave .

alr eady p ass ed the stag e of exte rm inationfi The ‘

W ithou t going to the som ewhat obscur e anal ogi es of bi ol ogi cal
sci ence it i s evi dent fr om the si m p l e f acts of the worl d t hat if at
, ,

any stag e of hum an deve l op m ent warf ar e eve r did make f or the
survival of the fit w e have l ong s ince passed out of that stage
, .

When w e conq u er a nati on i n these days w e do not ext erm i nate ,

it ; w e l eave it wher e it w as When w e overcom e the servil e

.

races f ar f rom eli m i nating them w e give them added chances of

, ,

lif e by introdu c i ng order etc so t hat the l ower human q uality

, .
,

t ends to b e p erp et u at ed by conquest by the higher I f ever it .

happ ens that the Asi ati c race s chall e nge the whit e i n the indu str ial
or m ilitary fi el d it will b e i n l arge part than ks to the wor k of
,

race c onservati on whi ch has b een the r esu lt of E ngl and s con
,
’

q u est i n I ndi a E gypt and As i a generally and her acti on i n Chi na

, , ,

when she i m p osed c om m erc ial cont act with the Chi nese by vir t ue
of m ili tary p ower W ar b etwee n p eop l e of rou ghly eq ual develop
.

m e nt m ak es al so for the s u rvi val of the unfit sinc e w e no l ong er ,

1 50 THE G R EAT I L LU S I O N

conqu e ror sim p ly absorbs the conqu e red —or the

conqu e re d absorbs the conqu e ror which e ve r you lik e
, .

I t is no long e r the cas e o f one gobbling u p the oth e r .

N e ith e r is gobbl e d I n the n ext stag e w e do not e v e n

.

dis p oss e ss the chi e fs —a fu rth e r sacrific e of p hysical

forc e—w e m e r ely im p os e tribut e B ut the conqu e ring
.

nation soon finds it se lf in the position o f the khan in

his o w n stat e the more he squ e e z e s the l ess he g e ts
-
,

until fi nally the cost of g etting the mon ey by military

, ,

m e an s exc e e ds wh at is obtain e d I t is the cas e of

.

Spain in S p anish Am e rica — the more t e rritory she

own e d t he poor e r she b e cam e The wis e conqu e ror
.
,

th e n fi nds that b e tt e r than the e xaction o f tribut e is an

e xclusiv e mark e t—
,

o ld English colonial typ e B ut in .

t he p roc e ss of in suring e xclusivity mor e is lost than is

gain ed : t he c ol oni e s are allow e d to choos e th e ir ow n
—
syst e m furth e r drift from the u se of forc e furth e r ,

drift from hostility and pugnacity Final r e sult : c om

.

ple te abandonm e nt of physical forc e c o o pe r a tion on -

,

basis of mutual p rofit the only re lationshi p wi t h ,

r e fe r e n ce not m e re ly to coloni e s which have b ecom e

in fact for e ign Stat e s but al so to Stat e s for e ign in nam e
,

as w e ll as in fact .We have arri ved not at the in

t e nsifi c ation of t he s t ru gg l e b e tw e e n m e n but at a ,

ext erm i nat e and m ass acr e a conq u ered race but only thei r b est
,

e l e m ent s those c arryi ng o n the w ar) and b ec au se the c onq uer or

( ,

uses u p his b est el em ents i n the process so that the l ess fit of

,

b oth si des are l ef t to p erp etuat e the sp eci es N or do the facts of

.

the m odern wor l d l end any su pp ort t o the t heory that pr ep ara
ti on f or w ar under mode rn conditi ons t ends to pr eserve vi rili ty ,

si nce those conditions i nvolve an artifi c i al b arr ac k lif e a highly ,

m echan i cal t r ai ni ng f avo urab l e t o the de stru c ti on of i nitiati ve and ,

a m e c han i cal un i form ity and c ent r alizati on t en di ng to crush i n

dividu ali ty and acc e nt u ati ng the dr i f t t owards a c e nt rali zed
,

b u r eau c racy already too gr eat .

1 52 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N
G ermans w ill do if Russians are not av ailabl e The .

mor e educat e d m an wants Russians ; but if he stops a

mom e nt long e r he will s ee that in killin g Russian
,

p easants he mi g ht as w ell be killing so many H indoos ,

for all th e y had t o do with the matt e r He th e n wants

.

to ge t at the Russian Gov e rnm e nt B ut so do a great

.

—
m any Russians Lib e rals R e form e rs e tc He th e n
, , .

s ee s that the r e al conflict is not English a g ainst Russians

at all b ut the int e r e st Of all law abiding folk— Russian
,
-

and E nglish alik e— against Op p re ssion corru p tion and

, ,

incom p et e nc e And to g ive the Ru s sian Gove rnm e nt

.

an opportunity Of goin g to w ar would only str e n gt h e n

its hands against thos e wi th whom w e we r e in sym
p athy—the R e form e rs . As war would incr e as e the
influ e nc e Of the r e actionary p arty in Russia it would do ,

nothing to p r e v e nt the r ecurr e nc e Of such incid e nts ,

and so quit e the wrong p arty would s u ffe r W e r e the .

r e al facts and the r e al r e s p onsibiliti e s und e rstood a ,

Lib e ral p eo p l e would r e p ly to such an ag gr e ssion by

taking e ve ry m eans which the social and e conomic
r elationshi p Of the tw o Stat e s afford ed to e nabl e Russian
Lib e rals to hang a few Russ ian Adm irals and e s t ablish a
Russian Lib e ral Gov e rnm e nt I n any cas e the r e aliza
.
,

tion Of the fact att e nuat e s ou r hostili t y I n the sam e

.

way as w e b e com e mor e familiar w ith the facts w e

, ,

shall att e nuat e ou r hostility t o G ermans ”

We .

shall r ealize that m any G e rm ans are j ust as much

o pp os ed to naval aggr e ssion as w e are We shall not.

w ant to kill them at l east w e shall want to h elp th e m

,

mak e th e ir sch e m e s succ e ss ful The capacity for

.

di ffe r e ntiation in t h is s ens e is fat al to any sustain ed

hostili t y be tw e e n larg e nations Int e rnational hostiliti e s
.

r ep os e for the most p art upon our conc e ption Of the

TH E PSYC H O L O G I CA L CA SE F O R PEAC E 1 53

fore ign Stat e with which w e are quarrelling as a

homog e n e ous p e rsonality having the sam e charact e r o f
re sponsibility as an individual wh e r e as the v ari e ty
,

Of com munity int er ests both mat e rial and moral

, ,

r egardl e ss Of S tat e bounda ri e s r e nd e rs the analo g y

,

be twee n nations and indivi dual s an utt e rly fals e o ne .

I nd eed w h e re the CO O p e ration be tw ee n the pa rts Of

,
-

the social organism is as compl e t e as Our m echanical

d e v elopm e nt has r e c e ntly mad e it it is im possibl e to,

fix the limits Of the community and to say what is one

,

com munity and what is anoth e r C e rtainly the Stat e .

limits no long e r d e fin e the limits of the community ;

and yet it is only the Stat e limits which i nt e rnational
antagonism p r edicat e s I f the Louisiana cotton cro p
.

fails a p art Of Lancashire starv es Th e r e is clos e r

,
.

com munity Of int e r e st in a v ital matt e r be tw e e n

Lancashir e and Lo uisiana than be tw ee n Lan c ashire
and say the O rkn eys part Of the sam e Stat e Th e r e
, , , .

is much clos e r int e rcommunication b etwee n B ritain

and the U nit ed Stat e s in all that touch e s social and
moral d evel o p m e nt than be tw ee n Britain and say , ,

B e n g al p art Of the sam e Stat e An En g lish nobl eman

,
.

has more community Of thought and fe e ling with a E u rO

p e an Contin e ntal aristocrat (will marry his dau g ht e r for ,

instanc e) than he would think Of claiming w ith such

“ ”
fe llo w B ritish countrym e n as a B e ngal babu a ,

J amaica n egro or e ve n a D ors e t yok el A p rofe ssor at

, .

O xford will have close r com munity Of fee ling with

a m e mb e r Of the Fr e nch Acad e my than wi t h say a , ,

Whit e cha p e l p ublican O ne may go fu rth e r and say

.
,

t hat a British subj e ct Of Qu e be c h as C los e r contact

with Paris than wi t h London ; the B ritish subj e ct o f
D utch sp e aking Africa with H olland than with England
-
1 54 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N

t he British subj ect Of H on g Ko ng with P e kin than with

London ; Of Egyp t with Constantino p l e than with
London and so on I n a thousand r e sp ects association
, .

cuts across S t at e boundari e s whi ch are p ur e ly c onve n

,

t ional and r e nd e r the biolo g ical di v ision Of m ankind into

,

in de p e nd e nt and warring Stat e s a sci e ntific in e ptitude .

Alli ed factors intro duc ed by the charact e r Of m ode rn

,

int e rcours e ha ve alr eady gon e far to r e n de r t e rritorial

,

conqu est futil e for the satisfaction Of natu ral human

prid e and vani ty J ust as in the e conom ic s p h e r e factors
.

p eculi ar to ou r g e n e ration have r end e r ed the Old analogy

as be tw ee n Stat e and p e rsons a f al s e one so do th e s e ,

factors r e nd e r t he analogy in the s e ntim e ntal sp h e r e

a fals e o ne Whil e the indi vidual Of g re at p oss e ssions
.

do e s in fact Obtain by r e ason Of his w ealth a d e fe r e nc e

, ,

which satisfi e s his prid e and vanity t he individu al Of ,

the gr eat nation has no such s e ntim e n tal advantag e as

against the C itiz e n Of the sm all N o o ne thinks Of .

r e s pe cti ng a R u ss ian muj ik be c au se he b elon gs to a

gr eat natio n or d e spising a Scandinavian or B elgian
,

g e ntl e m an b e caus e he b elongs to a small one ; and any

soci e ty will accord p r e stige t o the nobl e man Of N orway ,

H olland B e lgium S pai n or e ve n Portugal wh e r e i t

, , , ,
”
re fus e s it t o an E ng lish boun de r The nobl e man
.

o f any coun t ry will m arry the nobl e woman Of ano th e r

mor e r eadily than a w oman from a lowe r class Of his

ow n country The p re stig e o f the for e ign coun t ry
.

rarely coun ts fo r anything in t he matt e r wh e n it com e s

t o the r e al facts Of e ve ryday lif e so sh allo w is the r e al
,

s entim ent wh ic h now divid e s Stat e s J ust as in mate rial

.

thi ng s community of int e r e st and r e lationsh ip cut

c l e ar across Stat e bo undari e s s o in e vi tably w ill the
,

p s yc h ic communi t y o f int e re st com e so to do .

1 56 T HE G REAT I LL U S I O N

on t he p art Of the British d e mocrat that what stands

in t he way Of his s e curing fo r social e xp e nditure
e normous sums that now g o t o armam e nts is mainly

a lack Of c o O p e ration be twee n hims elf and t he d e mo

-

e r e ts Of a hostil e nation w ho are i n a lik e cas e is but ,

a st e p and a st e p that if h istory has any m e aning is

, , ,

bound shortly to be tak e n And wh e n it is tak e n pro .

,

p e rty capit al I ndi v idualism wi ll ha ve to give to its

, ,

int e rnational organization alre ady far r e aching a sti ll

,
-
,

mor e d e finit e form in which int e rnational di ffe r e nc e s

,

will p lay no p art And w h e n that condition is re ach e d

.
,

both Stat e s will fi nd inconc e ivabl e the id ea that artificial

Stat e divisions ( which are coming m or e and mor e to
a pp roximat e to m e re administ rative di vi sions l e avin g ,

free sco p e within th e m o r across th e m for the d e ve lo p

m ent o f g e nuin e nationality) could e ve r in any way
d e fin e the r e al conflicts Of m ankind .

T h e r e r e mains Of cours e the qu e stion Of tim e : that

, ,

“ ” “
th e se d ev elo p m e nts w ill tak e thousands o r hun
dr e ds Of ye a rs Yet the int e rd e p e nd e nc e Of mod e rn
.

nations is t he gro wth Of littl e m or e than fifty y ears .

A c e ntury a g o En g land coul d hav e b ee n s elf su p porting -

,

and littl e t he w ors e fo r it O ne m ust not ove rlook t he

.

Law Of Acc e l e ration The age Of man on the earth

.

is plac e d v ariously at from thirty to thr e e hundre d

thousand ye ars He h as i n som e r e s p ects d e ve lo p e d
.

mor e in the last two hundr e d ye ars than in all the

p r e c eding age s We see mor e chang e now in ten ye ars
.

than originally in te n thousand Who s h all for e t ell the .

d e ve lopm e nts Of a g e n e ration ?

 C H A PTE R I I I
U N C H AN G I N G H U MAN NAT U RE
The pr ogr ess from cannib ali sm to H er b er t S p encer—The dis
app e aranc e Of r e ligi ou s Oppr essi on by government —Di s
app earanc e Of the du e l —The C rusaders and the H oly
Se p u l chr e—The wail Of m ilitari st wr it ers at m an s dr if t away
’

fr om m i litancy .

AL L ofu s w ho hav e had occasion to discuss thi s subj e ct

are fam iliar w it h t he catch p hras e s with which the
-

whol e m att e r is so Oft e n dismiss e d You cannot

”
change human nature What m an always has bee n
,

during thou sands Of years he always will be are the

, ,

sort Of dicta g e n e rally d eliv e re d as s elf e vid ent pro -

p ositions that do not n ee d discussion O r if in d e f e

. r ,

e nc e to the fact that v e ry p rofound chang e s in whic h

human natur e is in v olve d have tak e n p lac e in the habi ts

o f mankind the stat e m e nt Of the p ro p osition is som e
,

what l e ss dogmati c w e are g i ve n to und erstand that

,

any s e rious modification Of the t e nd e ncy to go t o war

”
c an only be look e d for in th ousan ds o f years .

What are the facts ? Th e y are t h e s e :

That the all e g e d unchang e ability Of hu man nature in
’
this matt e r is not tru e ; that m an s p ugnacity thoug h ,

not disapp e aring is v e ry visibly und e r the forc e s Of

, ,

m e chanical and social d ev elo p m e nt be ing transform e d,

and di ve rt e d from e nds that are wast e ful and d e structi ve

I S7
1 58 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N

to e nds that are l e ss wast eful which r e nd e r e asi e r that

,

C O Op e ra t ion b e twe e n m e n i n t he struggl e with th e ir

-

e n v ironm e nt which is t he condition Of th e ir sur v ival

and advance ; that chang e s which in the historical ,

p e riod have bee n e xtraordinarily rapid are n e c e ssarily

,

quick e n ed —quick e n e d in g eo m e trical rath e r than arith

m e tical ratio by vi rtu e Of t he law Of motion which w e
know as t he Law Of Acc e l e ration .

With ve ry g r e at cou rt e sy one is imp ell e d to ask thos e

,

w ho argu e that human natur e in all its manife stations

must r e m ai n unchang e d how th e y int e rpr et history .

We have s ee n man progre ss from the m e re animal

fighting with oth e r animals s eizing his food by forc e
, ,

s e izing al so by forc e his fe mal e s e ating his ow n kind

, ,

the son s Of the fam ily struggling with the fath e r fo r

the p oss e ssion Of the fath e r s wiv e s ; w e hav e se e n this
’

incoh e r e nt w e lt e r o f animal struggl e at l east p artl y

abandon e d for s ettl e d industry and p artly su rv iving as
,

a more organiz e d tribal warfar e o r a more ord er e d p il

laging lik e that of the Vikings and the H uns w e have
,

s ee n e ve n th e s e pillag e rs abandon in p art th e ir pill aging

fo r ord e r e d industry and in p art for the more c e r e monial
,

conflict Of fe udal strug g l e ; w e have see n eve n the fe udal

conflict abandon ed in favour Of dynastic and r e ligious
and t e rritorial conflict and th e n dyn astic and r eligious
,

conflict abandon ed and th e r e re mains now only the

,

conflict Of Stat e s and that too at a tim e wh e n t he

, , ,

charact e r and conce ption Of the Stat e are b e ing radically

and p rofoundly modifi ed .

P arz p ass“ with this coll e ctive p rogr e ss from t he

'

p re ying of one animal upon anoth e r has g on e o n ,

a lik e progr es s in individ ual conduct F o r e ons .

man s life and p ro p e rty d e pe nd ed u p on h is Club or a

’
1 60 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N

g reat wisdom and p rofundi ty by j ournalists and writ e r s

Of r e put e and one may find th e m blatant any day in
,

o u r n e ws p a p e rs and r e v i e ws ; ye t the most cursory

e xamination p ro v e s th e m t o be n e ith e r w is e no r pro

found but sim ply a parrot lik e r e p etition Of catch

,
-

ph ras e s which lack common s e ns e and fly in the fac e ,

Of facts of e ve ryday e x p e ri e nc e .

The truth is that the facts Of the world as th e y star e

us in the fac e show that in ou r com mon attitud e w e not
only o ve rlook the modifications in human nature which
h av e occurr ed his t orically sinc e ye st e rday —Occurr ed
e v e n in o u r g e n e ration — but that w e ignor e the m odifi
cation Of human natur e which m e re di ff e r e nc e Of soci al
habit and custom and outlook effe ct Take the ca se .

Of t he du e l Eve n educat ed p e opl e in G e rmany France

.
, ,

It aly will t ell you that it is not in human natur e to

,

e x p e ct a man Of g e ntl e birth t o abandon t he habit Of the

du e l ; the notion that honourabl e p e o p l e should e v e r so

p lac e th e ir honour at the m e rcy Of who e ve r may car e
to insult th e m is th ey a ssur e y ou both childish and
, ,

sordid With th e m the matt e r will not b e ar discussion

. .

Ye t the gr eat soci e ti e s whic h e xist in England N orth ,

Am e rica Australia— the whol e Anglo Saxon world in

,
-
,

fact —hav e abandon ed the du e l and w e cannot lump ,

the whol e Anglo Saxon rac e as e ith e r sordid o r childish

-
.

That such a change as this which must have c o n ,

fl ic te d with human p ugnacity in its m ost insidious form ,

p rid e and pe rsonal v anity the traditions Of an aristo

,

cratic status— e ve ry one Of the psychological factors

now involv e d in int e rnational c o nflic t — has be e n effe ct e d
in ou r ow n g e n e ration should sur e ly giv e paus e to t ho se
w ho dismiss as chim e ric al an y hO pe that rationalism will

e v e r dominat e the conduct Of nations .

 U N C H A N G I N G H U MA N N AT U RE 1 61

Yet , p rofound as is this chang e a still mor e u nive m

, al
chang e affe cting still more n early ou r p sycholog ical
,

im p uls e s has b ee n effe ct ed within a r elatively r e ce nt

,

historical p e riod I re fe r t o the abandonm e nt by the

.

Go ve rnm e nts Of Euro p e Of t h eir right to e nforc e the

r eligious b e li e f Of th e ir citiz e ns F or hundr e ds Of y ears
.
,

ge n e ration aft e r g e n e ration it was r egard e d as an

,

e vid e nt p art Of a rul e r s right and duty to dictat e what

’

his subj e cts should b e li e ve .

As Le cky has p oint e d ou t t he pr e occu p ation whic h

,

for numbe rl e ss g e n e rations had b ee n t he c e ntr e rou nd

which all oth e r int e re sts r ev olve d has sim p ly and p ur ely
di sappe are d ; c oalitions which w e re onc e the most
s e rious Occu p ation Of stat e sm e n now e xist only in the
s p e cu lations of the e x p ound e rs Of p ro p h e cy Among all .

the e l e m e nts Of a ffinity and r e pulsion that r e gulat e the

combinations Of nations do g matic influ e nc e s which
,

w e re once su p re m e can scarc ely be said to exist Th e re .

is a C hange h e r e re aching down into the v e ry funda

m e ntal im p uls e s Of the human mind U ntil the
.

s eve nt ee nth c e ntury eve ry m e ntal discussion which

p hiloso p hy p ronounc e s to be ess e ntial to a l egitimat e
r e s earch was almost uniformly brande d as a sin and a ,

larg e pro p ortion Of the most d eadly int e lle ctual v ic es

”
w e r e d e lib e rat e ly inculcat e d as virtu e s .

Anyon e w ho should hav e argu e d that the di ff e r

e nces b e tw e e n Catholics and Prot e stants w e r e not
such as forc e could s e ttl e and that the tim e would
,

com e wh e n man would r e aliz e this truth and r egard a ,

r eligious war be tw e e n E uro p e an Stat e s as a wild and

unimaginabl e anachronism wo u ld have be e n put do wn
,

as a futil e doctrinair e com p l e t e ly igno ring the most

,

”
e l e m e ntary facts Of unchangin g human natur e .

11
1 62 T H E G REAT I LL U S I O N

Th e r e is o ne strikin g incid e nt Of the r e li g ious strug g l e

O f Stat e s which illustrat e s vividly t he chang e which has

com e ove r the spirit Of man F or n early tw o h undred .

ye ars Ch ristians fou g ht the I nfid el for the conqu e st Of the

H oly S e pulchre All the nations Of Euro pe j oin e d in
.

this gr e at e nd eavour It s ee m e d to be the o ne thing

.

which could unit e th e m and for g e n e rations so prO , ,

found was the impuls e which aff e ct ed the mo v e m e nt ,

the struggl e w e nt o n Th e r e is nothing in history pe r

.
,

haps quit e com parabl e to it Su p pos e that during this

,
.

stru ggl e o ne had told a Europ ean stat esman of that

age that the tim e would com e wh e n ass e mbl e d in a ,

room the r epr e s e ntativ e s o f a Europ e which had made

,

its e lf the absolut e m ast e r o f the I nfid e l coul d by a singl e

strok e o f the pe n hav e s e cur e d the H oly S e pulchr e for
all tim e to Christ e ndom but that havi ng discuss ed the
, ,

matt e r cursorily tw e nty minut e s or so would d ecid e that ,

o n the whol e it was not worth whil e H ad such a thing

b ee n told to such m edi aeval stat e sman he wo uld c e r
'

t ainly hav e r e gard e d t he pro p h e cy as that of a madman .

*
Ye t this of cours e is pr e cis e l y what took p lac e
, , .

I n his H i story Of the Ri se and I nfl u ence Of the Sp ir it Of

“

Rati onali sm in E u r op e L e c ky s ays

, It w as no p oliti cal anxi ety
ab ou t the b al anc e Of p owe r b u t an i nt ens e r e li gi ou s e nthu s i as m
,

that i m p ell ed the i nhabitants of Chr ist endom t owar ds the s it e

whi ch w as at once the cradl e and the sym bol of thei r f aith All .

int erests wer e then ab sor b ed all cl asses were governe d all
, ,

passi ons sub du ed or col ou r ed by r eligi ous f ervour N ati onal

, .

an i m os iti es th at had rage d f or c ent u ries wer e p acifi e d by its

power The i n trigu e s Of stat esm e n and the j ealous i es of kings
.

di sapp ear e d b e n eath it s i nfl u enc e N ear ly t w o m illi o n lives are

.

sai d to have b een sacrifi c ed in the cau se N egl ect ed govern .

m ents exhaust e d fi nanc es depopu lat ed c ount ri es wer e che e rf ully

, , ,

acc e pt e d as the pr i c e Of s u cc ess N O wars the wor l d has ever

.

b ef or e seen were so p op u l ar as these whi ch were at the sam e ,

ti m e the m ost disastrou s and the m ost unselfish .

"
1 64 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N

committ e d som e Offe nce ; for a lady Of fashion to gratify

a mom e ntary caprice by ord e ring a slav e to be crucifi e d ;
and but a g e n e ration or t w o sinc e for w h ol e pOpu la
*
tions to turn tortur e into a p ublic am us e m e nt and
a p ublic fe sti val ; for kings histori c ally ye st e rday to
, ,

assist th e m s e lve s p e rsonally at the to rtur e s Of p ersons

accus e d of w itchcraft It is r e lat e d by Pitcairn in his
.
,
”
C rimin al Trials Of Scotland that J am e s I p e rsonally
, .

p r e side d ove r the tortur e s of o ne D r Fian acc use d

'

.
,

of h aving caus e d a storm at s ea The bon e s of the.

p rison e r s l e gs w e r e brok e n into s mall p i ec e s in the

’

bo ot and it was the King hims e lf w ho sugge st e d the

,

following variation and witn e ss e d the e xe cution Of it :

the nails Of both hands w e r e s e iz e d by a pair Of
p inc e rs and torn from the finge rs and into the bl ee ding
,

stum ps of e ach fing e r two n e e dl e s w e re thrust up to

th e ir h e ads !
D o e s anyon e s e riously cont e nd that t he conditions
Of mod e rn life have no t modifi e d p sychology i n t h e s e

matt e rs ? D oe s anyon e s e riously d e ny that ou r w id e r

Thi s pp ears suffi ci ently f r om the seasons i n whi ch f or
a ,

instanc e au tos dc f ! in S pai n t oo k p l ac e I n the G all ery Of Madri d

,
.

ther e i s a p ai nting by F ranci sco Ri zzi r epresenti ng the executi on ,

or r ather th e proc e ss i on t o the st ak e Of a num b er Of her e ti cs

,

du ring the f et es that f o ll owed the m arri age of Char l es I I and .

,

b ef or e the Ki ng his b ri de and the Court and cl ergy Of Madri d

, , .

The gr eat sq u ar e w as arranged lik e a theatr e and t hr onged wit h

,

l adi es i n Court dress The Ki ng sat on an e l evated pl atf orm su r

.
,

rounded by the chi ef m em b ers Of the ar i stocracy .

L im b orc h i n his
, H i story Of the I nq u i siti on r e l at es that
,

am ong the vi c ti m s Of o ne au to dc f é w as a gi r l Of s ixt een wh ose ,

s i ng u l ar b eau ty str u ck all w ho saw her with adm i rati on As she .

pass e d to the st ak e she cr i ed t o the ! u e en Great ! u een i s not ,

you r pr esenc e abl e to b ri ng m e s om e com fort under m y m i sery ?

Consi der my you th and that I am c onde m ned f or a relig on wh i ch
, i

I have suc ked i n Wi th m y mother s m ilk ’

.
”
 U N C HA N G I N G H U MA N N AT U R E 1 65

outlook whic h is the r e sult Of som ewhat larg e r c on

,

c e pt io ns ou r wid e r
, r eading has w rought such a
,

change that the r ep etition Of things lik e th e s e in

London or in Edinburgh o r in B e rlin has b e com e
im p ossibl e
O r is it s e riously argu e d that w e may witn e s s a
,

r ep e tition Of such that w e are quit e capabl e at

,

any mom e nt Of taking p l e asur e in t he burning ali ve

Of a be autiful child ? D o e s the Catholic or t he P ro
t e stant r e ally stand in dange r Of such things from his
re li g ious rival If human natur e is unchang e d by the
p rogre ss of ide as th e n he do e s and Euro p e s g e n e ral
, ,
’

ado p tion Of r eligious fr ee dom is a m istak e and eac h ,

s e ct should arm against the oth er i n the Old way and ,

t he only r e al hop e Of r e ligious p eac e and safe ty is in

the domination of an absolut e ly unive rsal Church .

This was ind e ed the p le a o f the Old inquisitor j ust as

, , ,

it is the pl e a Of t he Sp ectator to d ay that the only hOpe

,

Of p olitical p e ac e is in the domination Of an absolut e ly

unive rsal pow e r
This is only one w ay t o end w ar and pre parat ion for
w ar and t ha t is as w e hav e sai d b y a un iv e rsal monarch y
, , , .

I f w e can imag in e one coun t ry —le t us sa y Russia f or the

sak e Of ar gum en t—so pow er f ul t hat she could disarm the
r es t Of the world and t hen main t ain a force bi g e nough
,

t o forbid an y power e i ther t o invade the right s Of any

,

o t her pow e r no doub t w e shoul d have unive rsal

This dictum r e calls o ne e qually e mphatic onc e v oic e d

by a coll eagu e Of t he lat e Procura t or Of the H oly Syn od
in Russia w ho said ,

Spectator D ec emb er 3 1 1 9 1 0
, , .
1 66 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N
Th ere is on ly one w ay t o insur e r e l i gious peac e in the
S t at e t o comp e l all in that S ta t e t o con form t o the S t at e
,

re l i gion Those that will not con form mus t in the int er e st s
.

”
o f pe ace be driv en ou t .

M r Le cky w ho Of all authors has writte n most su g

.
,

g es t ive ly p e rha p s o n, t he disa pp e

, aranc e Of r e ligious
p e rs e cution has point ed ou t that the strife be twee n
,

o pp osing r e li g ious bo di e s aros e ou t Of a r e li g ious S p irit

which though Oft e n high minde d and disint e r e ste d
,
-

(he p rot e sts with e n e r g y against the notion that pe rs e

c u t io n as a whol e was dictat e d by int e r e st e d motiv e s) ,

was u npu rifi e d by rationalis m ; and he a dds that the

irration ality which onc e charact e rize d t he r e ligious
s e ntim e nt has now be e n r e plac ed by the irrationali t y
Of p atriotism M r L ecky says . .

“
If t ak e a broad vi e w Of the cours e Of his t ory and
w e ,

e xamin e the r e l a t ions Of g r e a t bodi e s O f m e n w e fi nd t ha t ,

r eli gion and pa triot ism are the Chi e f moral infl uence s t o
which t hey have b een subj e ct ed and tha t the s e parat e ,

modifica t ions and mu t ual in t e ract ion Of the s e two agen t s

may al mos t be sai d t o cons t i t ut e the moral his t ory Of
”
mankind .

IS it to be e x p e ct e d that the rational ization and

humanization w hich have tak e n plac e in t he mor e com
p l e x domain Of r eligious doctrin e and b e li e f will not
also tak e p lac e in the domain Of patriotism ? More
e sp e cially as the sam e author p oints ou t that it is the

n e c e ssiti e s Of mat e rial int e r e st which brought about

the r e form in t he first domain and be caus e not only
,

do e s int e re st as distinct from passion gai n a gre at e r

, ,

e mp ir e with advancing C ivilization but p as sion itse lf is ,

”
m ainly guid e d by its pow e r .
1 68 TH E G REAT I LLU S I ON

to try and p r eve nt it N otwithstanding that the in .

‘

e vit ability Of war is his th e sis he e ntitl e s t he first ,

“ ”
se ction Of his book The D e clin e Of M ilitancy and ,

shows cl earl y in fact that the com m e rcial activiti e s Of

, ,

the w orld l e ad dir e ctly away from

Trade duca t s and mortg ages are r eg ar ded as far

,

gr ea t e r asse t s and source s Of powe r t han armi es or navi es .

Th ey produce nat ional e fl em inac y and e flete ness .

’

as this t e nd e ncy is common to all nations Of

N ow ,

Christ e ndom — ind ee d o f the world— sinc e comm ercial ,

and industrial d e v e lopm e nt is world wid e it nec es -

,

sarily m e ans if it is tru e Of any o ne nation that t he

, ,

world as a whol e is drifting away from the t e nd e ncy to

warfar e .

A larg e pa rt Of G e n e ral L e a s book is a sort Of ’

Carlyl e an girding at what he t e rms p rotopl asmic gour

m andizing and r etchin g ( oth e rwis e the busy Am e rican
in dustrial and social life Of his countrym e n ) He de .

clar e s that wh e n a country make s w ealth p roduction

,

and industri e s its sol e ai m it be com e s a g lutton am ong ,

” “
nations vulgar swinish arrogant ; comm e rcialism
, , , ,

having s eiz e d hold Of the Am e rican p e opl e ove rshadows ,

it and t e nds to d e stroy not only t he aspirations and

,

world wid e car e e r Op e n to the nation but the R ep ublic

-
,
”
its e lf . Patriotism in the tru e s ens e the de sir e
t o go and kill oth e r p e o p l e) G e n e ral L e a de clar e s almost
d e ad in the U nit ed Stat e s The national id e als e ve n .
,

Of the native born Am e rican are d e plorably low

-
,

Th ere e x is t s not onl y in divi dual pr ej udice agains t mi l i tary

i de al s but public an t ipat hy ; an t agonism Of pol i t icians
, ,

S eeq u otations p , . 121, f r om General Le a s

'
b oo k , The Val our
of Ignorance .
"
 U N C H A N G I N G H U M A N N ATU RE 1 69

n ewspap ers churches coll eges labour unions th eorist s and

, , , ,

organi ze d soci et i es The y comba t the mi li tary spiri t as if

.

i t wer e a public e vil and a nat ional crime .

"

But in that cas e what in the nam e Of all that is

,

muddl eh e ad e d com e s Of t he unchanging t e nd e ncy

”
towards warfare ? What is all this cu rious rh e toric
Of G e n e ral L e a s ( and I have d e alt wi th him at som e
’

l e n g th b e caus e his p rinci p l e s if not his lan g uag e are

,

thos e which charact e riz e much similar lit e rature in

England Franc e G e rmany and the contin e nt Of Euro p e
, , ,

ge n e rally) but an admission that the whol e t e nd e ncy is

not as he w ould hav e us be li e v e towards war but away
, , ,

from it H e r e is an author w ho t e lls u s that war is to

be for e v e r in ev itabl e and in the sam e bre ath that m en
,
”
are rapidly conc e iving not only a S lothful in di ff e r e nc e

to fi g hting but a p rofound antipath y to t he milita ry

,

id eal .

O f cours e G e n e ral L ea im pli e s that this t e nd e ncy is

,

p e culiar to the Am e rican R e public and is for that ,

r e ason dang e rous to his country ; but as a matt e r Of ,

fact G e n e ral Le a s book m i g ht be a fre e translation Of

,
’

much nationalist lit e ratur e of e ith e r Franc e or G e r

many I cannot r e call a singl e author Of e ith e r Of the
.

four g r e at countri e s w ho tre ating Of the in ev itability Of

,

war doe s not be wail the falling away Of his ow n country

,

from the military id eal o r at l e ast the t end e ncy so t o

, , ,

fall away Thus the E n g lish j ournalist r evi e wing in

.

the D aily M ail G e n e ral L e a s book cannot r e frain from

’

saying :
Is i t n ece ssary t o poin t ou t t hat ther e is a moral in all
t his f or us as we ll as f or the Am erican ? Sur el y a l mos t all
t hat Mr L ea say s app l i e s t o G r@ tain as f orcibly as t o
.

the Uni t e d S ta t e s .
%
W e tOO hav e lai d dr eaming We have .
1
70 T HE G REAT I L LU S I O N
letour i deals tarnish W e have grown gluttonous also
.
, .

Shame and f o l l y are upon us as w e ll as upon our br et hre n .

L et us has t e n wi t h all our en e rgy t o c l e anse ours e l v es Of

”
them that w e can look the f ut ur e in the f ac e wi thout fe ar
, .

Exactly the sam e not e dominat es the lit e rature o f a

protagonis t like M r Blatchford He talks Of the fatal
.
“
.

“
apathy o f the B ritish p e opl e The pe opl e he says .
, ,

br e aking ou t i n ang e r at the sm all dis p osition th ey S how

to kill oth e r p e opl e are conc e it ed s e lf indul g e nt
, ,
-
,

de cad e nt and g re edy Th e y will shout for the Em p ir e

, .
,

but th ey will not fi g ht fo r A glanc e at such

publications as B lackw ood s the N ational R eview the ’
, ,

S p ectator t he World will r e ve al pr e cis e l y similar ou t

, ,

burst s .

O f cou rs e M r Blatchford d e clare s that the G e rmans

,
.

are ve ry diffe r e nt and that what G e n e ral L ea ( in t al king

,

Of his country )calls the g ourmandizing and r e tching

is not at all tru e Of G e rmany AS a matt e r of fact ho w . .

”
e ve r t he phras e I hav e quot e d mi g ht ha v e b e e n lift e d
'

from the work Of any averag e Pan G e rman o r e v e n from -

,

more r esponsibl e quart e rs H ave M r B latchford and . .

G e n e ral L e a forgott e n that no l e ss a p e rson than Princ e

vo n B illow in a s p e e ch mad e in the Pru ssian D i e t
, ,

did as a matt e r o f fact u se almost the words I hav e

, ,

quot e d from M r B latchford and dwe lt at l e n g th on the

.
,

s e lf indul g e nce and d ege n e racy t he rag e for luxury etc

-
, , .
,

which p osses s mod e rn G e rmany and told how the Old ,

qu aliti e s which had mark ed the found e rs Of the Empir e

w e r e disap p e aring Pf
I nd ee d do not a gr e at part Of t he gove rning clas s e s
,

“ G r
e m any and E nglan d p 19 , . .

S ee th e fi rst chapt er Of Mr H ar b u tt D aws on s admirabl e

’
.

wor k The E vol u ti on of Moder n Germany T F isher U nwin

,
“
. .
,

L on don .
 1 72 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N

industrial activiti e s and its infinit e simal p ro p ortion Of

military k e e p alive the instincts associat ed with war
,

as against thos e d evelo p e d by p eac e ?

N ot alon e e v olution but com mon s e ns e and common
,

obs er vation t e ach us that w e d evelo p most thos e

,

qualiti e s which w e e xe rcis e most which se rv e us b e st

,

in the occupation in w hich w e are m ost e n g ag ed .

A rac e Of s eam e n is not d evelop e d by agricult u ral .

p ursuit carri e d on hundr eds Of m il e s from the se a .

Tak e the c as e of what i s r e put ed (quit e wrongly ,

incid e ntally)t o be the most m ilitary nation in Europe

G e rm any The im m e ns e maj ority Of adult G e rma ns
.

sp e aking practically all w ho make u p what w e know as

,

G e rm any— hav e n eve r s ee n a battl e and in all human ,

p robability n ev e r will I n forty y ears e ight thou sand

.

G e rmans hav e b e e n in the fi eld about tw e lve months

against nak e d S O that the pro p ortion Of war
lik e activiti e s as com p are d with p eac eful activiti e s works
Out at o ne as against hundr e ds Of thousands I wish it .

we re possibl e to illustrat e this diagrammatically ; but it

could not be don e in this book b ecaus e if a S ingl e dot
,

the siz e Of a full stop w e re to be us e d t o illustrat e the

-

e xp e nditur e Of tim e in actual war I should have t o fi ll ,

most Of the book wi t h do t s to illustra t e the tim e S p e nt

by the balance Of the po p ulation in p eac e ac tivities xl '

I have excl u ded the Operations with the Alli es i n Chi na .

B u t they only l ast e d a f e w wee ks .And wer e th ey w ar ? This

ill u s trati on app ears in Mr N ovikow s L e D arwi ni sm e S oci al
.
’
.
"

t The most r ec ent Op in i on on evol u ti on wou l d go to show that

e nvi ron m ent p l ays an ev en l arg er rdle i n the f or m ati on Of char act er
than sel ecti on ( se e P ri nce K rOpotkin s arti cl e c teenth Centu ry
’

, ,

J u ly 1 9 1 0 i n whi ch he shows that exp er i m ent r eveal s the direct

, ,

acti on of su rr ou n di ngs as the m ai n f act or of evol u ti on) How .

i m m ensely theref or e m u st ou r i ndu str i al environm ent modify

, ,

the p ug nac i ou s i m p u l s e Of o u r nat ur e l

 U N C H A N G I N G H U MA N N ATU R E 1 73

I n tha t cas e how c an w e po ssibly e x p e c t to k e e p alive

,

warlik e qualiti e s wh e n all ou r int e re sts and activiti e s

,

all ou r e nvi ronm e nts in short —are p eac e lik e

,
-

I n oth e r words the occu p ations which d e ve lop t he

,

qualiti e s o f industry and p e ac e are so much in exc ess of

thos e which would d e ve lo p the qualiti e s w e associat e
with war that such exc e ss has almost now p ass ed be yond
any ordinary m e ans Of v isual illustration and has ,

e ntir e ly p ass e d b e yond any ordinary human ca p acity

fully to ap p r e ciat e How can w e ex p e ct the su rv ival

.

o f qualiti e s which according to the military p undits

, ,

are clos e ly associat e d with an occu p ation t he im m e ns e

maj ority eve n in the cas e Of nations r e p ut ed warlik e
, ,

n eve r und e rtak e as against qualiti e s associat e d with the

occu p ations which are thos e Of p ractically all p ractically ,

e v e ry day ? P e ac e is w ith us now n e arly always ; war is

with us rar e ly yet w e are told that it is the qualiti es
,

o f war which will survi v e and the qualiti e s Of p eac e

,

w h ich will be subsidiary .

I am not forg etting Of cours e the m ilitary training

, , ,

the barrack life which is to k e e p aliv e the m ilitary

tradition I have d e alt with t h at qu e stion in the n e xt
.

chapt e r It su ffic e s for the mom ent to not e that such

.

training is j ustifi e d on the ground (notably among

thos e who w ould introduc e it into En g land) that
it insur e s p eac e ; ( 2 ) r e nde rs a p o p ulation more e fl i c ie nt
in the arts Of pe ac e—that is to say p e r p e tuat e s that ,
”
condition Of slothful e as e w hich w e are told is S O
dang e rou s to ou r charact ers in which w e are bound ,

“ ”
to los e t he warlik e qualiti e s and which r e nd e rs
,

“ ”
soci ety still more gourmandizing in G e n e ral L e a s ’

“ ”
cont e m p tuous p hras e s t ill mor e Cob de nit e in M r
, .

Sydn ey Low s One cannot ha ve it both ways If

. .
1 74 THE G REAT I LLU S I ON
long ntinu ed pe ac e is e n e rvating it is m e r e se lf s t ul
-
Co ,
-

tifi c ation to pl e ad fo r conscri p tion on the ground t hat

it will still furt h e r prolong that e n e rvating condition .

I f M r S y dn ey L ow S h ee rs at industrial so ci ety and the

.

p e ac e id e al the Cobd e nit e id e al o f buying ch e ap and

s e lling d e ar — he m ust not d e fe nd G e rman consc rip
tion ( though he doe s ) o n the ground th at it r e nd e rs
G e rm an comm e rc e mor e e ffi c ie nt—that in oth e r wor ds
, ,
”
it advanc e s that Co b de nit e id eal I n that cas e
.
,

the drift away from war will be strong e r than e v e r .

Pe rhaps so m e of all this inconsist e nc y was in M r .

Roos ev elt s m ind wh e n he de clar e d that by war

’

alon e can m an d e v e lop thos e manly qualiti e s e tc I f , .

conscription r e al ly do e s prolong p eac e and incr ease ou r

ap titud e for the arts Of p eac e th e n conscription it se lf is
,

but a factor in man s t e mp e ram e n t al drift away from

’

war in the chan g e Of his natur e towards p e ac e

, .

It i s not b ecau se m an is d eg e n e rat e o r swinish o r

gluttonous (such lan g uag e in dee d a pp li e d as it is by
‘

, ,

G e n e ral L ea to t he larg e r and b e tt e r part Of the human

rac e sugg e sts a not ve ry high mind ed ill t e m p e r at the
,
- -

stubborn n e ss Of facts which rh e toric doe s not affe ct)

that he is S howing l e ss and l e ss disposition to fight but ,

be caus e he is con de mn ed by the r e al p rimordial law

to e arn his br ead by the sw e at Of his brow and his ,

natur e in cons equ e nc e de velo p s thos e qu aliti e s which

the bulk Of his int e r e sts and capaciti e s d e mand and
favour .

Th e s e are the facts Of the world as w e kn ow it tod ay .

O f co urs e it is al ways o p e n to the do g matist to d e clare

, ,

as he doe s d e clar e that the e motional habit s Of a life

,
'

tim e will go for nothing wh e n natio nal prid e is afi ro nte d ,

or wh e n national honour n eeds v indication A g ain the .

,
1 76 THE G R EAT I LLU S I O N
England di ffer e ntiat e s be t we e n t he Gov e rnm e nt and
the p eo p l e ; th e r e is c e rtainly no ill fe e ling a g ainst the -

Russian R e form e rs e n g a g e d at the tim e in a stru gg l e

,

with th e ir ow n Gove rnm e nt t o put an e nd to that

ve ry con dition Of things which mad e the Hull outrage
po ssibl e ; and the E n g lish p e opl e r ealiz e d thorou g hly
that the Russian p eopl e as a whol e could not be h e ld
.

re s p onsibl e for the outrag e The sam e r e alization Of .

the facts wi ll go m or e and m or e to m odify that

s e ns el ess notion of the coll e ctive r e s p onsibility o f an
e ntir e nation fo r t he acts Of its Gov e rnm e nt which w e

see m t o hav e borrow e d from t he Chin e s e w ho if the , ,

r eal author Of a m urd e r c annot be found han g his ,

broth e r or his so n .

—
T h is p has e Of t e subj ect the fals e r e p res e nta t ion
h
Of a whol e nation Of it may be one hundr e d million
, ,

p e opl e as a homoge n e ous p e rsonality— be longs to anoth e r

se ction Of t he ca se
*
B ut I r e fe r to it h e r e as be aring
.

on the r elation b e t w ee n the Old cod e Of t he du el which , ,

in so far as Anglo Saxons are conc e rn ed has pass e d

-
,

away and the still e xist e nt but happ ily mo di fying c od e

,

Of n ational honour The v a gu e talk Of national honour

.

as a qu ality und e r the e s p e ci al p rot e ction of the soldi e r

sh ows p e rha p s m or e cl early than aught e ls e how much
, ,

ou r notions conc e rning int e rnational p olitics ha v e f all e n

be hind the notion s that dominat e us in e ve ryday life .

Wh e n an indi vidual b egins to ra ve about his honour w e ,

may be p r e tty sure he is about to do som e i rration al ,

most lik e ly disre p utabl e d e ed The wor d is like an

,
.

oath s e rving with its vagu e yet larg e m e aning to i h

,

toxi c at e the fancy Its vagu e n e ss and e la ticit y mak e

.
s

h pt er VI P ar t I I
S ee C a .
, .
,
“
The Stat e as a Pe rson : A Fa l se
Anal ogy and its Conseq u enc es .
 U N C H A N G I N G H U MA N N ATU RE 1 77

it p ossibl e t o r eg ard a give n inci de nt at wi ll as e ith e r

harml e ss or a casu s belli O ur se ns e O f pro po rtion in
.

th e s e matt e rs approximat e s to that Of the schoolboy .

The passing j e e r Of a for e ign j ournalist a foolish ,

cartoo n is su ffici e nt to start the dogs of war ba y ing up

,

and down the We call it m aintaining the

“

” “ ”
national pre stige e nforcing r e sp e ct
, and I know ,

not wha t oth e r high soun ding nam e

-
But it amounts .

to the sam e thing in the e nd .

The one distinctive a dvanc e in civil soci e ty a c hi e ved

by the An g lo Saxon world is fairly b e tok e n e d by the
-

p assing away Of this Old notion o f a p eculiar p oss e ssion

in the way Of honou r which has to be guard e d by arms .

It stan ds o u t as the one cl e ar m oral gain Of the nin e

t e e nth c e ntu ry ; and wh e n w e Obs e rv e the notion t e
,

sur g ing in the minds Of m e n w e m ay r e asonably e xp e ct ,

to find that i t marks o ne Of the se r e v e rsions in t he ou

g oing of moral d e ve lopm e nt which S O Oft e n oc cur in the
r ealm Of m in d as w e ll as in that Of or g anic form s .

But t w o o r thr ee g e n e ration s sinc e this pro g re ss e ve n ,

among Anglo S axons towards a rational stan dard Of

-
,

conduct in this matt e r as be twee n individuals would

, ,

have s ee m e d as unr e asonabl e as do the ho p es of int e r

national p eac e in ou r day E v e n to d ay the C on .

t ine ntal O ffi c e r i s as firmly convinc ed as e v e r t hat the

maint e nanc e o f p e rsonal di g nity is im p oss ibl e save
'

by the h el p o f the du e l Such will ask in trium ph

:

.
,

I have i n m ind her e the r i dicu l ou s f uror e t hat w as m ade by

the Ji ngo P r ess over so m e F r e nch c ar t oons that app ear ed at the
ou tb r e ak Of the B oer W ar It wi ll b e r em em b er ed that at that
. .

ti m e France w as the enemy and G ermany w as on the s tr ength

“
, ,

Of a sp eech by Mr Cham b e r l ai n a q uasi ally

. W e were at that
,
-
.

ti m e as warlik e t owards Fr anc e as w e are now t owar ds G er m any

And thi s i s on ly te n years ago !
1 78 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
Wh at will yo u do if o ne Of y our ow n ord e r Op e nl y
insult you ? Shall you p r e s erve your s e lf r e s p e ct by -

summoni ng him to the polic e court -

And the
qu e stion is tak e n as s ettling t he m att e r Off hand -
.

The su rvival wh e r e national pr e sti g e is conc e rn e d Of

, ,

the stan dards of the code duello is daily brought b e for e

us by the rh e toric Of the patriots O ur army and ou r
.

navy not t he good faith Of ou r stat esm e n are the

, ,

gu ardians Of ou r national honour . Lik e the du e llist ,

the patriot would have us b eli eve that a dishonourabl e

act is mad e honourabl e if the p arty su ffe rin g by the
dishonour b e kill e d The patriot is car e ful t o withdraw
.

from the Op e ration Of possibl e arbitration all qu e stions

” “
which could affe ct the national honour An insult
.

“ ”
t o the flag mus t be wip ed ou t in b lood Small .

nations which in the natur e Of the cas e cannot so

,

re s e nt the insults Of g r e at e m p ire s have appare ntly no

,

“ ”
ri g ht to such a p oss e ssion as honour I t i s t he
.

p e culiar p re rogative Of world wid e e mpir e s

-
The .

“ ”
p atriots who would thus r e s e nt insults to the fla g
may w e ll be ask ed wh e th e r th ey would cond e mn the
conduct Of the G e rman li e ut e nant who kills the
“
unarm e d ci vilian in cold blood for the honour Of
”
the uniform .

It do e s not s ee m to have stru ck the p atriot that as ,

p e rsonal dignity and con duct have not su ffe re d but

be e n im p ro ve d by the aban donm e nt Of t he princi p l e
Of the du e l th e r e is littl e r eason t o sup p os e that int e r
,

national conduct or national dignity w ould suffe r by a

sim ilar chang e Of standards .

The w hol e p hilosophy und e rlying the du e l wh e r e

p e rsonal r e lations are conc e rn ed e xcit es in ou r day the
infinit e d e rision Of all An g lo Saxons Ye t th e s e sam e
-
.
1 80 T H E G REAT I LL U S I O N
say) r e main e d unchan g e d for t w o hundr e d and nin e t y
e i g ht thousand Of thos e y e ars I n t he last tw o thousand
.

years he change d more than in the two hundr ed and

nin e ty e i g ht thousand p re c e ding and in o ne hundre d
-
,

he has C hange d m ore pe rha p s than in the p r e c e ding

tw o th ousand .The com p arison be com e s mor e und e r
standab le if w e r e solve it into hours F o r say fifty .
, ,

ye ars the m an was a cannibal savag e o r a wild anim al ,

hunting oth e r wild animals and th en in the spac e Of

,

thre e month s he b e cam e J ohn Sm ith Of Surbiton ,

att e nding church p assing laws using the t e l e phon e

, , ,

and so o n That i s the history of Euro p ean manki nd

. .

And in t he face Of it the wis eacr e s t alk sapi e ntly and ,

lay it down as a s e lf e vid e nt and d e monstrabl e fact that

-

the abandonm e n t Of int e r Stat e war wh ich by r e as on Of

-
, ,

the m e chanics o f o u r civilization accomplish e s nothing

,

and can accom p lish nothing will for e ve r be r en d e re d im

,

p ossibl e b e caus e onc e man has got the habit of doing a

,

t hing he will go on doing it althou g h the re ason w hich

, ,

in t he fi rs t instanc e p rom p te d it has long sinc e dis

— “
app eare d b e cause in S hort Of the u nchan ge ability
, ,
”
Of human natur e .
 C H APTE R IV

D O THE WAR L I RE I
N AT O N S I NH E RIT T HE E AR T H ?

The confi dent dog m ati sm Of m ilit ar ist writ ers on this su bj ec t
The fact s —The l essons Of S pani sh Am eri ca—How c on ques t
mak es f or the su rvival Of the u nfi t—Spanish method and
E ng li sh m ethod i n t he N e w W or l d—The vi rt u es Of mil i t ary
tr ai ni ng—The Dr eyf u s case—The t hr eat en ed G ermanizati on
Of E ngl and .

THE militarist authoriti e s I hav e quot e d in the pre

c eding cha p t e r admit th e r e for e and admit v e ry larg e ly
, , ,

man s drift in a s e ntim e ntal s e ns e away from war

’
, , .

But that drift th ey d e clar e is d eg e n e ration ; withou t

, ,

“
thos e qualiti e s w hich war alon e in M r Roos evelt s ,
"
.
’

”
p h ras e can d e v e lop man will rot and de cay
, , .

This p l e a is Of cours e dire ctly g e rman e to ou r

, ,

subj e ct TO say that the qualiti e s which w e associa te

.

with war and nothing e ls e but war are n e c e ssary to

, ,

assure a nation succ e ss in its st rug g l e s with oth e r

nations is e qui v al e nt to saying that thos e w ho drift
away from war will go down b e for e thos e w hos e w ar
lik e activity C an cons e rv e thos e qualiti e s e ss e ntial to
surv ival ; which is but anoth e r way Of saying t hat
m e n must always r e main warlik e if th e y are t o sur
‘

vive that the warlik e nation s inh e rit the earth ; that
,

m e n s p u g nacity th e r e for e is the outcom e Of the gr eat

’
, ,

natural law Of sur v ival and that a d e clin e Of p u g nacity

,

marks in any nation a re c e ssion and not an ad vanc e

181
1 32 T HE G R EAT I L LU S I O N

in its struggl e for sur vi v al I hav e alr e a dy indicat e d.

( Chapt e r I I Part I I ) the outlin e s Of t he pro p osition

.
,
.
,

which l e av e s no e scap e from this conclusion This is .

the sci e ntific b as is of the proposition voic e d by t he

authoriti e s I hav e quot ed—Mr Roos eve lt Vo n M oltke .
, ,

R e nan N i e tzsch e and various o f the warlik e cl e r g y

, ,

and it li e s at t he v e ry bottom Of the p l ea that man s

’

natur e in so far as it touch e s the t e nd ency o f m e n as a

,

whol e to go to war do e s not C h ang e ; that the w arlik e

,

qualiti e s are a n e c e ssa ry part Of human vitality in the

struggl e for e xist e nc e ; that in short all that w e know , ,

Of the law Of e volution forbids the conclusion that m an

will eve r los e this warlike p ugnacity or that nations ,

will su rviv e oth e r than by the struggl e Of p hysical

forc e .

The vi e w is b e st voic e d p e rha p s by G e n e ral H om e r

, ,

L e a whom I hav e alr e ady quot e d

, He says .

As phy sical vi gour r epr es en t s the s t r en gt h of man in his

s t ruggl e f or e x is t e nc e in the sam e s ens e mili tar y vi gour
,

cons t i t ut es the s t r en gth Of nat ions i de als laws cons t i tu t ions , ,

are bu t t emporary e ff ul g e nc es ( p T he de t e riora t ion

.

Of the mili t ar y f orc e and the cons e qu en t de s t ruc t ion Of the

mi l i t an t spiri t hav e b een concurr en t w i th nat ional decay "

“
( p. In t e rna t ional disa g r e em e n t s are t h e r e s u l t
S ee c itati ons pp 1 34 1 4 1 notably Mr Rooseve lt s di ctum
, .
-
, .
’

I n thi s wor l d the nati on that i s trai ne d to a car eer Of u nwar like
and i sol at e d e ase i s b ou n d to g o down i n the e nd b ef or e other
nati ons which have not lost the m anly and advent ur ou s q u ali fi es ”

Thi s vi ew i s eve n e m phasi ze d i n the S p e e ch whi ch Mr Ro osevelt .

r ece ntly deliver e d at the U nivers ity Of B er li n (see Tim es May 1 3

The R om an c i vili zati on dec l ar ed Mr Ro os evelt—p er
, ,

, .

haps as the Tim es r e m ar ks to the surpri se Of those w ho have

, ,

b een taught to b e li eve that latif u ndia perdztere R am am went

down pr i m ar ily b e cau s e the R o m an C iti zen wou l d not fi ght ,

be c au se Rom e had l ost the fighti ng e dge (S ee f oo t not e p

”
.
.
,
 1 84 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N

I n the last c hapter w e saw that during the last forty

'

ye ars eight thousand ou t Of sixty m illion G e rmans have

,

b ee n e ngag e d in warfar e during a trifl e ov e r a ye ar and ,

—
that against H ott e ntots o r H e r eros a p ro p ortion of
war da y s pe r G e rman as against p e ace days pe r G erman
which is as one t o som e hundr e ds Of thousands .

S O that if w e are to tak e G e rmany as the ty pe

of the military nation and if w e are t o acc e pt M r
, .

Roo s e ve lt s dictum that by w ar alon e c an w e acquir e

’

thos e viril e qualiti e s n e c e s sary to win in the st e rn

”
strife Of actual life w e S hall n eve rth e l e ss be doom ed
,

to los e th e m for und e r conditions lik e thos e o f G e rmany

,

how m any of us c an e ve r se e war or c an p re t e n d t o fall ,

und e r its in fl u e nc e As already p oint ed ou t the m e n ,

w ho really giv e the ton e t o the G e rman nation -

to ,

G e rman life and conduct— that is to say the majority Of ,

adult G e rmans— have n e v e r s e e n a battl e and n e ve r will .

Franc e has don e much be tt e r N ot only has she se e n .

infinit e ly more Of actual fi g hting b ut he r p opul a tion is ,

much mor e m ilitarize d th an that Of G e rmany 50 per ,

c e nt m or e in fact sinc e in ord e r to maintain from

.
, , ,

a population of forty m illions the sam e milita ry effe ctive

as G e rmany doe s w ith sixt y millions 1 ; pe r c e nt Of , .

the Fr e n c h population is und e r arms as against 1 pe r

"6
ce nt Of the G e rman
. .

Still m or e military in both s e ns es is Russ ia as w e ,

know and more milita ry than Russia is Turk e y and

, ,

mor e military than Turkey as a whol e are the se mi

M Rep or t on the War

Me ssimy u dg e t f or 1 08 B
’
See . s
9
(annexe 3 , p F ranc e s m ilitar y ac tiviti e s s i nc e 1 870 have,
’
.

Of c ou rs e, b ee n m uch gr e at er than thos e Of e rm any—Ton ki n , G

Madagascar , Algi ers, Morocco As agai nst thes e, erm any has . G
on ly had the H e r er os c am p aign .
 S U RV I VA L O F WA RLI K E N ATI O N S 1 85

ind e pe nd e nt s ection s of Tu rke y A rabia and Albania , ,

and th e n p e rhaps com e s M orocco

, , .

O n the W e s t e rn H e mis p h e r e w e c an draw a lik e

“
table as t o the warlik e adve nturous m anly and p ro , ,

” “
g r ess ive p e opl es as com p ar ed with t he p e ac e ful ,
”
crave n slothful and d e cad ent
,
The l east warlik e Of .

all the nation which has had t he l e ast training in war

, ,

t he l e ast e x p e ri e nc e Of it which has b ee n t he l e ast ,

p urifi ed by it is Canada Af t e r that com e s the U nit ed

,
.

Stat e s and aft e r that the b e st (excus e m e I m e an

t he l e as t warlik e—of t he
, , ,

Of course t he worst )
,

S p anish Am e ri c an r e publics lik e M exico and Arg e n

‘

tina w hil e t he m ost warlike Of all and con se qu e ntly t he ,

“ ” “ ”
m ost manly and p ro g r ess ive are the Sambo ,

re p ublics lik e S an D omingo N icaragua Colombia and

, , , ,

V e n ezu ela Th e y are al w ays fi g h t ing I f th ey cannot

. .
'

man ag e to get u p a fig h t be tw ee n o ne anoth e r the ,

various p arti e s in e ac h r e p ublic will fi g ht be tw e e n

th e m s e lve s H e r e w e get the r e al thing The soldi e rs
. .

“
do no t pass th e ir liv e s i n p ractising the goos e st e p
’
-
,

cl eaning harn e ss p i pe claying b e lts but in giving and

, ,

taking hard p ounding Se ve r al of th e s e p rogre ssive

.

r e publics ha ve n e ve r kno w n a year S inc e th ey de clared

th e ir ind e pend e nc e from Spain in which they have not a

had a war And quit e a consid e rabl e p ro p ortion o f the

.

population s s p e nd th e ir live s in fi ghting D uring the ‘

first tw e nty y e ars Of V en ezu ela s ind ep e nd e nt exist e nc e ’

she fou g ht no l e ss th an one hu ndr e d and tw e nty

im portant battl e s e ith e r with he r n e i g hbou rs o r with
,

h e rs elf and S he has maintain e d the a ve rag e pre tty

,

w e ll e ve r since E ve ry e l e ction is a fi ght—non e Of

.

”
your mouth fi ghting non e Of your cra ve n talking
-
,

S hops for th e m Good hon es t hard manly knocks

.
, , , ,
1 86 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N

with anything from one to fi ve thousand d e ad and

wound ed l e f t o n the fi e ld The p r e sid e nts of th e s e
.

str e nuous r e publics are not p oltroons Of politicians ,

but soldi ers—m e n of blood and iron with a ve n g e anc e ,

m en aft e r M r Roos e ve lt s o w n h e art all following

’
.
,

“ ”
the good Old rul e the si mpl e plan , Th e s e are .

p e opl e w ho have take n Carlyl e s advic e to ’

the
“ ”
s hut up the talking shops They fight it out lik e
-
.

m e n ; they tal k with Gatling gun s and M aus e rs Oh -

.
,

th e y are a ve ry fi ne manly military lot ! I f fighting

, ,

mak e s for su rv ival th e y should com p l et ely oust from

,

the fi e ld Canada and the U nit e d Stat e s o ne Of which ,

has n ev e r had a r e al battl e fo r the b e st part Of its hundr e d

ye ar s Of cra v e n sordid p e ac e ful life and the oth e r
, , ,

Of which G e n e ral H om e r L e a assur e s u s is sure ly dying ,

be caus e Of its t e nd e ncy to avoid fi g htin g .

G e n e ral L ea mak e s no s e cr e t Of the fact ( and if he

did som e Of his rh e toric would display it ) that he is ou t
,

of sympathy with predom inant A me rican id eals He .

mi g ht e mi g rat e to V e n ezu e la or Colombia o r N icar , ,

agua He would be abl e to p rove to e ach military

.

dictator in turn that in conve rting the country into

,

a S hambl e s far from comm itting a foul crim e for which

,

such dictators should be and are h e ld in e x e cration by

, ,

C iviliz e d m e n the world ov e r th ey are on the con , ,

t rary but ob eying one Of Go d s com mands in tun e with

’

all the immutabl e laws of the unive rs e I d e si r e to .

writ e in all s e riousn e ss but to one w ho hap pe ns to ha ve

,

s e e n at first hand som e thing Of the conditions which

ari s e from a r eal military conc e p tion Of ci vilization it is
v e ry di ffi cult How do e s M r Roos e v e lt who d e clar es
. .
,

that by w ar alon e can w e acquir e thos e viril e qualiti es

”
n ec essary to win in the st e rn strife Of actual life ;
 1 88 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

su ffi ci ently e x p res s th e ir thankfuln e ss that at last th e re

s e em s t o be a t e nd e ncy w ith som e Of th e m to ge t
.

away from the blood and v alour nons ens e which

has be e n th e ir curs e fo r three c e nturi e s and to e xc h ange
,

the military id e al fo r t he Cobde nit e o ne Of buying

- .

ch e a p and se lli ng d ear which S O e xcit e s the scorn Of

M r Sidn ey L ow
. .

So m e ye ars ag o an I talian lawy e r a c e rtain Tomasso

,

Cai vano wrot e a l e tt e r d e tailing his ex pe ri e nc e s and

,

m e mori e s Of tw e nty y e ars life in V e n ezu ela and the

’

n e ighbouring r e p ublics and hi s g e n e ral conclusions

,

have for this discussi on a dir e ct r e l e v ancy AS a sort .

Of ~farew e ll e xhortation t o the V e n ezu e lans he wrot e ,

The curs e Of y our civi l izat ion is the soldi e r and the
soldier s t emp er I t is impossib l e f or tw o of you s t ill l e ss
’
.
,

for tw o part i e s t o carry on a di scussion W i t ho u t one wan t ing

,

t o fight the o th e r abou t the matt er in han d You r e g ar d i t

.

as a de rogat ion Of di gni ty to consi der the poin t Of vi ew Of the

o t he r si de an d t o a tt emp t t o m ee t i t if i t is possible to fi ght
, ,
'

about i t You deem t hat p ersonal valour at on es for all

.

def e cts. The sol die r Of e vi l charac t e r is mor e consi der ed

amongs t you than the civi l ian of goo d charact er and mi l i tary ,

adven tur e is deemed m ore honourabl e t han hon es t labour .

You ov erlook the wors t corrup t ion the wors t Oppr e ssion in
, ,

your l eade rs if only t hey g i l d i t wi th mili t ary f an faronade

and de clama t ion abou t brav ery and de s t in y and pa t riot ism .

N o t un ti l t h er e is a chan ge in t his spiri t wi l l y ou ce as e t o be

the vic t ims of evil Oppr e ssion N o t un t il your gen era l
.

populace—your p easan t r y and y our work ers —r e fus e thus t o

be led t o slaught e r in quarr e ls Of which t hey know and car e
no thing but in t o which t hey are led b ecaus e t hey also pr e fer
,

fi ght ing t o work —not unt il all this happ e ns wi l l thos e

be au t i f u l lan ds which are among the mos t f e rt i l e on God s ’

ear th support a happ y and prosp e rous pe opl e livin g in

 S U RV I VAL OF WA RLI K E N ATI O N S 1 89

cont ent m en t and s ecur e poss e ssion of the f rui t s Of t h e ir

S p anish Am e rica s ee ms at l as t in a fair way Of t hrow .

ing Off the domination Of the soldi e r and awake ning

from th e s e ni g htmar e s Of su cc essive mili t ary de s p otisms
t e m p e r e d by assassination thou g h i n abandoning in , , ,

Si g nor C aivano s words military adve nture fo r hon est

’
,
”
labour she will n e c e ssarily have l e ss to do with thos e
,

d ee ds of blood and valour Of whic h he r history has

b ee n S O f ull B ut thos e in South Am e rica w ho matt e r
.

are not mourning R e ally th e y are not 1 ‘

. .

And the thing can be duplicat ed absolut e ly on this

sid e Of the h e m is p h e r e Chang e a few nam es and you
.
,

get Arabia o r M o rocco List e n to t h is from a r ec ent

.

Ti mes art ic le zi

The f ac t is t ha t f or man y y ea rs pas t Tu rk ey has almos t

invariab ly bee n a t war in som e par t or othe r of Arabia .

A t the pre se n t momen t Tu rk ey is ac t uall y conduct ing thr e e

se parat e small campai gns wi thin Arabia or upon i t s bor de rs ,

Vox de la N at ion, C arac as, Apr il 2 2 , 1 89 7 .

1 E ven Mr Rooseve lt call s S ou t h A m er i c an hi s tory mean and

"
.

bl oody It i s notewor thy that , in his arti cl e p u bli she d i n the B ach elor
.

o Aris f or March, 1 8 6 , Mr R oos e velt , w ho l e c t u r ed E ngli sh m en so

j 9 .

vigor ous ly on thei r du ty at all costs not t o b e gu i ded by senti

mentalism i n the govern m ent Of E gyp t , shoul d write thus at the
ti m e Of Mr C l eve l and s Venezu e lan m essag e t o E ngl and : Mean
.
’

and bl oody tho u gh the hi st ory Of the S o u th Am er i can r ep u bli cs

has b een, it i s di sti nctly in the i n ter est of c i vi li zati on that
they shoul d b e l eft to devel op al ong th eir ow n lin es U nder .

the b es t Of c i rc u m stanc e s, a c ol ony i s in a f al s e p os iti on ; b u t if a

col ony i s a r egi on wher e the col oni zi ng r ac e has to do its wor k
by m eans Of othe r and i nf er i or races , the c ondi ti o n is m u ch
worse Ther e i s no chance f or any tr op i cal co lony owned by a
.

N orthern r ac e
”
.

1 J u ne 2 , 1 9 1 0.
1 90 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N
and a f our th s e rie s Of minor op erat ions in M e sopo t amia .

The l as t n am e d mov em en t is a gains t the K urdish t rib e s Of

-

the M osul dis tric t Ano th er and mor e impor t an t

.
, ,

advance is ag ains t the t rucu l en t Mu ntefik Arabs of the

Euphrat e s de lt a The f our t h and by far the l arg e s t
.
, ,

campai gn is the un ending war f ar e in the provinc e Of Y emen ,

nort h Of Aden wh er e the Turks hav e b e en figh tin g

,

in t e rmi tt en tly f or mor e than a de ca de The p e op l e s Of

.

Arabia are also in du lging in confl ict on t he ir Ow n accoun t .

The in t e rminab l e f eud b etwe e n the rival pot en t at e s Of N e dj

d ,

Ibn Saud Of R iadh and Ibn Rashid of Hai l has brok en out ,

af r e sh and the trib e s Of the coas tal provinc e Of El K atar

,

are suppos e d t o hav e plunge d in t o the f ra y The Mu nt e fi k .

Arabs no t con t en t wi t h worryi n g the Turks are harry ing the

, ,

t e rri t ori e s Of She ikh M u rbarak of K owe i t In the f ar sou t h .

the Sul t an Of Sh ehr and Mokalla a f e udat ory Of the B ri t ish

,

Gove rnmen t is conduct in g a t iny w ar ag ains t a hos t i l e t ribe

,

in the my s t erious Hadramau t In the we s t the B e duin are

.

spasmodica lly menacin g c e rt ain s ec t ions Of the H e dj az

Rai l way which t hey v e ry much dis l ik e
, Ten y e ars ag o
.

the Ibn Ras hi ds w e re nominally mas t e rs Of a gr e at de al Of

Arabia and gr ew S O aggr e ssive t ha t t h ey t ri e d to s ei ze
,

K owei t The fi ery Old Sheikh Of K owe i t marched ag ains t

.

t hem and al t e rnat e l y w on and los t He had his r ev eng e

, . .

He s en t an audacious scion of the Ibn S ands t o the Old

W ahabi capi tal Of R iadh and b y a r emarkab l e s trat age m
,

the y ou t h cap t ur e d the s t ron gho l d wi t h on ly fi f ty m en .

The rival part i e s hav e b ee n fi gh t in g a t in t ervals e v e r

”
S i nc e .

And S O on and S O on to the e xt e nt Of a colum n S O .

that what V e n ezu ela and N icaragu a are to the Am e rican

Contin e nt Arabia Albania Arm e nia Mont e n e gro and
, , , ,

M orocco are to the East e rn H e mis p h e r e We fi nd .

e xactly t he sam e rul e — that just as o ne g e ts away from

militancy o ne g e ts towards ad v anc e and C ivilization ;

1 92 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

t hat she has don e S O m uch more small fi g hting than

G e rmany ( Madagascar Tonkin Africa etc ) whil e Of , , , .
,

cours e Russia and the B alkan State s are still more

,

military in both s e ns es — mor e actual fi g hting m or e ,

military training .

P e rhaps the militarist will argu e that whil e us e l e ss and ,

unj ust wars mak e for d eg e n eration j ust wars are a moral ,

r ege n e ration But did a n ation group trib e fam ily o r

.
, , ,

individual e v e r y e t e nt e r into a war which he did not

t hink j ust ? The British or m ost of th e m b e li e ved the
, ,

war against the B o e rs j ust but m ost of the authoriti e s,

in favour Of w ar in g e n e ral outsid e Of Gr eat B ritain

b e li e ve d it unj ust N owh e r e do you find such d e ath
.

l e ss absolut e unwa ve ring b e li e f in the j ustice Of war

, ,

as in thos e con fl icts which all Christ e n dom knows to

be at onc e unj ust and unn e c e ssary I re fe r to the
'

r eligious wars Of M oham m edan fanaticism .

D O you suppos e that wh e n N i c aragua go e s t o w ar

with S an Sal v ador o r Costa Rica or Colombia with
,

P e ru or P e ru with C hili or Chili with the Ar g en tin e

, , ,

th ey do not e ach and e v e ry one o f th e m be li ev e that

th e y are fighting for immutabl e and d e athl e ss p rincipl e s
The ci vilization Of most Of th e m is Of cours e as lik e as , ,

t w o p eas and th e r e is no more r e ason e x c e pt th e ir dis

, ,

lik e Of rational thou g ht and ha rd w o rk why th ey should ,

fight with o ne anoth e r d e s p it e G e n e ral Le a s fi ne words

,
’

as to the p rimordial charac t e r Of national di ffe r e nc e s ,

than that D ors e t S hould fi g ht with D e von ; to o ne anoth e r

th ey are as alik e and w h e th e r San Sal v ador b e ats C osta
,

Rica or Costa Rica San Sal vador doe s not S O far a s ,

e ss e ntials are conc e rn e d matt e r two p e nc e ,B ut th e ir .

rh e tori c Of p at riotism —the sacrific e and the d e athl e ss ,

glory and the r e st o f it— is oft e n j ust as sinc e r e as

,
 S U RV I VAL O F W A R LI K E N ATI O N S 1 93

ours That is the trage dy Of it and it is that which

.
,

gi ve s to the solution Of the p robl e m i n S p anish Am e rica

its r e al di fficulty .

But e v e n if w e admit that warfar e d l espag nole ma y

’

be d e grading and that j ust wars are e nnobling and

,

n e c e ssary to ou r m oral w e lfar e w e should n e ve rth e l e ss

,

be cond e mn e d to d e g e n e racy and d e clin e A j ust war

.

im p li e s that som e on e must act unj ustly towards us but ,

as t he ge n e ral condition improv e s —as it is im p rovin g

in Euro pe as com p ar e d with C e ntral and South Am e rica ,

o r M orocco ,o r —
Arabia w e shall g et l e ss and l e ss
“ ”
moral p urification ; as m en be com e l e ss and l e ss
dis p os e d to m ak e unj ustifiabl e attacks th ey will be com e
,

more and m or e d eg e n e rat e I n such incoh e re nce are

.

w e land e d by the p e ssimistic and im p ossibl e p hiloso ph y

that m e n will d e cay and die unl e ss th ey go on killing

e ach oth e r .

What is the fundam e ntal e rror at the bas e Of the

th e ory t h at war mak e s for the su rv i v al Of the fi t—that
w ar far e is any n e c e ssary e x p r e ssion Of t he law Of sur
vival ? I t is the illusion induc e d by the hy p notism Of
a t e rm inology which is Obsol et e The sam e factor which
.

l e ads us so astray in the economic domain l e ads us

astray in this also .

Conqu e st do e s not make for the e lim ination Of the

conqu e r e d ; the w e ak e st do not go to t he wall thou g h ,

that is t he p roc e ss which thos e w ho adopt the formula Of

e volution in this matt e r hav e in th e ir minds .

G re at B ritain has conqu e r e d I ndia D o e s that m e an

.

that the infe rior rac e is r e plac e d by the sup e rior ? N ot

the l e ast in the world ; the inf e rior rac e not only surviv e s ,

but is g ive n an e x tra l e as e Of life by vi rtu e Of the c on

‘

q u e st. I f e v e r t he Asiatic t hr e at e ns the whit e rac e it ,

I3
194 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

will be thanks in no sm all part to t he work of rac e

cons e rvation which England s conqu e sts in the East
’

ha ve involve d War th e r e fore do e s not mak e for the

.
, ,

e limination Of the unfit and the survival Of the fit It .

would be tru e r to say that it mak e s for the survival Of

the u nfit .

What is t he r e al p roce ss of war ? You care fully

s e l ect from the g e n e r al p o p ulation on both sid es the
h e althi e st sturdi e st the physically and m e ntally
, ,

sound e st thos e p oss e ssing p re cis ely the vi ril e and

,

manly qualiti e s which you d e sir e to p r e s e rv e and , ,

having thus s el e ct e d the élit e Of the tw o populations ,

y o u e xt e rminat e th e m by battl e and dis eas e and l e av e ,

the worst of both si de s t o am algamat e in the p roc e ss Of

conqu e st o r d e feat—b e caus e in so far as the final am al
,

a m a t io n i s conc e rn e d both proc e ss e s hav e the sam e

g ,

—
r e sult and from this amalgam Of the worst Of bot h
sid e s you cr e at e the new nation or the new soci ety
wh ich is to ca rry on the rac e Eve n supposing t he .

b ett e r nation wins the fact Of conqu est re sults only in

,

the absorp t ion Of the inf e rior qu aliti e s Of the b e at e n

nation — infe rior p r e sumably b e caus e b e at e n and infe rior ,

b e caus e w e hav e kill e d Off th e ir s e l e ct e d be st and ab

s orbe d the r e st S inc e w e no lon g e r e xt e rminat e the
,

wom e n the childr e n the Old m en and thos e too w eak

, , ,

o r too f e e bl e to g o into the army

‘
.

Dr Otto S eec k
. D er U nt ergang der An tik en W e lt )fi nds
the downf all Of Rom e du e sol e ly to the r oo ti ng o u t Of the b es t
( D ie Au sr ott ung der S ee l ey says : The Rom an
“ “

E m p ir e p erished f or want Of m en One hi st or i an of r eec e , dis

. G
cu ssi ng the e nd of the P el op onn esi an wars, sai d Only cowards
r em aine d, and from the ir br oods cam e the new gen erati ons .

Thr ee m illi on m e n—the élit e of E u r op e—p e ri shed i n the

Napole oni c wars It i s sai d that after those wars the height
.
1 96 T HE G REAT I L LU S I O N

illustrations Of the sam e thing F or hundr e ds Of years

.

”
w e ta lk ed Of the rip e r wi sdom o f the anci ents im p ly ,

ing t h at this g e n e ration is t he youth in exp e ri e nc e and ,

that the e a r ly ag e s had the accumulat ed e xp e ri e nc e

“
the e xact r e v e rs e Of cours e Of t he truth
, , Ye t the .

l e arning Of the anci e nts and the wisdom of ou r fore

fath e rs was a com mon catch phras e e ve n in the B ritish
-
,

Parliam e nt until an English country parson kill ed this

,

‘
nons e n s e by ridicul e .

I do not urg e t h at the som e what sim p l e e l e m e ntary , ,

s el ective p roc e ss which I hav e d e scrib e d accounts in

its elf for the d e cad e nc e of military Pow e rs That is .

only a p art of the p roc e ss : the whol e o f it is som ewhat

m or e complicat e d in that the proc e ss Of e limination Of
,

the good in favour Of t he bad is quit e as much socio

logical as biologi cal that is to say if during long ,

p e riods a nation g ive s its e lf u p to war t rad e languish e s

, ,

the po p ulation los e s the habit of st e ady i ndustry ,

gove rnm e nt and a dm inistration b ecom e corru p t abus e s ,

e sca p e punishm e nt and t he r e al sourc e s o f a p e opl e s

’

s tr e ngth and e x p ansion dwindl e What has caus e d the

.

r e lative failure and d e clin e Of Spanish Portugu e s e and , ,

Fr e nch e xpansion i n Asia and the N ew World and the ,

r e lative succ e ss Of En g lish e x p ansion th e re in Was it

the m e re hazards Of war which gav e t o G r e at Britain
the domination Of I ndia and half Of the N ew World ?
That is sur ely a su p e rficial r e ading of history I t was .
,

rath e r th at the m e thods and proc e ss e s Of Spain Portu

, ,

gal and Franc e w e r e military whil e thos e Of the Anglo

, ,

S axon world w e r e comm e rcial and p e ac e ful I s it no t .

a commonplac e that in I ndia quit e as much as in ,

I thi nk one m ay say f ai r ly that it w as Si dney S m ith s w it rather ’

than Bacon s wisdom whi ch kill ed this curi ou s ill u si on

’
.
 S U RV I VA L OF WA R LI K E N ATI O N S 1 97

t he N ew World the trad e r and the s e ttl e r dro ve

,

ou t t he soldi e r and t he conqu e ror ? The di ffe r e nc e

b e tw ee n the tw o m e thods w as that one was a p roc e ss
Of conqu e st and the oth e r of colonizing or non military
, ,
-

administration for com m ercial p urpos e s The one em .

bodi ed the sordid C obd e nite id ea wh ich so excit e s the ,

scorn of the m ilitarists and the oth e r the lofty mili

,

tary id eal The one w as p arasitism ; the oth e r CO

.

"
o pe rat ionfi

Thos e w ho confound the p ow e r Of a nation with the

S iz e Of its army and na vy are mistaking the ch e qu e

book for the mon ey A child s e e ing its fath e r p aying

.
,

bills in ch e qu e s assum e s that you only n e ed p l e nty of

,

ch equ e b ooks in ord e r to have p l e nty Of mon e y ; it

-

do e s not see that for the ch e qu e book to h av e p ow e r -

th e re must be uns ee n r e sourc e s o n which to draw O f .

what u se is domination unl e ss th e r e be individual

ca p acity social training industrial r e sourc e s to p rofit
, , ,

th e re by ? How can you h ave th e s e thi ngs if e n e rgy is

w ast e d as in military ad ve ntur e I s not the failur e Of
Spain explicabl e by the fact that S he fail e d to r ealize
t his truth ? F o r thr e e c e nturi e s she att e m p t ed to li ve
u p on conqu e st u po n the forc e Of her arms and year
, ,

afte r y e ar got poo r e r in the proc ess and he r m od e rn ,

social r e naissanc e date s from the tim e wh e n she lo st

t he last Of he r Am e rican coloni e s It is sinc e the loss of
.

Cuba and the Philippin e s that S p anish national securi

t i e s have doubl e d in valu e ( At the outbr eak Of the
.

H is p ano Am e rican War S p anish Fours w e r e at 4 5; the y

-

hav e sinc e touch ed par ) And if S p ain has sho w n in

.

the last d e cad e a social r enaissanc e not S hown p e r h a p s

S ee the d isti ncti on establi shed at the b egi nni ng of the next
c hap ter .
1 98 THE G R EAT I L LU S I O N
for a hundre d and fifty y e ars it is b e caus e a nation
,

still l e ss milita ry than G e rmany and still mor e purely

,

industrial has comp e ll e d Spain once and for all to

,

surr e nd e r all dre am Of e mpir e and conqu e st The .

C ircumstanc e s Of t he last surr e nd e r are e loqu e nt in

this conn e ction as S howin g how e ve n in warfare

its e lf the industrial training and the industrial tradition
— the C obd e nit e id e al Of M r Sydn ey Low s scorn—are
.
’

more than a match for the training of a soci e ty in which

military acti v iti e s are p r e dominant I f it be tru e that .

it w as the G erman schoolmast e r w ho conqu e r ed at

S e dan it w as the C h icago m e rcha n t w ho conqu e r e d at
,

M anila The writ e r ha pp e ns to have b e e n in touch

.

both w ith S p aniards and Am e ricans at the tim e of

the war and w e ll r e m e mb e rs the scorn with which
,

S p aniards r e fe rr e d to the notion that the Yank ee pork

butch e rs could p ossibly conqu e r a nation of t h e ir mili
tary tradition and to the ide a that trad e sm e n would
,

e v e r be a matc h fo r the soldi e ry and p rid e Of Old S p ain .

‘
And Fr e nch o p inion was not S O v e ry di ff e r e nt Shortly .

aft e r the war I wrot e in an Am e rican j ournal as

follows
Spain r epre s ent s the out come Of som e c e n t uri es devot ed
mainly t o mi l i tary ac t ivi ty N O one can say that she has
.

b een unmili t ary or a t al l defi c ent in thos e qualitie s which w e

associat e wi th sol di ers and sol di e ring Ye t if such quali t i es
.
,

in any w ay mak e f or nat ional e ffi ci ency f or the cons ervat ion,

Of na t ional f orc e the his t ory Of Spain is absolu t e ly in

,

M P i erre
. oti w ho happ ened to b e at Madri d when the
L ,

troops were l eavi ng to fight the Ameri cans wrot e : They are “
, ,

i ndeed sti ll the soli d and sp l endi d S pani sh troops heroi c i n every
, ,

ep och one on ly n e e ds to l ook at them to di vi n e the w oe that awaits

th e Am er i can shop k e ep ers when bro u ght f ac e to f ace with su ch

sol di ers .He prophesi e d des su rprises sanglanies M L oti i s a
"
. .

m e m b er of the F r e nc h Acade m y .
2 00 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

H e re w e see a trac e Of that int e ll e ctual legacy which

S p ai n has l e ft to t he N ew World and w hich has ,

stam p ed its e lf so ind e libly on t he histo ry of S p anish

Am e rica O n a lat e r occasion in this conn ection I
.

wrot e as follows
To appr e ciat e the ou t com e Of much so l di ering the con ,

di t ion in which pe rsis t en t mili tary t rainin g ma y l eav e a rac e ,

one shoul d s t u dy Spanish America H e r e w e hav e a .

col l e ct ion of some score of S tat e s all v e ry much alike in ,

social and poli t ical mak e u p Mos t of the South Am erican

-
.

S tat e s so r e s e mbl e one anot he r in languag e l aws institu , ,

t ions that t o an out side r i t would s ee m no t t o matt e r a s t raw

,

under which part icular si x months Old r epub l ic one should

- -

l iv e ; wh e the r one be un der the gov e rnmen t of the pro

nu nc iam entO cr ea t e d Pr e si den t o f Colombia
-
or the pro ,

nu nc iam ento cr e a t ed Pr e si de n t of V e n ezu e l a on e s con di t ion

’
-
,

w ou l d app e ar t o b e much the sam e Appar en tly no part icu l ar

.

coun t ry has an yt hing which di ff ere nt iat es i t from ano the r ,

and cons e qu e n t l y no thin g t o prot ec t ag ains t the o t he r

, , .

Absolut e ly the Gove rnm en t s mi ght all chan ge p la ce s and

the p e op l e be non e the wise r Yet S O hy pnot ize d are t he s e
.
,

l i ttl e S ta t e s by the n ec e ssi ty f or s el f prot ect ion by the

‘ -

,
’

glamour Of armamen t s t hat t here is no t one which has not

,

a r e lat ive ly e l aborat e and e x p ensive mili tary e s tab l ishm en t

t o pro t e c t i t f rom the r e s t .

N O c ond1t ions s eem so propi t ious f or a prac t ical con

f ede ra t ion as t hos e Of Spanish Am erica ; wi t h a f ew
e x c e p t ions the vir t ual uni ty Of lang uag e l aws g e n e r a
, l rac e
, ,

i deal s would s eem t o r en de r prot ect ion of f ron t i ers sup e r

erogatory .Ye t the ci t i ze ns g iv e un t o l d weal th s e rvic e l i fe , , ,

and suff erin g t o b e prot e c t ed agains t a Gov e rnm e n t e x ac tl y

l ik e the ir ow n All t his was t e of l if e and e ne rgy has gon e
.

on without i t e ver occu rring t o one of t he s e S t at e s t ha t i t

w er e pr e fe rabl e t o be anne x ed a t housand t im e s over so ,

t rifl ing woul d be the r e sul t in g chan ge in t heir con di t ion ,

t han cont inue the e v er l ast ing and fut il e t ribut e of bl ood and
 S U RV I VA L O F WAR LI K E N AT I O N S 20 1

t r easur e O ver some abso l u t e ly unimpor t an t ma tt er—lik e

.

tha t o f the Pa t agonian roads which n ear ly brou gh t Arg en t i

,

and Chili t o grips the o t he r day—as much patrio t ic de vo t ion

wil l be e x p en ded as ev e r the Old Guard lavished in prot ec t
ing the honour of the Tricolour B att l es will be fought
.

which wi ll mak e all the s t ru ggl e s in Sou th A frica app ear

mean in comparison Ac t ions in which the dead are coun t e d
.

in thousan ds wi l l e x ci t e no mor e commen t in the world t han

that produced by a S kirmish in N at al in which a scor e of ,
”
yeomen are cap t ur ed and r el eased .

I n the d e cad e S inc e the f or egoing w as writt e n t hin g s

have e normously im prove d in South Am e rica Why ? .

F or t he S im p l e r e ason as p oint e d ou t in Cha p t e r V o f

, .

the first p art o f this book that S p anish Am e rica is b e in g

,

brou g ht mor e and more into t he e conomic mo ve m e n t

Of the world ; and with the e stablishm e nt o f factorie s ,

in which larg e capital has be e n sunk banks busin e ss e s , , ,

etc.
,the whol e attitud e o f m ind Of thos e int e r est e d in
th e s e v entur e s is chang ed The J ingo the m ilitary
.
,

a dve ntur e r the fom e nt e r o f troubl e are s ee n fo r what

, ,

th ey are not as patriots but as r e pr e s e nting e xc e ed

h
,

ingly mischi e v ous and m ale fi c ie nt forc e s .

This g e n e ral truth has t w o fac ets : if long warfar e

dive rts a p e opl e from the ca p acity fo r industry so in
—
,

t h e long run conomic p r ssur the influ e nc e s that is

e e e , ,

which turn the e n e rgi e s Of p e o p l e to p r e occu p ation wi t h

social w e ll be ing— is fatal to the military tradition
-
.

N e ith e r t e nd e ncy is constant : warfar e produc e s pove rty ;

po v e rty p ush e s to thrift and w ork which r e sult in w ealth
,

w e alth cr e at e s l e isur e and prid e and push e s to warfar e .

Wh e r e N atur e do e s not r e spon d r e adily to indus t rial

e ffort wh e r e it is a t l e ast appar e ntly m or e p rofitabl e t o
,

lso l ett er q u ot ed p
S ee a , . 1 88 .
20 2 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

plund e r than to work the m il 1tary tradition survi ve s

, .

The B e duin has b e e n a bandit sinc e the tim e Of

Abraham for the simpl e re ason that the d e s e rt do e s
,

no t su pp ort industrial life nor r e s p ond to industrial

e ffort. The only care e r O ffe ring a fair appare nt r e turn

for eff ort is plund e r . I n M orocco in Arabia in all v e ry
, ,

poor p astoral countri e s the sam e p h e nom e non is ex

,

hib ited ; in mountainous countri e s w hich are arid and

are r e mo v e d from the e conom ic c e ntr e s idem It m ay , .

have b ee n to som e e xt e nt the cas e in Pru ssia b e for e

the e ra of coal and iron ; but t he fact that to d ay

99 p e r c e nt o
. f t he p opulation is normally e nga g e d in

t rade and indu stry and 1 per c e n t only in mili t ary

, .

pre paration and som e fraction too small to be p rop e rly

,

e stimat e d e ngag e d in actual war shows ho w far S he has

,

outgrown such a stat e —sho w s incid e ntally what littl e

, ,

chanc e t he id e al and tra dition r e pr e s e nt e d by 1 pe r c e nt

o r som e fractional p e rc e ntag e has against int e r e sts and

activiti e s r e pr e s e nt e d by 9 9 per c e nt The r e c e nt history

.

o f S outh and C e ntral Am e rica b e caus e it is r e c e nt and

, ,

b e caus e the factors are l e ss com p licat e d illustrat e s be st ,

t he t e nd e ncy with which w e are d e aling S p anish .

Am e rica inh e rit e d the military tradition in all its vigour .

AS I hav e alr e ady p oint e d ou t the S p anish occu p ation

,

o f t he Am e rican C ontin e nt w as a p roc e ss Of conqu e st

rath e r than of colonizing ; and whil e the m oth e r

country got p oor e r and p oor e r by t he p rocess o f
conqu e st the ne w countri e s also impove rish ed th e m
,

s e lve s in adh e r e nc e to the sam e fatal illusion The .

glamour of conqu e st was Of cours e Spain s ruin S O

, ,
’
.

lon g as it was p ossibl e for her to live on e xto rt ed

bullion n e ith e r social nor industrial d e velopm e nt
,

s ee m e d possibl e . D e s p it e the com mon id ea to the

2 04 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
military conqu e st— mistaking t he m eans for the e nd
t hat whil e the An g lo S axon world has triumph e d by the
,
-

non m ilitary labo u r of he r se ttl e rs trad e rs and m anu

-
, ,

fac tu re rs y e t the fact re main s that had the Anglo

,

S axon world not don e some fi g hting she would have

b ee n dri v e n from the N ew World or would n ev e r have
g ain e d a foothold th e re .

I am not conc e rn ed to d e ny the truth of this The .

p rinci p l e by which w e may d e t e rm in e the di ffe re nc e

b etw ee n advanta g e ou s and disad v antag eous e m p loy
m e nt of military forc e—a p ri nci p l e w hich m os t cl e arly
e stablish e s the di ffe r e nc e which has distin g uish e d the

e xpansion of Spain and E n g land—is e x plain e d at t he

b e g inning o f the n ext cha p t e r What w e are now more

.

conc e rn e d with is not so much proc asses and p rinci p l e s

as the p hysical and p sychological facts o f the cas e . As
e x p lain e d in t he first s e ction o f this book I am ar g uin g
,

the main th e sis o n the facts o f the worl d as th ey stan d

to day ; and j ust what p ro p ortion of fighting ma y ha v e
-

b ee n us e ful in the p ast and what p roportion us el e ss is

an int e re sting but acad e m ic qu e stion I am not c once rne d
to solve I f I have app e al ed to the historical facts it is
.
,

b e caus e w e are at pr e s e nt d e aling with t he human natur e

o f t he cas e—the biolo g ical origins of the s e ntim e ntal

and m oral mo t iv e s p ushing nations i nto war— and

b e caus e I wish to S ho w from a brie f historical re vi ew
o f national d ev e lo p m e nt that t he broad fe atur e s o f s u ch

do not j ustify t he pl e a that p ugnacity and antagonism

b e twe e n nations is boun d u p in any w ay w ith the re al
p roc e ss of national survival Thos e facts show cl early
.

e nough that nations nurtur e d norm ally in p e ac e are

mor e than a match for nati ons nurture d norm ally in

war ; that communiti es o f non military tradi tion and
-
 S U RV I VA L O F WA RLI KE N ATI O N S 2 05

instincts lik e the An g lo Saxon comm uniti es o f the

,
-

N ew World show e l e m e nts of survival strong e r than

,

thos e posse ss e d by communiti e s animat ed by the

military tradition lik e the S p anish and Portugu e se
,

nation s of the N ew World ; that the p osition of the

industrial nations in Euro p e as com p ar ed with the
military give s no j ustification for the p l e a t hat the
warlik e qualiti es mak e fo r survival It is cl e arly .

e vid e nt that th e re is no biological justification in t he

t e rm s of man s p olitical e volution for the pe r pe tuation

’

o f antagonism be tw e e n nations o r any j ustification fo r ,

the p l e a t h at the diminution of such antagonism run s

”
count e r to the t eachings of the natural law Th e re .

is no such natural la w ; natu ral law s are thrusting m e n

irr e sistibly towards c o O p e ration b e tw ee n communiti e s
-

and not towards conflict .

Th e r e r e mains the argu m e nt that though the conflict

'

its elf may mak e for d ege n e ration the p r e p aration fo r ,

that conflict mak e s fo r su rv ival for the im p rove m e nt ,

o f human natur e I have alr e ady touch e d u p on t he

.

hop e l e ss confusion which com e s of the p l e a t h at ,

whil e long continu ed p e ac e is bad military p r e p aration s

-
,

find j ustification in that th ey insur e p e ac e .

M r L ow in the p assag e which I have quot ed sn ee rs

.
, ,

at the id e al of p e ac e b e cau s e it involv e s the Cobd e nit e

stat e o f buying ch ea p and s e lling d e ar But he go e s o n .

to argu e for gr e at armam e nts not as a m e an s of pro

,

m ot ing w ar that valuabl e school e tc but as the b e st

, ,
.
,

m e ans of s e curing pe ace ; in oth e r words that condition ,

“ ”
of buying ch eap and s e lling d e ar which but a
m om e nt b efor e M r L ow had cond e mn e d as s o d e fe ctive
. .

As though to m ak e t he st u ltifi c ation com p l et e he pl e ads ,

for the p e ac e valu e of military training on the gro und ,

206 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
that G e rman comm e rc e has b e n e fit e d from it— that in ,

”
oth e r words it has promot e d the Cobd e nite id eal
, .

The analysis of the r e asoning as has be e n brilliantly ,

"s
shown by M r J ohn M Rob e rtson . give s a r e sult
.
,

som e thing lik e thi s : ( I ) War is a gr e at school of morals ,

t h e re fore w e must have gr e at armam e nts to insure p e ac e ;

( 2 ) s e cur e p e ac e e ng end e rs the Cobd e nit e id e al whic h ,

is bad th e r e fore w e should adopt conscri p tion (at ) b e caus e

, ,

it is the b e st safeguard of s e cur e p e ac e (6) b e caus e it is ,

a training for comm e rc e—the C obd e nit e id e al .

I s it tru e that barrack training— the sort o f school

which the com p etition of armam e nts d u ring the last
g e n e ration has impos ed on the p eopl e of Contin e ntal
Euro p e—mak e s for moral h ealth ? I s it lik e ly that
“
a p e r p etual r e h earsal for som ething n ev e r lik ely to
”
com e off and wh e n it com e s off is not lik e the r e h e ars al
, ,

should be a training for life s r ealiti e s P I s it lik e l y that

’

such a proc e ss would have the s t am p and touch o f

clos en e ss t o r e al thin g s ? I s it like ly that the m e chanical
routin e of artificial occupation s artificial crim e s artificial , ,

vi rtu e s artificial p unishm e nts should form any r e al

,

trainin g for the battl e o f r e al life Pt What of the

D r eyfus cas e What o f t he abominabl e scan dals that
have mark e d G e rman milita ry life o f lat e ye ars ? I f
p e ac e m ilitary training is such a fi ne school how could ,

“
tr iotism and E m p ir e Gr ant Ri chards
Pa , .

1 F or p er m anent wor k the sol di er i s worse than usel ess his

’

whol e trai ni ng t ends to m ak e him a weakli ng He has the eas i est .

of li ves he has no f r eedom and no r esp onsibility He i s p oliti cally .

and soc i ally a chil d with rati ons i nste ad of rights—tr eat e d lik e
,

, ,

a c h il d p u n i sh e d lik e a chil d dresse d pr e ttily and washe d and

, ,

c om b e d lik e a chil d ex cused f or outb r eak s of nau ghti n ess lik e a

,

chil d f or bi dden to m arry lik e a chil d and call ed Tommy lik e a

,
“
,
”

chil d He has no r eal wor k to k eep him from goi ng m ad excep t

.

hou semai d s wor k ( J ohn B u ll s Other

” “
’ ’
2 08 TH E G REAT I LL U S I O N
w orld in the S e nate and Chambe r t he r e mus t be some t hat
wi l l r emind her t ha t na t ions no mor e t han in divi duals can
, ,

bear the burden of unive rsal scorn and l ive . France

canno t c l ose he r e ars t o the voic e of the civili zed worl d for ,

t ha t voice is the voice of his t or y (S ep t ember 1 1 ,

And what the Ti mes said th e n all En g land was saying ,

and not only all E ngland but all Am e rica

, .

And has G e rm any e sca p e d a lik e cond e m nation

We com monly assum e that the D reyfus cas e could not
be du plicat e d in G e rmany . But this is not the O p inion
o f v e ry many G e rman s t h e ms e lv e s . I nd ee d just b e for e
,

the D r eyfus cas e r e ach e d its crisis the Kotz e scandal

,

in its way j ust as gra v e as the D r e yfus aff air and ,

r e ve aling a moral condition j ust as s e rious —prom p te d

“
the Ti mes t o d e clar e that c e rtain fe atur e s o f G e rm an
civilization are such as to mak e it difl i c u lt for En g lish
m e n to und e rstand how the whol e Stat e do e s not
”
colla p s e from sh ee r rott e nn e ss . And if that could be
said of the Kotz e a ffair , what shall be said o f t he
stat e of things which among oth e rs has b e e n r eveal ed
, ,

by M ax i mili e n Hard e n P
N ee d it be said that the writ e r o f th e s e lin e s do e s not
d e sir e to r e pr e s e nt G e rmans as a whol e as more corrupt
than th e ir n e ighbours ? But im parti al obs e rv e rs are
not o f O p inion , and ve ry many G e rmans are not of
o p inion that th e re has b e e n e ith e r e conomic social
, , ,

o r moral advanta g e to t he G e rman p e opl e from t he

v ictori e s of 1 870 and the stat e of r e gim e ntation which the

se qu e l has im p os e d This is sur ely e vid e nc e d by the actual
.

osition of a ffairs in the G e rman Em pir e t he compl e x

p ,

di fficulty with which the G e rman p e opl e are now

s truggling , the growing discont e nt t he growing i h
,

fl u e nc e of thos e e l e m e nts which are nurtur e d in discon

 S U RVI VA L O F WA RLI KE N AT I ON S 2 09

t e nt , growth on one sid e of radical intran sig ean ce

t he
and on the oth e r o f almo st f eudal autocracy t he fail u re ,

to e ffe ct normally and e asily tho s e d e moc ratic d e v e lo p

m ents which hav e b ee n efl ec ted in alm ost e ve ry ot h e r
'

Euro pe an S tate the dang e r for the fut u r e which such a

,

situation r e p r es e nts t he p r e cariousn e ss of Ge rm an

,

finance the r e latively s m all be ne fit w h ic h her popu la

,

tion as a who le has re ce ive d fro m the greatly i ncreas ed

for eign trad e—all this and muc h mor e confirm s t h at , ,

vie w We in E ngland se e m t o be affe ct ed with the

.

G e rman su pe rstition j ust now Wi th the curious per .

“ ”
v ersity th at marks patriotic j u dgm ents the w hol e ,

t end e ncy at pre s e nt is t o m ak e c omp ari s ons w ith

G e rmany t o the di sadvant ag e o f ou r se l ve s and of oth er
Euro pe an countri e s Ye t if G erman s t hem s el ves are to
.

be be li e v ed much of t h at sup e riority w h ich w e se e in

,

G e rmany is as p urely non e xist e nt as the phan tom -

G e rman war balloon to w hich ou r Pr e ss d ev ot e d s e rious

-

columns to the ph antom army cor p s i n E pp ing For e st

, ,

t o the phantom stori e s o f arm s in London c ellars and ,

t o the G e rman S py which ou r p atriots see in e v ery

ii
I tali an w ait er .
i

D e s p it e the hyp no tism w hic h G e rm an p rogre ss

see m s t o e x e rci se o n t he minds o f ou r jingo es t he ,

G e rman p e o p l e t h e ms el v e s as distinct from the small ,

grou p of Prussian J unk e rs are not in the l east e namoured ,

of it as is p ro v e d by the un p arall el ed growth of the

,

social d e mocratic e l em e nt which is the n egation of

-

military im pe rialism and w h ich as the figur e s in Prussia

, ,
,

Thi ngs m u st have r eac hed a pr etty p ass i n Eng land whe n
the own er of the D ai ly Mail and the p atr on of Mr B latc hf or d .

c an devot e a c ol u m n and a half over his o w n signatu r e to

repr oachi ng i n vigorou s t erm s the hyst er ia and s ensati onali sm of

his o w n r eaders .
210 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N
p rove r e c e i ve s support not from one class of t he pOpu la
,

tion m e r e ly but from the m e rcantil e industri al and

, , ,

profe ssional class e s as w e ll The a g ita t ion for e l e ctoral .

r e form in Prussia shows how acute the conflict has

b e com e : on the one side the incr e asing d e mocratic
e l e m e nt showin g mor e and mor e o f a r e v olutionary

t e nd e ncy and on the oth e r sid e the Prussian autocracy

,

showing l e ss and l e ss disposition to yi eld D o e s anyon e .

re ally b e li e v e that the situation wi ll r e main th e r e that ,

the D e mocratic p arti e s will continu e to grow in numb e rs

and be cont e nt for e ve r to be ridd e n down by the
“ ”
boot e d P russian and t h at G e rman d e mocracy will
,

ind e finit ely acc e pt a situation in which it will be always

p ossibl e in t he words o f the junk e r von O ld e nburg
-
,

m e mb e r of the R e ichstag— for the G e rman Em p e ror to

“
say t o a Li e ut e nant Tak e te n m e n and clos e the
,

R e ichsta g
I tak e ll owi ng f rom the A nti S ocialistzsche K orrespond
the f o -
’

denz : “
The soc i al dem ocrati c pr obl e m and the s oc i al pr obl em,

i n general are b ecom i ng m or e di ffi cu lt and mor e acu t e The

, .

soci al dem ocracy at the pr esent m om ent i s m ore than ever a

par ty of c lass ; it i s at bottom l osing nothi ng of its r evol u ti onary
charact er We know that the soci al dem ocracy p ar ty i s con
.

trolli ng 2 5 per cent of the vot es in the R ei chstag owns

.
,

seventy f ou r daily pap ers and has a revenu e of consi der ably
-
,

over a m illi on m ar k s a y ear P rof essor D e lb r u c k the e ditor of

.
,

the P reu ssische [ahrbuc ker pr oph esi es that the S oc i ali st s will have
,

one h u ndr ed and twen ty s eats i n the n ext R e i chstag (at pr e se nt

they hol d for ty n ine) -
.

Th e f oll owi ng f rom the B er li n c orr espondent of th e D ai ly Mail

A
( gu u s t 1 1 9 1
, 0 ) i s su gg e stive :
“
T he ti de o f G er m an S oci ali s m

still ri ses The vi ctory i n the R ei chstag by e l ecti on i n Wu rtem

.
-

b u rg agai n p oints to a probl em whi ch must dwarf all others in

the m i nds of G er m an stat esm en The S oc i ali st s have ac hi eve d
.

the extraordi nary f eat of wi nning seven R ei chstag by e l e cti ons -

i n su c cessi on The approach of the 1 9 1 1 el ec ti ons m ak es the

.

phenom enon all the m ore al arm i ng from the Governm ent s p oi nt ’
21 2 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

not yet fi t for Scandinavian nation s S witzerland

, , ,

H olland B e lg ium h ave fitt e d th em s elves for wit h out

, ,

the aid o f m ilitary victory and s u b s equ ent r egim e n ta

tion D id not s om e on e onc e say t h at the war h ad
.

made G e rmany gr e at and G e rmans small

Wh e n w e ascrib e so larg e a m easure of G e rmany s s ocial ’

progr ess ( which no one so far as I kn ow is co nc ern ed

t o den y) t o t he victori e s and r eg im e n tation w h y do w e ,

conve ni e ntly ove rloo k the soc ial progr e ss o f the small
Stat e s which I ha ve just m ention ed w h e r e su ch pro ,

g r e ss o n the mat e rial s id e has c e rtainly be en as gr e at as ,

and on the m oral sid e g re ate r than i n G e rmany ? W h y

do w e ov e rl oo k the fact that if G erm an y h as do ne w ell
-
,
-

in oertai n s oc ial organizations Scandi n av ia and S wit z e r ,

land have don e be tt e r ? And why do w e o verlook the

fact that if r egim e ntation i s o f suc h social v alue it has
, ,

be en so c ompl et ely inop e rative in States w h i ch are m ore

hi g h ly mi litar iz e d e v e n than G e rmany—ih S p ai n I taly , ,

Au stria Turke y and Russia ?

But e ve n as suming —a ve ry large ass umpt ion —that
, ,

regim e n tation has p laye d the rOle in Ge rma n p rogr ess

whi ch ou r G erm ano maniacs would h ave u s b e l ie ve is
-
,

t h e r e any j ustificatio n for sup posin g t h at a lik e p roc ess

wo uld be in any way ada ptable to our co nditio ns so ci al ,

moral mat e rial and hi storical

, ,

Mr D aw son ( The E vol ut i on of Modern Germany F is her

.
“
,

U nwi n p 1 6) says
,
“
It i s q ue sti onabl e whether Germ any
.

cou nts as m uch t o day as an i nt ell ec t ual and m oral agent in the
-

wor l d as when she w as li ttl e b etter than a geogr aphi cal expres
si on . W hen it c om es to wor ki ng with hu m an m ateri al the
G erm an syst em (of education) break s down Germ an sys t em s
.

of e du cati on are very f ar f r om b e i ng su cc es sf u l in the m aking of

character and i ndivi du ality E du cat ed Ge rm ans k now this

.

hence the discont ent of the enlightened classes with the p olitic al
laws under whi ch t hey live .
 S U R VI VAL OF W AR LI K E N ATI O N S 21 3

Som e of the ac u te st foreign stud e nts o f En g lish pro

gre s s—m e n lik e Edmond D em oli ns— ascri be such to
the v e ry rang e of quali t i es which t he G erman sy ste m is
bound to c ru s h : ou r aptitud e for initiative ou r r elianc e ,

u p on ou r ow n effort s ou r sturdy r e sistanc e to Stat e

,

int e rf e re nc e (already w eak e nin g) ou r impati e nc e with

,

bur eaucracy and red ta p e (also w e ak e nin g ) all o f which ,

is wra ppe d u p wi th ou r g e n e ral r e b elliousn e ss to

r egim e ntation .

T ho ugh w e base p art o f the d efe nc e of armam e nts

on t he p l e a that ec onomic int e r e st a p art w e d e sir e t o
, ,

liv e ou r ow n life in ou r ow n way to d ev elo p in ou r ,

ow n fashion do w e not ru n som e dang e r that w it h this

,

mania for the imitation of G e rm an m et h od w e may

G e rmaniz e E n g land thou g h n e v e r a G e rm an soldi er
,

land on ou r soil
O f cou rs e it is always assum ed tha t t hou g h w e may ,

ado p t the Fre nch and G e rm an syst e m of c ons c rip

tion w e could n e v e r fall a victim to the d e fe cts o f
,

thos e syst e ms and that the scand als which bre ak o u t

,

from tim e to tim e i n Franc e and G e rmany could n e ve r

be du p licat e d by ou r barrack sy st e m and that the ,

military atmosph e re o f ou r o w n barracks the training ,

in ou r ow n army would always be whol e som e But

, .

what do e v e n its d efe nd e rs say ?

M r Blatchford hims e lf says
.

B arrac k life is
B arrack li fe will alway s be bad
bad
'

. .

I t is n e v er g ood for a lot of m en t o liv e t og e the r apart f rom

home infl u ences and f eminin e I t is no t g ood for women t o
.

liv e or work in communi t i e s of women The s ex e s r eact .

upon each o ther ; each provi de s for the ot her a na t ural

S ee als o the confir m at ory verdi ct of Ca pt ai n March P hi lli ps ,

q u ot ed on p 242
. .
21 4 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N
re s traint a whol esome ince n t ive
, The barracks and
.

the g arrison t own are no t good f or youn g m e n The y oun g .

soldi e r f e nced and hemmed in by a disciplin e unne cessaril y

,

se v ere and of t en s tupi d has at the same t ime an amoun t of

, ,

l icence which is dangerous t o all but t hos e of s t rong good

s ense and s t rong wi ll I have s ee n cl e an good nic e boy s
. , ,

come in t o the Army and go t o the de vil in l ess t han a ye ar .

I am no P u ri t an I am a man of the world ; bu t an y

.

s ensibl e and hon e st man w ho has b een in the Army will

know a t once tha t what I am say in g is e n t ir ely t ru e and 18 ,

the t ru t h e x pre ss ed wi th much r e s train t and moderat ion A .

f ew ho u rs in a barrack room woul d t each a civilian mor e

-

than all the sol di er s t ori e s e v e r wri tt en W hen I j oin ed the .

Arm y I w as unus u all y unsophis t ica t ed for a boy of tw en ty .

I had b een brought up b y a mo ther I had a tt ended S u nday .

schoo l and chape l I had li v ed a qui e t she l t er e d lif e and I

.
, ,

had an as t onishin g amoun t t o l e arn The languag e Of the

.

barrack room shock ed m e appal l ed m e I cou l d no t under

-
, .

s t an d hal f I hear d ; I coul d no t cre di t much tha t I saw .

W he n I b egan t o r eali ze the t ru th I t ook m y courage in ,

bo th han ds and wen t abou t the wor l d I had come in t o wi th

Ope n ey e s So I l earn t the f act s bu t I mu s t not t e l l
.
,

«
it a
My L fei i n the Arm y , 13 . 1 19'
216 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N
g e n e ral t end e ncy in human affairs ? Assuredly not .

The p rincipl e which e x p lains the us e l e ssn e s s of much

of the forc e e x e rt e d by the military typ e of e m p ir e ,

and justifi e s in larg e p art that e mploy e d by B ritain is ,

n e ith e r obscur e nor unc e rtain althou gh e mpiricism , ,

rul e of thumb ( which is the curse of p olitical thinking

in ou r days and m or e than anything e ls e stands in the
,

w ay of r eal p rogr e ss) g e ts ove r the di fficulty by de

,

c lari ng that no p rinci p l e in human affair s can b e p ush e d

to its logical o r th e or e tical conclusion ; that what may

be right in th e ory is wrong in p rac tic e .

Thus M r Roos ev e lt w ho e xpr e ss e s wi th such ad

.
,

mirabl e for ce and vigour the ave rag e thoughts of his

h ear e rs o f r e ade rs takes g e n e rally t h is lin e : We must
,

be p eac e fu l but not t oo p eac e ful ; w arlike but not t oo

, ,

*
warlik e mor al but not too moral ,
.

With s u ch Ve rbal m yst ifi c atidn are w e e ncour ag ed to

S hirk the rough and stony plac e s along the hard road o f

thinking I f w e cannot carry a p rinci p l e to its logical

.

OOnC IUsiOfi at w hat point are w e t o sto p ? O ne will

‘
‘

fi x one and one anot h e r wit h equal j ustic e What is it .

“ ” ”
t o be m ode rate ly p e ac eful o r mod e rat e ly w ar ,

like ? T emp e ram ent and p r edil ecti on can stretch s uch
'

li mitation s i nd e fi nit e ly This sort o f thing only da rk ens

.

COllnsel:

I f a theory is right it c an be p ush ed to its logi cal

”

conclusion ; ind e ed the Only r eal t e st o f its v al u e is that

‘
,

it can be p ush e d to its lo gic al c onclusion I f it is wrong .

in p ractic e it is wro ng in th e ory for the ri g ht th e ory

, ,

wi ll t ak e cog ni zanc e of all the facts not only of o ne set , .

I do not thi nk thi s l ast generali zati on does any i nj usti ce t o

the essay L atit u de and L ongi tude am ong R ef or m ers ( Str en u ous
“ ”

L if e pp 4 i 6 1 The Ce nt u ry Com p any)

”
-
, . .
 T H E FA CT O R O F P H YS I CAL F O RC E 217

In Cha p t e r I I of this p art ( pp 1 46

. . I have v ery
broadly indicat ed the p roc e ss by whi c h the e m p loym e nt
o f physic a l forc e in t he a ffairs o f the world has be en a
con stantly dim inishing factor sinc e the day that pri mi
tive m an kill ed his fe llow m an in ord er to eat him .

Yet throughout the Whol e p r oce ss t he e mplo ym ent of

forc e has bee n an int eg ral p art of pr ogr ess until e ve n ,

to day in the most advanc ed nations forc e— the poli ce

-

forc e—is an int e gral p art of t h e i r civilization .

What th e n is the p rinci p l e de t e rmini ng the advan

, ,

tageou s and the di sad vant ag eo us e m ployment of forc e ?

Pr e c e ding the outlin e sk e tch j ust r eferre d to is anoth er
sk e tch ind icating t he r e al biolo g ical la w Of m an s surv ival
’

and ad v ance ; the k e y t o th at la w i s found in c o~op e r ati o n

b etw e e n m en and struggl e with nat u re M ankind as a .

whol e is the organism which n eed s to c o o rdinat e its -

p art s i n ord e r t o i nsur e gr e at e r v it al ity by be tt e r

adaptation to its e n v ironm e nt .

H e re then w e get the key : forc e e m p l oye d to se cure

, ,

compl et e r c o o p e ration b e tw e e n the p arts to fac ilitat e

-
,

e xchang e mak e s fo r advanc e

, forc e which ru ns c ount e r
to such co o p erati on w hich att em pts to re plac e the
-
,

mutual be n e fit of exchang e by Com p ulsio n, which is

in any way a form of para sitism mak es for re t ro ~ ,

g re ss io n .

Why is the em p loym ent of forc e by the p olic e j u stifi ed ?

B e c aus e the ban di t r e fu ses to C o op e rat e He d oes not
A
.

offe r an e xchange ; he wants to li ve as a p arasit e to tak e ,

b y forc e and g i ve nothing in exc h ange I f be inc reas ed

, .

in numb e rs , c o o p e ration b etween the vari ou s p a rts of

-

the organism would be impossibl e ; he mak e s for dis

int e gration He must be r e strain ed and so long as
.
,

the polic e u se th e ir forc e in such r e straint th e y are

21 8 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N

m e r ely insu ring c o Op e ration -

The p olic e are not .

struggling again st man ; th ey are struggling with

natur e—crim e .

N ow suppos e that this p olic e forc e be com e s the

,
-

army of a p olitical Pow e r and the di p lomats of that ,

Pow e r say to a small e r one : We outnumb e r you ;

“

w e are going t o ann e x your t e rritory and you are ,

”
going to p ay us tribut e And t he small e r Pow e r says
.

What are you going to give us for that tribut e And

“
the larg e r r e pli e s : N othing You are w eak ; w e are .

strong ; w e gobbl e you u p It is the law of li fe ; always

.

—
has be e n al w ays will be to the e nd .

N ow that p olic e forc e be com e an army is no long e r

-
, ,

making for c o o p e ration ; it has sim p ly and pur e ly

tak e n the p lac e of the bandits ; and to approximat e
such an army to a p olic e forc e and t o say that b e caus e
-
,

both o p e rations involve the e m p loym e nt of forc e th ey

bot h stand e qually justifi ed is to i gnor e half the facts
, ,

and to be guilty o f thos e lazy g e n e rali zations which w e

as sociat e with sav g ry
a e fi “

But the di ffe r e nc e is mor e t h an a moral one I f the .

r ead e r will again r e turn to the littl e sk e tch r efe rr e d to o n

the pr e c e ding p ag e he will p robably agr ee that the dip
,

lom ats Of t he larg e r p owe r are acting in an e xtra

ordinarily stupid fashion I say nothing of th e ir s h am
.

p hiloso p hy (which ha pp e ns ho we ve r to be that of , ,

Euro p ean stat e craft to day) by w hich this a g gr e ssion

-
,

is mad e to a pp e ar in k ee ping with the law of man s

’

struggl e for lif e wh e n , as a matt e r of fact it is the

, ,

ve ry n e gation o f that la w ; but w e know now that th ey

rther ill u strati on of the diff erenc e and its b eari ng i n
S e e f or f u
pr acti cal politi cs Chap t er VI I I P ar t I Conqueror or P ol 1ce
“
.
, .
,

m an
2 20 TH E G REAT I LLU SI O N

been a st rug gle not against m an bu t against crim e ;

, ,
”
t he p r edom in ant Powe r w ould have be e n living not ,

o n oth er m e n b u t by more e fi c ie nt organization o f

,

m an s fight w ith natu re

’
.

That is why in t he fir st section of this book I hav e

laid e m p h asi s on the t ruth that the ju stifi cation of
p ast war s h as no b e aring o n the p robl e m which c o n

front s u s : t he p reci se de gr ee of fi g hting which w as

‘

n eces sary a hu ndr e d and fifty years ago is a som ewhat

acad emic probl em The de g r ee of fighti ng which is
.

n ec e ssary to day is the p robl e m w hich c o nfron ts us

-
,

and a gr e at m any factors hav e be e n int roduc ed int o it

si nc e En gla nd won I ndia and N orth Am e ri c a The .

fac e of t he w orld has change d and the factors of ,

conflict have chang ed radi c ally : to ignore t hat is to

ignore fact s and to be guid e d by the worst form of
th eo ri zing and se nti m en tali s m —t he th e orizing that will
not re c ognize the fact s England do es not n ee d to
.

maintain Ord e r in G e rm any nor G e rmany in F ran ce ;

,

and the st rug gle betw ee n th os e natio ns is no p art of

—
man s struggl e w ith natur e ~has no j ustifi cat i on in the
’

r e al law of h u m an struggl e ; it is an anachronism ; it

“

fi nds its j ust ification in a sham p hilo so p hy that will not

bear the t e st of fact s and r e s p onding to no r e al n e e d
, , ,

and ac h i e vin g no real p urp ose is bou nd w ith i nc r e asing

,

en li g ht e n m e nt t o com e t o an e nd .

I wi sh it w ere not ev e rlas t ingly n ec es sary to r eit erat e

the fact t h at the world has m ov ed Yet for the pur .

p o s e s o f thi s di sc u ssion it is I f to d ay an .I tal ian

w arshi p w e r e su d denly to bombard Liverp ool without
w arni ng the B ou rs e in Rom e w ould pr e s e nt a con
,

dition and the bank rat e in Rom e would tak e a j ump

,
-

that would ru in t e n s of t h o u sands of Italians —do far

 T H E FACT O R O F PH Y S I CAL F O RC E
mor e inj u ry p robably to Italy than to England Yet
, , .

if fi ve hundr e d y ears ago Italian p irat es had land ed

from the Tham e s and sack e d London itse lf not an ,

Italian in Italy w ould have bee n a pe n ny the w orse

for it .

I s it s e riously u rg ed that in the m att er o f t he e xe rci se

of ph ysical forc e th e r e fo re th e re i s no di ffe re nce in
thes e t w o conditions : and is it s e riou sly urg ed that the
psycholo g ical p h e n om e na which go with the e xe rcis e of
physical fo rc e are to r em ai n unaffe ct e d ?

The p r ec eding cha p t e r is ind e ed the h ist orical j usti

, ,

fi c at ion of t he e conomic t ruths e stablish e d in the firs t

s e ction of this book in the t e rms o f t he facts of the
pr e s ent day world which show that the pre dominating
-
,

fact o r in su rvi v al is s hifting from the phys i c al to t he

int ell e ctual plan e This e v olutionary proc e ss has now
.

re ach e d a p oint in int e rnational affairs which i n v ol ve s

the com p l e t e e conom ic futili ty o f m ilitary for ce .In
the last cha p t e r but one I d e alt with the p sychological
cons e qu e nc e of this p rofo und ch ang e i n the nature o f
man s normal activiti e s show ing that his nature is
’
,

coming more and m or e to ada p t its elf to what b e

normally and for t he gr e at e r p a rt o f his life—i n m o st
cas es all his life— is e ngage d in and is l osing t he
,

im p uls e s conce rn ed w ith an abn ormal and unusual

occupation .

Why have I pr e s e nt e d f he facts in this ord e r dealt ,

wi t h the p sychological r e sult in v olve d in this chang e

b e for e the chang e its e lf I have adopt ed thi s orde r
o f tr e atm e nt be caus e t he b e li e v e r i n war j us tifi e s hi s

dogmatism for t he most p art by an ap p e al to what

he all e g e s is the one dominating fact of the situa
2 22 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

tion that hu man natur e i s unchan g ing W ell .

,

as will be s ee n from the p e nultimat e cha pt e r such ,

all e g e d fact do es not be ar inv e stigation H uman .

natur e is chan g ing ou t o f all r e co g nition N ot only .

is m an fi g hting l e ss but he is using all forms o f ph y sical

,

compulsion l e ss and as a ve ry natural r e sult is losing

,

thos e psycholo g ical attribut e s that go with the e m ploy

m e nt of physical forc e And he is coming to e m p loy .

physical forc e l e ss b ecaus e accumulat e d e vid e nce is

p ushing him mor e and more to the conclusion that he
can accomplish m or e e asily that which he stri v e s for
by oth e r m eans .

F ew of us r e aliz e t o what e xt e nt e conomic p re ssure

and I u se that t e rm in its just s e ns e as m e aning not , ,

only the strug g l e for mon e y but e ve ryt hing im p li ed ,

th e r e in w e ll b e ing soci al consid e ration and the

,
-
, ,

r e st — has r ep lac e d physical forc e in hum an affairs .

The p rimitiv e mind could not conc e i ve a world in

whic h ev e rything was not r egulat e d by forc e : e ve n
the gr e at minds o f antiquity could not b e li e ve t he
world would be an industriou s one unl e ss the gre at
mass w e r e mad e industrious by the u se of p hysical
forc H e by slave ry Thre e fourths of thos e w ho
. .
,
.
-

p e o p l e d what is now It aly in Rom e s p almi e st days ’

w e r e sla v es chain ed in the fi e lds wh e n at work chain ed

, ,

at ni g ht i n th e ir dormitori e s and thos e w ho we r e port e rs

,

chain ed to the doorways It w as a soci e ty of sla ve ry .

fi ghting sla v e s working slav e s cultivating sla ve s offi cial

, , ,

slave s and G ibbon adds that the Em p e ror hims e lf was

,

“ ”
a slav e the first slav e to the c e r e moni e s he impos ed
,
.

Gr e at and p e n etrating as w e r e many of the m inds of

antiquity non e of th e m show much conc e p tion o f any
,

co ndition o f soci e ty in which the e conomic im p uls e could

2 24 T HE G REAT I LLU SI O N

abroad all indicating the do m ination of the m ind of

,

m an by the sam e c urious obs e ssion t hat man s life must

’

be rul ed by phy sical forc e and it is only v e ry S lowl y

,

and v ery p ai nf u lly t hat w e have arrive d at t he truth

that m en will work b est wh e n l e ft to un s e e n and invisibl e
forc e s And a world in which physical force was with
.

drawn f rom the r e g u lation o f m e n s labour faith clothe s

’

, , ,

trade lan g uage tra ve l w ould have be e n abs olu te ly i h

,
-

conc eiv abl e t o eve n the be st m i nds during t he thr ee o r

four thousand year s o f history which mainly con c e rns
us W h at is th e c entral e xp lanati on o f the pro found
—
.

h
c an g e in v ol v e d h e r e the shifting of t he pivot in all
hu man affairs in so far as th ey touch both t he i ndividual
,

and t he com m unity from physical p o nde rabl e forc e s to

,

e conomi c im pond e rabl e forc e s I t is sur e ly that strang e ,

as it may s ee m the latt e r forc e s accomplish the d esir ed

,

r esult more effic ie ntly and m ore re adily than do the

fo rm e r whic h even w h en t hey are not co m p l et ely futi le
,

are i n co m p ari s on wast e fu l and stultifying I t is the .

law of the ec ono my of effo rt I ndee d the u se of

.
,

p hy sic al fo rce usu ally in v olves on th os e e m ploying it

the s am e lim it ation o f fr ee dom (e v e n if in l e s se r d egree )
as t h at whic h it is d e sir e d t o im po s e H e rb e rt S p e nce r
"

illus trat es the p roc ess in the follow mg sug ge stiv e

p assage

The rcis e of mast ery inev itably en ta ils on the mas t er

e xe

hims e l f som e sor t of slav ery mor e or l e ss pronounced The .

uncu lt ur ed mass e s and e ve n the gr ea t er par t of the cul t u r ed

wi ll r egard t his s t at emen t as abs urd and though man y who
,

have r ead his t ory wi th an eye t o e ss ent ials rath er t han t o

triv ia hties know t ha t t his is a parado x in the ri ght s ense
t hat is t rue in f ac t t hough not s e eming t rue—e ve n t he y are
,

not fully conscious of the mass O f e vi dence es tab l ishing i t ,

 T H E FA CT O R O F P H YS I CA L F O RC E 225

and wi ll be all the be tt er for having illus t ra t ions r e call ed .

L e t m e b eg in wi t h the ear l i e s t and simp l e s t which se rv es t o

sy mboli ze the whol e .

H er e is aprisoner wi t hhis hands t i ed and a cordroun d his

,

n eck (as sugge s t ed b y fi gur e s in Assyrian bas r eli e f s) be ing -

,

led hom e b y h is savag e conqu e ror who in t en ds t o mak e him

,

a s lav e
. . The one y ou sa y is cap t iv e and the o t he r f r ee .

Are you qui t e sur e the o t he r is f r ee ? He holds one end of

the cord and un l e ss he m e ans his cap t iv e t o e scape he mus t
, ,

cont inue t o be f as t en ed b y k ee pin g ho l d of the cord in such

w ay t ha t i t cannot easil y be de tach e d He mus t be hims el f
.

t i ed t o the cap t iv e whil e the cap t ive is t i ed t o him I n .

o ther way s his act ivi t i e s are imp e ded and ce rtain bur dens are
impos ed on him A wil d animal cros se s the t rack and he
.

cannot pursu e I f he wishe s t o drink of the adj acen t s t r eam

.

he mus t tie up hi s cap t iv e l e s t advan t age be t ak e n of his

,

de f enc e l e ss posi t ion Moreover he has t o provi de f ood for

.
,

bo t h In various way s he is no longe r th en comp l e t ely a t

.
, ,

libe r ty ; and t he s e worri e s adumbrat e in a simpl e mann er

the univ ersal t ru t h t ha t the ins trum en t ali t i e s b y which the
s ubor dina t ion of o t h ers is effe c t e d th e ms e lv e s subor dina t e

the vic t or the mas t er or the

, ,

Thus it com e s that all nations att e mpting to li v e

by conqu e st e nd by b e ing th e ms elve s the victim s of
a m ilitary tyranny p r e cis e ly similar to t h at which t h ey
h o p e to inflict ; or in oth e r t e rm s that the att e m p t to
, ,

im p os e by force o f arm s a disad v antag e ou s com m e rcial

situation to the advantag e of the conqu eror e nds in t he
conqu e ror s falling a victim to t he ve ry disadvantag es
’

from which he hop e d by a p roc ess o f spoliation to profit .

But the truth that e conomic forc e always in the long

run outw e ighs physical o r military forc e is illustrat e d
by the simpl e fact of the uni ve rsal u se of mon e y— the
fact that the u se of m on e y is not a thing which w e
Fac ts and Com m ent s p 1 1 2 , . .
22 6 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

c h oos e or can shak e off but a thing im p o sed by the

,

o p e ration of forc e s stron g e r than o u r volition strong e r ,

than the tyranny of the cru e ll e st tyrant w ho e ve r r e ign ed

by b lood and iron I think it is one of the m ost
.

as tounding things to the m an w ho tak e s a fairly fr e sh

,

m ind to the study of history that the most absolut e ,

d e s pots — m en w ho c an command the live s of th e ir

subj e cts w ith a compl et e n e ss and a nonch alanc e of
which t he mod e rn W e st e rn world furnish e s no parall el
cannot command m on ey O ne asks on e s e lf in de ed why
.
, ,

such an absolut e rul e r abl e as he is by the sh e e r mi g ht

,

o f his p osition and by t he sh e e r forc e o f his p ow e r to

tak e e ve rything that e xists in his kin g dom and abl e as ,

he is t o e xact e v e ry sort and charact e r of s e rv ic e n ee ds ,

mon ey which is the m e ans of Obtaining goods or

,

s e rvi c e s by a fr ee ly c ons e nt e d exchang e Yet as w e

.
,

know it is p r e cis ely in anci e nt as in mod e rn tim e s the

,

most absolut e d e spot w ho is oft e n the m ost financi all y

e m b arrasse dfi I s not this a d e monstration that in
‘
.

r e ality p hysical forc e is Op e rative in only ve ry narrow

limits ? It is no m e r e rh etoric but the cold t ruth to say
, ,

that und e r absolutism it is a simpl e thin g to g et m e n s ’

live s but oft e n impossibl e t o get mon ey And the

,
.

more a p par e ntly that physical force was e x e rcis e d the

, , ,

mor e di fficult did the comm an d of mon ey b e com e And .

fo r a v e ry sim p l e e —
r ason a r eason whi ch r eve als
in rudim e ntary form that p rincipl e of the e conomic
futility of m ilitary pow e r with which w e are d e aling .

The ph e nom e non is be st illustrat e d b y a concr e t e cas e .

B ckl e ( “ H istory of C ivilizati on

u poi nts ou t t hat P hili p I I .
,

w ho r u l e d half the wor l d an d dr ew t r i b u t e f r om the whol e of

So u th Am er ica w as so p oor that he cou l d not pay his p ersonal
,

s ervants or m eet the daily exp enses of the Court !

2 28 TH E G REAT I LL U S I O N

op e rat e s in the limit ed fashion which I have indicat ed ,

op e rat e s with no l e ss forc e in the larg e r domain

of m od e rn int e rnational politics .The w e alth o f the
world is not r e p r e s e nt e d by a fix ed amount of gold o r
mon e y now in the p oss e ssion of one pow e r and now ,

in t he p oss e ssion of anoth e r but d e p e nds on all the

,

unch e ck e d multipl e activiti e s of a com munity for the

tim e be ing Ch e ck that activity wh e th e r by imposing
.
,

tribut e o r disadvantag eous comm e rcial condition s o r

, ,

an unw elcom e administration which s e ts up st eril e

, u —
p olitical a g itation and yo get l e ss w e alth l e ss w ealth
for the conqu e ror quit e as much as f or the conqu e r ed
, .

The broad e st stat e m e nt o f t he cas e is that all e xp e ri e nc e

— esp ecially the e xp e ri e nce indicat e d in t he last chapt e r
-
s hows that in trad e by fr e e cons e nt carryin g mutual

b e n e fit w e get larg e r r e sults for eff ort e x p e nd e d than in

the e x e rcis e o f physical forc e which att e m pts to e xact
advantag e for o ne p arty at the e x p e ns e of the o t h e r .

I am not ar g uing ove r a g ain the th e sis of the fi rst p art

‘

o f this book ; but as w e shall s ee pr e s ently t he g e n e ral

, ,

p ri nci p l e of the diminishing factor o f p hysic al force in

the a ffairs of t he world carri e s with it a p sychological
chang e in human natur e which modifi e s radically ou r
impuls e s to sh e e r physical conflict W hat it is im p or
.

tant j u st now to k e e p in mind is the incalculabl e inten

sifi c at ion o f this diminution o f physical forc e by ou r

m e chanical d e v e lo p m e nt The principl e was Obviously

.

l ess tru e for Rom e than it is fo r G r e at B ritain : Rom e ,

h ow eve r imp e rfe ctly li ved larg ely by tribut e The

,
.

sh e e r m e chanical d e ve lopm e nt of the mod e rn world has

r e nd e re d tribut e in the Roman s e ns e im p ossibl e Rom e .

did not hav e to cr e at e mark e t s and find a fi e l d for

the e m p loym e nt o f he r c apltal . We do What re sult
.
 TH E FACT O R O F P HYS I CA L F O RC E 229

doe s t h is carry ? Rom e could afford to be r elative ly

indiffe r e nt to the p ros p e rity of he r subj e ct t e rritory .

We cannot If the t erritory is not prosp e rous w e

.

have no mark e t and w e hav e no fi eld for ou r in

,

ve stm e nts and t h at is w hy w e are ch e cked at e ve ry

,

point from doing w hat Rom e was abl e to do You .

can to som e ext e nt exact tribut e by forc e ; you cannot

com p e l a man to buy your goods by forc e if he do e s not
want th e m and has not g ot the mon ey to pay for th em
, .

N ow the di ffe r e nc e which w e see h e r e has b ee n brou g ht

,

about by the int e raction of a w h ol e s eri e s of m e chanical

chang e s p rinting gun p owd e r st eam e l e ctricity
, , , ,

im p ro ve d m e ans of communication I t is the last .

nam ed which has mainly cr e at ed the fact of cr e dit

p h e nom e na such as a synchronize d bank rat e the world -

ove r and r eacting b ours e s

, N ow cr e dit is m e r e ly an
.
,

e xt e nsion o f t he u se of mon e y and w e c an no mor e

,

S hak e off the domination of the o ne than o f the oth e r .

We have s ee n that the bloodi e st d e s p ot is him s elf the

slav e of m on e y in the s e ns e that he is comp e ll ed to
,

e m p loy it . I n t he sam e w ay no p hysical forc e can in

the mod e rn world set at nou g ht t he forc e o f cr e dit *
.

I t is no m or e p ossibl e for a gr e at p e o p l e of the mod e rn

w orld t o liv e without cr e dit than without mon e y of ,

which it is a p art D o w e not h e r e get the sam e fact

.

that intangibl e economic forc es are s etting at nought

the forc e of arm s
One o f the curiositi e s o f t h is m e chanical d evelop
m e nt with its d ee p s e at e d psycholo g ical r e sults i s the
,
-

g e n e ral failur e to r e alize the r e al b e arings o f each st e p

th er e in Prin t ing was r e gard e d in the first instanc e
.
, ,

I m ean by cr edit all the m echani sm of exchange whi ch

r ep l ac es the act u al u se of m etal or not es r epr esenti ng it
, .
23 0 THE G R E AT I LLU S I O N

as m e r e ly a new fan g l e d proc e ss which thre w a gr eat

-

many co py ing scrib e s and monks out of e mploym e nt .

But w ho r e aliz e d that in the S impl e i nve ntion of print

ing th e r e was the libe ration of a forc e gr eat e r than the
p ow e r of kings ? I t is only h e re and th e r e that w e find
an isolat e d think e r having a glim m e ring o f the p olitical
b earing of such inve ntions ; o f the conc e ption of the gr eat
truth that the m or e man succ ee ds in his struggl e with
natur e the l e ss must be the rOle of physical forc e b etw ee n
,

m e n fo r the r e ason t hat h uman soci e ty has b ecom e w it h

,

e ach succ e s s in the struggl e against natur e a com p l et e r

or g anism That is to say that the int e rd e p e nde nc e

.
,

o f the p arts has b ee n incr e as e d and that the p ossi ,

bility of one p art inj uring anoth e r without injury t o

its e lf has b ee n diminish ed Each p art is mor e de .

p e nd e nt on the ot h e r p arts and the im p uls e s to inj ury

,

th e re for e must in the natur e of things be diminish ed .

And t h at fact must and is daily r e dir e cting h uman

, ,

p ugnacity And it is not eworthy that p e rhaps the b e st

.

s e r v ic e w hic h the im p ro ve m e nt of the instrum e nts of

man s struggl e with nature p e rform s is the im p rov em e nt
’

o f the h u m an r elation Machin e ry and the st eam

.

e ngin e ha ve don e som e thing mor e than m ak e fortun e s

for manufact u re r s : th ey ha ve abolish e d human sla v e ry ,

as Aristotl e fore saw th ey would It was im possibl e for .

m e n in the mass to be oth e r t h an sup e rstitious and

irrational until th ey had the p rint e d b ook ‘
Roads .

L ec ky ti onalism i n E u rop e p 76 )says P rot estantism

Ra , .

cou l d not possibly have exist ed withou t a gener al di ffus i on of the

B ibl e and that di ffusi on w as i m p ossibl e u ntil aft er the tw o inven
,

tions of paper and pr inti ng B ef ore those i nventi ons p i ct ures

.

and m at er i al i m age s wer e the chi ef m eans of r e li g i ou s i nst r u cti on

”
.

And thu s r e ligi o us b eli ef b ecam e n ec essar ily m at er i al cr u de , ,

anthr op om orp hi c .
2 32 T HE G RE A T I LLU S I O N

anthro p om or p hism P e rha p s it is b e tt er that humanity

.

should hav e som e g lim m e ring o f the gr eat facts of the

uni ve rs e e ve n thou g h int e r p r et e d by l eg e nds of d e mons
,

and goblin s and fairi e s and the r e st ; but w e cannot

, ,

o v e rlook the trut h that the facts are distort ed in the

p roc ess and ou r advanc e in the conce p tion of morals
,

is mark e d larg ely by the e xt e nt to which w e c an form

an abstract conc e p tion o f t he fact of e vil—non e t he l e s s
a fact b ecaus e un e mbodi e d —without having to trans
lat e it into a non exist e nt p e rson or animal with a
-

fork ed tail .

A s ou r advanc e in the und e rstandin g o f m orality is

mark e d by ou r dro pp ing th e s e crud e p hysical c onc ep
tion s is it not lik ely that ou r advanc e in the und e r
,

s tanding o f thos e social p robl e m s w hich so n e arly a ffe ct

,

o u r g e n e ral w e ll b e ing will be mark e d in lik e mann e r

-
,

I s it not som ewhat c h ildish and e l e m e ntary t o

conc e i v e o f forc e only as the fi ring Off of guns
and the launching of D readnoug hts o f stru g gl e as the ,

p hysical stru ggl e b etw e e n m en inst ead of the a p plica

,

tion of man s e n e r g i e s to h is cont e st with the p lan e t I s

’

not the tim e coming w h e n the r e al stru g g l e will ins p ir e

us with the sam e r e s p e ct and e v e n the sam e thrill as that

now ins p ire d by a charg e i n battl e e s p e cially as the

charg e s in battl e are g e tting v e ry ou t of dat e and are ,

shortly to disapp e ar from ou r w ar fare ? The mind

w hich can only conce ive of strug g l e as bombardm ent
and charg e s is Of cours e the D e rvish mind N ot that
, , .

Fuzzy Wuzzy is not a fi ne fe llow He is manly sturdy

-
.
, ,

hardy with a coura g e and warlike qualiti e s g e n e rally

,

w hich no Euro p e an can e qu al But the frail and sp ec

.

tac le d En g lish O fficial is his mast e r and a few scor e ,

of such will mak e th e ms e lv e s the mast e rs o f t e e min g

 T HE FACT O R OF P H YS I CA L F O RC E 2 33

thousands o f Sudan e s e ; t he r elatively unwarlik e Eng

lishman is doin g the sam e thing all ove r Asia and he ,

is doin g it by t he simpl e v irtu e of su p e rior brain and

charac t e r m ore thought m ore rationalism more st e ady
, , ,

and con troll e d hard work I t may be said that it is

.

su p e rior arm am e nt whic h do es it But w hat is the .

su p e rior armam e nt but the r e sult of su p e rior thought

and work and eve n without the sup e rior arm am e nt
,

the larg e r int e llig e nc e would still do it ; fo r w hat the

E n g lishman do e s the Roman did of old with the sam e ,

arms as his vassal worlds Forc e is ind ee d the mast er

.
,

but it is forc e of int ellig e nc e charact e r and ration al ism

, , .

I can im agin e the cont e m p t with which the m an of

p hysical forc e gr ee ts the for egoing To fi g ht wit h .

w ords to fight with talk ! N o not words but id ea s

, , , .

And som e thing mor e than id e as Th e ir translation .

into p ractical effort into organization into the dir e ction

, ,

and administration o f organization into the strat egy ,

and tactics o f human life .

And w hat ind eed is mod e rn warfar e in its h i gh e st

, ,

ph as es but this ? I s it not an al to g eth e r ou t of dat e - -

and ignorant V i ew to p ictur e soldi e ring as riding about

o n hors e back bivouacking in for e sts sl e e ping in t e nt s
, , ,

and dashing gallantly at the h ead of shining r egim e nts

in p lum es and br east p lat e s and p oundin g in s e rri e d
,

ranks against the equally s e rri e d ranks of the cru e l foe ,

”
storm ing br e ach e s war in short o f M r H e nty s
, , .
’

books for bo y s ? How far do e s such conc e ption corre

Sp o n d t o t he r e ality — to t he G e rm an conc e p tion ?
E v e n if the whol e p ictur e w e re not ou t o f dat e what ,

proportion of the most m ilitary nation would e ve r be

d e stin e d to witn e ss it o r to tak e p art in it ? N ot one
in t e n thousand What is t he c h aract e r eve n of m ilitary
.
23 4 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

conflict but for t he most p art y ears of hard and st e ady

work som ewhat m e chanical som ew hat divorc ed from
, ,

r e al life but not a whit more exciting ? That is tru e of

,

all ranks ; and i n the high e r ranks o f the dir e cting mind
war has b e com e an almost pure ly int e ll ectu al p roce ss .

Was it not the lat e W H St ev e ns w ho p aint ed Lord

. .

Kitch e n e r as the sort of m an w ho would hav e mad e an

admirabl e manag e r of H arrod s Stor e s ; w ho fou g ht all
’

his battl e s in his study and r egarde d the actual fi g hting

,

as the m e re culminating incid e nt in the whol e proc es s ,

the dirty and noisy p art of it which he would hav e ,

be e n glad to g et away from

The re al soldi e rs of ou r tim e— thos e who r e pr e s e nt
the brai n o f the arm i e s — hav e a life not v e ry di ff e r e nt
from that of m en o f any int e ll e ctual calling much l e ss
o f p hysi c al strif e than is call e d fo r in many c iv1 l o cc u

a t io n s ; l e ss tha n falls t o t he lot o f e ngin ee rs r a nch e rs

p , ,

sailors m in e rs and so o n
, ,
.Eve n with armi e s the p u g
nac ity must be translat e d into int e ll e ctual and not into
*
p hysical eff ort .

The v e ry fact that war w as for long an acti v ity which

w as in som e se ns e a chang e and r e laxation from
the more int e ll e ctu al st rife of p eac e ful life in whic h ,

w ork w as r e p lac ed by dan g e r thought by adve nture , ,

account e d in no small p art for its attraction for us .

But as w e h ave s een war is be coming as hop el e ssly

, ,

i nt ell e ctual and sci e ntific as any oth e r form of work :

o ffic e rs are sci e ntists the m en are w orkm e n the army
, ,

“ B ttl s
a e are no l onger th e sp ectacul ar her oi cs of the p ast .

The ar m y of t o day an d to m orr ow i s a som b r e giganti c m achi ne

- -

devoi d of m el odram ati c h eroi cs a machi n e that it r eq ui r es

years to f or m i n s eparat e parts years to asse m bl e them tog ether
, ,

and other y ears to m ak e the m wor k s m oothly and i rr es i stibly

”

( G e n era l H o m e r L ea in T h e V al o ur of Ign or anc e p , .

23 6 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N

hours a day mainly for the pu r p os e o f goin g one b ett e r

than his co mm e rcial rival across the str eet must be at
,

that rival in comm e rc e not in arm s it would satisfy no

,

p rid e of e ith e r to h ave it ou t in the back gard e n in

th e ir shirt sl eeves N or i s th e r e the l east dang e r that
-
.

o ne w ill stick a knife into the oth e r .

Are all th e s e facto rs t o l e av e the nation al re lationshi p

unaffe ct ed ? H av e th ey l eft it unaffe ct ed ? D o e s the
m ilitary p row ess of Russia or of Turk ey ins p ire any
p articular satisfaction in the m inds of the indi vidual
Russian o r of t he indi v idual Turk ? D o e s it in s p ire
Euro p e with any e s p e cial r e s p ect ? Would not most
of us j ust as s oon b e a no n military Am e rican as a
-

military Turk ? D o not in short all the factors show

, ,

that sh ee r p hysical forc e is losing its pr e stig e as much

in the national as in the p erson al r e lationship ?
I am not o v e rlooking the cas e of G e rmany D o e s .

t he history o f G e rmany during t he last half c e ntury -

sho w the blind instincti v e p ugnacity which is sup p os ed

to b e so o ve r p o w e ring an e l e m e nt in int e rnational re
lat ionship as to outw e ig h all qu e stion of mat e rial
int e r e st altog e th e r ? D o e s the com monly acc e p t ed
history of the tricke ry and n egotiation which p re c e d e d
the 1 8 70 conflict t he cool calculation o f thos e w ho
,

swayed G e rmany s p olicy during thos e ye ars show that

’
,

subordination to t he blind lust for fight which the

militarist w ould p e rsuad e us is alw a s to be an e l e m e nt
v

in ou r int e rnational conflict ? D o e s it not o n the

,

contrary show t h at G e rman d e stini e s w e r e sway ed by

,

v e ry cool and c alculating m otive s of int e r e st thou g h

,

int e re st int e rpr e t e d in t e rms o f p olitical and e conomic

doctrin e s which the d eve lo p m e nt of the last thi rty
y ear s or so hav e d e monstrat e d to be obsol et e ? N or
 T H E FA CT O R O F P H YS I CA L F O RC E 237

am I ove rlooking the Pru ssian tradition the fact of ,

a firmly e ntr e nch ed aristocratic status the int e ll e ctual

, ,

l eg acy of pagan knigh t hood and H e a ve n knows what

e ls e
. But e ve n a P russian J unk e r b e com e s l e s s Of an
*
e n e rgum e n as he b e com es mor e of a sci e ntist and ,

although G e rman sci e nc e has of lat e s p e nt its e n e rgi e s

in som e what arid sp e cialism the influ e nc e o f more
,

e nli g ht e n e d conc e ptions in sociology and stat e craft

must s oo n e r or lat e r e m e rg e from any t h oroughgoing
study of po litical and e conom ical p robl e ms Of .

cours e th er e are su rvivals of the o ld t e m p e r but

, ,

c an it s e riou sly be argu e d t h at wh e n t he futility o f

p hysical forc e to accomplish thos e e nds towards whic h

w e are all striving is fully d e monstrat e d w e shall go o n

maintaining w ar as a sort of th eatrical e nt e rtainm ent ?

H as such a thing eve r h a pp e n ed in the p ast wh e n ou r ,

im p uls e s and s p orting instincts cam e i nto conflict with

o u r larg e r social and e conomic int e r e sts ?

All this in oth er words invol ve s a gr e at d e al m ore

, ,

than the m er e chang e in the charact e r of warfare It .

involve s a fundam e ntal chang e in ou r p sychological

attitud e th e r e to N ot only do e s it s h ow that on eve ry
.

sid e e v e n the military sid e conflict must b ecom e l e ss

, ,

im p ulsive and instincti ve mor e rational and sustain ed

, ,

l e ss the blind strife of mutually hating m en and more

G eneral von B ernhar di in his wor k on cavalry , deal s with

fl
,

this very q u estion of the bad i n uence on t acti cs of the p om p

of w ar,
”
whi ch he adm its mu st di sapp ear , addi ng very wi sely :
The sp i r it of traditi on c onsi sts not i n the r et e ntion of antiq uat e d
f or m s, b u t i n acti ng i n that sp i rit whi ch i n the p as t le d t o s u ch
l or i o u s s u cc ess p l or the r et en ti on of the s ol di er
”
g . T he ea f
b ecau se of hi s S p i rit cou l d not b e mor e n eatly di sp osed of .

S ee p 1 1 1 of the E nglish editi on of

. B
ernhar di s wor k ( H u h
’

g
Re es, London) .
238 T HE G R EAT I LLU S I O N

and more the calculat e d effort to a d efinit e e nd; but it

will affe ct the v e ry w ell springs of much of the p r e s e nt -

de fenc e o f war .

Why is it that the authoriti e s I hav e quot e d in

h
t e first cha p t e r o f this s e ction — Mr Roo s ev elt Von .
,

Moltk e R e nan and the E nglish cl e rgym e n sing the

, ,
-

*
prais e s of war as such a v aluabl e school of morals ?
D o th e s e war ad v ocat es ur g e that war o f its e lf is
d e sirabl e ? Would th e y urg e goin g to war u nnec es
sarily o r unj ustly m e r e ly b e caus e it is good for us ?

E mphatically no Th e ir argum e nt in the last analysis

.

r e solves itse lf into this : that w ar though bad h as re , ,

d ee ming qualiti e s as t e ac h ing staunchn e s s cou ra g e and

, , ,

the r e st W ell so has cutting ou r l e gs off or an o p e ra

.
, ,

tion for ap p e ndicitis But wh oe ve r com pos e d e pics on .

t yph oid feve r or canc e r ? Such advocat e s might obj ect

t o the e ffici e nt p olicing o f a town b e caus e whil e it is ,

full of cut throats the inhabitants would be taug h t

-
,

courag e One c an almost im agin e this sort of t each e r

.

pouring scorn upon thos e we aklings w ho want to call

u pon the p olic e for p rot ection and sayin g Polic e are , ,

for s e ntim e ntalists and co w ards and m e n of slothful

e as e What will b e com e of the stre nuous life if you
.

intro duc e polic e

S ee quotati ons pp 1 36 1 4 1 , .
-
.

t The f oll owi ng l ett er to the Manches ter G u ardian i s wor th

reprodu cti on i n this connec ti on
“
S I R —I see that The Church s D u ty i n r e gard t o War i s t o be
‘ ’ ’

discussed at the Chu rch Congr ess Thi s i s r ight F or a year the . .

heads of our Church have b een t e lli ng u s what w ar i s and does

that it is a school of charact er ; that it sob ers m en c l eans them , ,

strengthens them knits their hear ts mak es the m brave p ati ent
, ,
hu m bl e t ender prone to self sac rifi c e Wat er ed by war s red
,
'
- ‘
.
, ,

rai n one B i shop t ells u s Vi rt u e grows ; a cannonade he p oints

’

ou t i s an or at or i o —al m ost a f or m of worshi p

, , ,

Tr u e ; and to
‘ ’
.
,

the Church m en l ook f or hel p to save the i r sou ls from starvi ng

2 40 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
p e ac e abl e of us and a pp e als to I know not what
,

r e mot e ins t incts to say nothing o f o u r natur al admira

,

tion for courag e ou r love o f adve ntur e o f int e n se

, ,

mo v e m e nt and action But this romantic fascination .

r e side s to no sm all e xt e nt in that ve ry s p e ctacular

qu ality of whic h mode rn conditions are de p riving war .

As w e b e com e a littl e more e ducat e d w e r e alize that

h uman p sychology is a com p l ex and not a sim p l e thing ;
that be caus e w e yi eld ours e l ve s to the thrill o f the
battl e s p e ctacl e w e are not bound to conclud e that the
proc e ss e s b ehind it and the n atur e b e hind it are ne ces
sarily all admirabl e ; that the r e adin e ss to die is not the

only t e st of v irility o r a fi ne o r nobl e natur e .

I n the book to which I hav e j ust r e fe rr e d ( M r .

“ ”
S tee ve ns With Kitch e n e r to Khartoum ) I r ead the
’

following

And the D e rvish es ? The honour

mus t s t i l l of the fi gh t
go wi th the m en who di ed
w er e p e r fect bu t the
O ur m en
.
,

D e rvish e s w er e sup e rb—be yon d p er f e c t ion I t w as t heir .

lar ges t b es t and brav e s t army tha t e v er fough t agains t us for

,

Mahdism and i t di ed worthi ly f or the huge empir e that

,

M ahdism w on and ke p t so lon g The ir rifl em en mang l e d by .

,

e ve ry k in d of de a t h and t orm e n t t ha t m an can de vis e c l u n g ,

round the black fl ag and the gr ee n emp tyin g th e ir poor , ,

rott en home made car tri dge s daun tl e ssly The ir sp e arm en
-
.

char ged de at h e v ery minu t e hop el e ss ly The ir hors emen led .

each a ttack ri din g in t o the bu ll et s t i ll no t hin g was l ef t

, .

N o t one rush or tw o or te n but rush on rush compan y on

, , , ,

c ompan y n ev e r s t oppin g t hough all t h eir vi e w t hat w as no t

, ,

unshak en en emy was the bodi e s of the m en w ho had rushed

b efore t he m A dusky lin e go t up and s t ormed forward : i t
.

b en t brok e up f ell apart and disapp eare d B e for e the

, , , .

smok e had cle ar ed anot he r lin e w as b endin g and s torming

f orwar d in the sam e t rack From the gr een army t her e
.
 T H E FACT O R O F P HYS I CAL F O RC E 24 1

now came onl y deat h e namoured de spe radoe s s t ro l lin g one

-
,

by one t owar ds the ri fl e s pausin g t o shak e a sp ear t urning

, ,

aside t o r e cog nize a corpse t hen caught b y a su dden je t of , ,

f ury boundi ng forwar d che ckin g sink i n g limp ly t o the

, , ,

g round N ow un der the black fl ag in a ring of bodi e s s t ood

.

on ly thr e e m en f acing the thr ee t housan d of the Third

,

B ri gade They f o l de d t he ir arms about the s t aff and gazed

.

s t e adily forwar d Tw o f ell The l as t D ervish s t ood up and

. .

fill ed hi s che s t ; he shou t e d the name of his G od and hur l ed

his sp e ar Then he s t ood qui t e s t ill wai t in g I t t ook him
. , .

f u l l ; he quiv e r ed gav e a t the kn e e s and t opp l ed wi t h his

, ,

head on his arms and his f ace t owar ds the l eg ions of his
”
conqu erors .

L e t us be hon e st I s th e r e anything in E urop ean

.

his t ory— Cambronn e the Li g ht B riga de anything you

, ,

lik e— mor e magnific e nt than this ? I f w e are hon e st

w e shall say N o , .

But not e what follows in M r S te evens narrative .

’
.

What sort of natur e should w e e x p e ct thos e savag e

h e ro e s to display ? C ru e l p e rhaps ; but at l e ast loyal , .

Th ey will stand by th eir chi e f Me n w ho can die like .

that will not b e tray him for g ain Th e y are u n .

corrupt ed by com m e rcialism W e ll a few cha p t ers .

,

aft e r the sc e n e j ust d e scrib e d o ne may r e ad this : ,

As a rul er the Khali fa fin ishe d wh en he rode ou t of

O mdu rman H is ow n pamp e r e d B agg ara hors e men ki ll e d his
.

herdsmen and l oot ed the cattl e t hat wer e t o f e e dt hem Some .

body b e t ray ed the posi t ion of the r e s erv e camels H is

f oll owers t ook t o ki l lin g one ano t he r The whole .

populat ion of the K ha l i f a s capi t al was now racin g t o pil fe r

’

the K hali f a s g rain W onder f u l working s of the savag e

’

mind ! Si x hours before t he y w er e dy in g in r egime n t s f or

the ir mas t er ; now t hey wer e l oot in g hi s corn S I X hours .

be for e t hey we re slashin g our wo u nded t o pi ece s ; now they

”
wer e ask in g us for copp ers .
2 42 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N
’
This difficulty with the soldi e r s ps y cholo g y is not

sp ecial to D e rvish e s o r to sav ag es An abl e . and

cultivat ed British o fiic e r writ e s :

“
So l di ers as a c l ass are m e n w ho have disreg ar ded the
civil s t andard of moral i ty al toge ther They simply i gnore .

it
. I t is no doub t w hy civilians figh t shy of t hem In .

the g am e of lif e t h ey do no t p lay the sam e rul e s and the ,

cons equence is a good deal of misunders tan di ng un til ,

fin ally the civilian sa y s he wi ll no t p lay wi th Tommy any

more In sol di e rs e ye s ly ing th ef t drunk enn e ss bad
.
’

, , ,

lan g uag e e tc are no t e vils a t a ll

, . The y s t eal lik e j ack
, .

daws . As t o lan guage I us ed t o t hink the l anguag e of a ,

merchan t ship s for e cas tl e pre tty bad but the lan guage of
’
,

Tommi e s in poin t of prof ani ty and in poin t of obsceni ty

, ,

b ea t s i t hollow This depar t men t is a sp e ciali ty of his

. .

L y in g he tr ea t s wi th the same lar g e chari ty To li e l ik e .

a troop er is quit e a soun d m et aphor He inv en t s all sort s .

of e l abora t e li e s f or the m e r e pl easur e of inv e n t in g t hem .

Loo t ing ag ain is one of his pr e ferr ed j oy s not mer ely

, , ,

loot ing f or profi t bu t loo t ing for the shee r f u n o f the ,

”
de s t ruc t ion .

( Pl e a se pl e as e de ar r e ad e r
, do not say that I am , ,

slande ring the B ritish soldi e r I am quoting a B ritish .

offi c e r and a B ritish ofii c e r more o v e r w ho i s k e e nly in

, , ,

sympathy with t he p e rson that he has just be e n de

scribing ) He adds .

t hi e vin g and ly ing and loo t ing and be s t ial t alk

Are , , ,

very bad t hing s ? I f t hey are Tommy is a bad man B ut , .

for some r eason or o ther sinc e I go t t o know him I , ,

hav e thought rath er l e ss of the iniqui ty of t hes e things t han

I did b e fore .

Ca pt ai n March P hilli ps W ith Re mi ngt on , . Me thu en . Se e

pp . e ra 2 1 3 f or Mr B latc hford s c onfi r m ati on of
-
.
’
thi s verdi ct .
2 44 T H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N
sam e e m otional forc e which turns so m uch o f Africa
into a sordid and bloody sham bl e s would with a dif ,

fe re nt dir e ction and distribution turn it into a g ard e n

'

.
,

I s it for nothing that the s p l e ndid Scandinavian rac e ,

w ho hav e conv e rt e d th e ir ru gg ed and rock str e wn -

p e ninsula into a grou p of p ros p e rous and stabl e

Stat e s which are an e xampl e to Europ e and have in
, ,

fus e d the gr eat An g lo Saxon stock with som e thing of

-

th e ir san e but nobl e id e alism hav e the blood o f Vikings ,

in th eir v e ins ? I s th e r e no p lac e for the fr e e play of

all the b e st qualiti e s o f the Viking and the soldi e r in a
world still so sadly in n ee d o f m e n with courag e e nou g h ,

for instanc e to fac e t he truth how e v e r di fficult it

, ,

m ay s e e m how ev e r unkind to ou r pet p r ej udic e s

,

Th e r e is not the l east n e c e ssity fo r the p eac e ad vo cat e

to i g nor e facts in this matt e r The rac e of man love s .

a soldi e r j ust as boys w e us e d to lo v e the p irat e and ,

many of us p e rha p s to ou r v e ry gr e at a dvantag e

, ,

r e main in p art bo ys ou r liv e s throu g h But j ust as g row .

ing ou t o f boyhood w e r e gr e tfully discove r the sad fact

that w e cannot be a p irat e that w e cannot e ve n hunt ,

I ndians nor be a scout not e ve n a trap pe r so sur e l y

, , ,

the tim e has com e t o r e aliz e that w e hav e grown ou t of

soldi ering The romantic a p p e al o f w ar was j ust as
.

tru e o f the v e ntur e s of the old Vikings and e v e n lat e r ,

o f p iracy
*
Ye t w e sup e rs ed e d t he Vikin g and w e hang e d
.

the p irat e thou g h I doubt not w e lov e d him whil e w e

,

hang e d him and I am not aware that thos e who urg ed

P rof essor William J am es says Gr ee k history i s a p anoram a
of w ar f or war s sak e of the u tt er rui n of a ci vilizat i on whi ch
’

in i nt elle ctual r esp ects w as p erhaps the highest the earth has ever
s een The wars wer e p ure ly p irati cal P ri de gol d wom e n
slaves excitem ent wer e the ir o nly motives —Mcclu re s Magazi nc
. .
, , ,
’

, .
,

Au g u st 1 9 1 0
, .
 T HE F A C TO R O F P HYS I CA L F O R C E 2 45

the su p pre ssion of p iracy w e re vilifi e d e xc e pt b y the ,

pirat e s as maudlin s e ntim e ntalists w ho ignor e d human

, ,
’ “
natur e o r as G e n e ral L e a s p hras e has it as h alf
, , ,

e ducat e d sick brain e d visionari e s d e n y ing the inexor

,
-
,

”
ability Of t he p rimordial law Of strugg l e Piracy int e r .

fe red s e riously with t he trad e and industry of thos e w h o

d e sir e d to earn for th e ms e lv e s as good a living as t h ey
could get and to obtain from t h is im pe rfe ct world all
,

that it had to Offe r Piracy was magnific e nt doubt

.
,

l e ss but it was not busin e ss We are p r ep ar e d to sing

, .

about the Viking but not to tol e rat e him on the hig h
,

s eas and thos e o f us w ho are quit e p re p ar e d to gi ve

the soldi e r his du e p lac e in p o e try and l e g e nd and
rom anc e quit e p r ep ar ed to admit with M r Roos e ve lt
, , .

and Vo n Moltk e and the r e st the qualiti e s which ,

p e rha p s w e ow e t o him and without which w e shoul d

,

be p oor folk ind eed are n e ve rth e l e ss inqui ring wh e th e r

,

the tim e has no t com e to p lac e h im ( o r a good p ortion

o f him ) g e ntly o n t he p oe tic sh e lf with t he Viking ; or

at l e ast to find oth e r fi e lds for thos e activiti e s which ,

h ow eve r much w e m a y be attract e d by th e m hav e in ,

t h e ir p r e s ent form littl e p lac e in a world in w hich ,

though as Bacon has said m e n lik e dang e r b e tt e r than

, ,

travail travail is bound alas l— d e s p it e ours elve s and

, , ,

wh eth e r w e fight G e rmany o r no t and wh e th e r w e ,

w in or los e —to be ou r lot .

 C H APTE R V I
THE S TATE As A P E R S ON : A FAL S E AN A LO G Y AN D I TS

C ON S E ! U E N C E S
\Vhy a gg r ession upon a State does not corresp ond to aggr essi on
up on an i ndivi du al —Ou r changi ng concepti on of coll ective
r esp onsibility—P sychol ogi cal pr ogress i n thi s connecti on
The f ac t ors br eaki ng down the hom og en eou s p ersonality of
Stat es are of very r ecent growth .

D E S P I TE t he common id e a to the contrary w e d early ,

—
lo ve an abstraction e sp ec i ally a pp ar ently an abstrac
, ,

tion w h ic h is bas e d on h alf the fact s What ev er the .

foregoing C ha p t e rs may h ave p ro v ed th e y have at l east

,

p rove d this : t h at the Charact e r of the mod e rn Stat e ,

by vi rtu e of a m ultitud e of new factors which are

s p e cial t o ou r age , is e ss e ntially and fundam entally
from the anci e nt Yet ev e n thos e who ha ve gr eat
.

and j ustifi e d aut h ority in thi s matt e r will still

’
a pp e al to Aristotl e s conc e p tion of the Stat e as final ,

with the im p lication that e ve rything w h ich has

’
ha pp e n e d sinc e Aristotl e s tim e should be c almly dis
r e gard ed.

W h at som e of thos e things are the p r ec eding cha p t e rs

have indicat e d : First t he r e is the fact of the Ch ang e
,

in h uman natur e its elf bound u p with the g e n e ral

drift away from the u se o f p hysical forc e—a d rift
,

exp lain e d by the unromantic fact that p hysical forc e

24 6
2 48 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N

the fundam e ntal function of the Stat e and apart from ,

the Stat e th e r e is no civilization no life wor t h living , .

The mark o f the Stat e is sov e r e ignty o r t he ,

id e ntification Of forc e and ri g ht and the m e asur e of ,

the p e rf e ction of the Stat e is furnish e d by the com

”
p le t e n ess Of this id e ntification .

All o f which w h eth e r tru e o r not is irr el e vant to the

, ,

matt e r in hand Profe ssor Sp e ns e r Wilkinson att e m pts

.

to illustrat e hi s th e sis by quoting a cas e which would

s e em to im ply that thos e who tak e th eir stand against
the n e c e ssity o f armam e nts do so o n t he ground that
the e mploym e nt of forc e is wick e d Th e re may b e .

such but it is not n e c e ssary to introduc e the qu e stion

,

Of right I f m e ans oth e r than forc e gave the sam e

.

r e sult m or e e asily with l ess e ffort to ou rs elve s why

, ,

discuss the abstract ri g ht ? And wh e n he r e inforc e s

the ap p eal t o this irr e l e vant abstract p rincipl e by
a cas e which whil e a p par e ntly r e l e vant is in truth
, ,

irr e l evant he has succ e ssfully confus e d t he wh ol e issu e

, .

Aft e r quoting thr ee v e rs e s from the fifth chapt e r of

Matth ew Profe ssor S p e ns e r Wilkinson says
,

Ther e are t hos e who b e l i ev e or f ancy th ey beli e v e that

, ,

the wor ds I hav e quot e d invo l v e t he princip l e tha t the u s e

o f f orc e or viol e nc e b e t w ee n man and man or b e t w ee n na t ion

and na t ion is wick ed To the man w ho t hinks i t right t o

.

submi t t o an y viol enc e or be kil l ed rat her t han u se viol enc e

in r e sis t ance I have no r e p ly t o mak e ; the wor l d cannot
conquer him and f ear has no hol d upon him
, B ut even he .

can carry ou t his doc trin e onl y t o the e xt en t of allowin g

hims e l f t o be i ll t r eat ed as I wi ll now convince him
-
, .

Man y ye ars ago the p eopl e of Lancashir e were horrifi ed

by the f ac t s r epor t ed in a tr ial f or murde r In a vil l age on .

x B ritai n at B ay Const abl e and Co

-
. .
 THE STATE As A P E R S O N 2 49

the out skir t s Of B ol t on l i v ed a youn g woman much lik ed ,

and r e sp e c t ed as a t each e r in one of the B oar d schoo l s -

.

O n he r w ay home f rom schoo l she w as accus t omed t o

f o ll ow a f oot pa t h t hroug h a lon ely wood and h e r e one ,

e v enin g he r bo dy w as f oun d . S he had b e en s trang l ed b y

a ru fii an who had t hou gh t in t his lon el y plac e t o hav e his
wick ed wi ll of her S he had r esis t ed succe ss fully and he
. ,

had k i ll e d her in the s t ruggl e . Fortunat e ly the murde r e r

w as cau gh t and the fac t s asc e rt ain ed f rom circums t an t ial
,

evi de nc e we r e confirme d b y his con fe ssion N ow the .

qu es t ion I have t o ask the man who tak e s his s tan d on

the passag e quo t ed f rom the Gosp el is this : W hat would
have b e e n your duty had you b ee n wal king t hrough t hat
wood and came upon the g irl s t rugglin g wi t h the m an w ho
kill e d her ? This is the crucial f act or which I submi t
’
, ,

u tt er ly de s t roy s the doct rin e tha t the u se of viol enc e is in

i t sel f wrong . The ri gh t or wron g is no t in the employ
men t of force but S imp ly in the purpos e for which i t is
,

us ed W hat the cas e e s tab l ishe s I t hink is tha t t o u se

.
, ,

viol ence in re sis tanc e t o viol e nt wron g is no t on ly ri ght ,

”
bu t n ec e ssar y .

The abo ve p re s e nts ve ry cl eve rly the utte rly fals e

analogy with which w e are d e aling Profe ssor S p e ns e r .

Wilkinson s cl eve rn e ss ind eed is a littl e M achiavellian

’
, , ,

b e caus e he approximate s non r e sist e rs of a ve ry extre m e

-

ty p e to thos e w ho advocat e agr ee m e nt among nations

in the matt e r o f armam e nts— a fals e a pp roximation for ,

the p ro p o rtion Of thos e w ho advocat e r eduction o f

armam e nts o n such grounds is so sm all that th e y can
be disr e gard e d in this discussion A move m e nt which
.

is id e ntifi ed with som e of the acut e st min ds in Euro p e an

affairs cannot be dis p os e d of by associating it with suc h a
th eory But the basis Of the fallacy is in the appro xim a
.

tion of a Stat e to a p e rson N ow a Stat e is not a

.
2 5° THE G R E A T I LLU S I O N

p e r son and is b ecoming l e s s such e ve ry day and the

, ,

di fficulty which Pro fe ssor Sp e ns e r Wilkinson indicat es

is a doctrinair e difiic u lty not a r e al one Profe ssor
, .

Wilkinson w ould have us infe r t h at a Stat e c an be

injure d or kill e d in the sam e sim p l e way in which it is
p ossibl e to kill or inj ur e a p e rson and that be caus e
,

th e re must b e p hysical forc e t o r e strain a g gr e ssion u p on

p e rsons th e r e must be p hysical forc e t o r e strain aggre s
,

sion u p on Stat e s ; and b e caus e th ere must be p hysical

forc e to e x ecut e the j udgm e nt of a cou rt of law in the
cas e of individuals th e r e must be p hysical forc e to
,

e x e cut e t he j udgm ent r e nd e r e d by a d e cision as t o

di ffe r e nc e s b e tw ee n Stat e s All o f whic h is fals e and

.
,

arri ve d at by a pp roximating a p e rson to a Stat e and ,

disr egarding the numb e rl e s s facts which r e n de r a p e rson

diffe re nt from a Stat e .

How do w e know that th e s e di fficulti e s are doctrinair e

on e s ? It is t he B ritish Empir e which su p pli e s the
answ e r The B ritish Em p ir e is mad e up in larg e
.

pa rt of p ractically ind e p e nde nt Stat es ove r whos e acts ,

not only do e s G r e at B ritain e xe rcis e no control but ,

conc e rning whom Gr e at B ritai n has surr e n de r e d in

ad v anc e any inte ntion of e m p loyin g forc e ‘
The B ritish
.

Stat e s have disagree m e nts among th e ms e lve s Th e y .

may o r may not r efe r th e ir di ffe r e nce s to the B ritish

Gove rnm e nt but if th ey do is Gre at Britain going
, ,

to se nd an army to Canada say t o e nforc e he r judg

, ,

m e nt ? Eve ryon e knows that that is im possibl e Eve n .

w h e n one Stat e comm its what is in r e ality a s e rious

b r each of int ernational com ity o n anoth e r not only ,

doe s Gr e at Britain do nothing h e rs e lf but so far as she,

int e rfe re s at all it is to pr e ve nt the e mploym e n t Of

,

S e e q u otati on f rom Sir C P L u cas e tc pp 9 5 99

. .
, .
, .
-
.
2 52 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N

the mi g ht Of G re at Britain ? Swit ze rland know s h e rs elf

practically free from the p ossibility of the ex e rcis e of
that forc e but that has not pr e ve nt e d he r be havm g as a
,

civiliz e d com munity towar ds British subj e cts .

What is the r e al guarant e e of the good b eh aviour

Of one Stat e to anoth e r ? I t is the e laborat e int e r
d e p e nd e nc e which not only in the economic s e ns e
, ,

but in e ve ry s e ns e mak e s an unwarrantabl e aggre s

,

sion of one Stat e u p on anoth e r r e act u p on the

int e r e sts o f the aggre ssor Switz e rland has e v e ry
.

int e re st in affording an absolut ely s e cur e asylum to

B ritish subj e cts ; that fact and not the might of the
,

British Empire give s p rot ection to B ritish subj e cts in

,

S w itze rland W h e r e ind e e d the B ritish subj e ct has

.
, ,

to d e p e nd u po n the forc e of his Gov e rnm e nt for protec

tion it is a v e ry frai l p rot e ction ind eed b ec au se in ,

p ractice the u se of that forc e is so cumb e rsom e so ,

di fficult so costly that any oth e r m eans are to be

, ,

p r e fe rr e d t o it Wh e n the trav ell e r in Gr ee c e had

.

t o d e p e nd u p on British arm s gr e at as w e r e r e lativ ely

,

the forc e o f thos e arm s it p rov e d but a v e ry frail prote c

,

tion I n the sam e way wh e n p hysical forc e was us ed

. ,

to im p os e on the South Am e rican and C e ntral Am erican

Stat e s the Obs e rv anc e Of th e ir financial obligations such ,

e fforts fail e d utt e rly and mis e rably—so m is e rably that

Gre at B ritain fin ally su rr e nde r ed any att e m p t at such

e nforc e m e nt . What m e ans have succ e ed e d ? The
bringing Of thos e countri e s und e r the influ e nc e o f the
gr eat e conomic curre nts of ou r tim e so that now ,

p ro p e rty is infinit e ly more s ecur e in M exico and in

Arg e ntina t h an it was wh e n British gunboats w e r e
bo mbarding th e ir p orts M or e and mor e in int e rnational
r e lationshi p is the p ur ely e conomic moti ve—and the
.
 T H E STATE A S A PE RS O N 2 53

e conomic m otive is only o ne Of s e ve ral possibl e on e s

b eing e mploye d to r e plac e the u se Of p hysical forc e .

Austria the oth e r day was untouch ed by any thr eat Of

the e m ploym e nt o f the Turkish army wh e n the ann e x a
tion o f Bosnia and H e rz egovina was consum mat e d but ,

wh e n the Turkish p opulation e nforc e d a v e ry succ e ssful

comm e rcial boycott of Austrian goods and Austrian
ships Austrian m e rchants and public Opinion mad e
,

it quickly plain to the Austrian G ov e rnm e nt tha t

pre ssur e o f this natur e w as not such as could be
disr e gard ed .

I antici p at e the pl e a that whil e t he e laborat e int e r

conn e ction o f e conomic forc e s r e nd ers the e mploym e nt
Of forc e as b e tw ee n nations unn e c e ssary i n so far as
th eir m at e rial int e r e sts are conc e rn ed thos e forc e s
,

cannot co v e r a cas e o f aggr e ssion upon what may be

t e rm e d the moral p ro p e rty of nations A critic Of the
.

*
first e dition o f this book writ e s :
The S t at e is the on ly comple t e form in which human
soci e ty e x is t s and ther e are a mu lt i t ude Of phenome na
,

which wi ll be f oun d only as mani f e s ta t ions of human li f e

in the f orm of a soci e ty uni t ed by the pol i tical bond int o
a S t at e The product s of such soci ety are law li t erat ure
.
, ,

art and sci ence and i t has yet t o be shown t ha t apar t

,

f rom t ha t form of soci e ty known as the S t a t e the f ami ly

,

or e ducat ion or deve l opm en t of charac t er is poss i bl e The .

S t at e in S hor t is an organism or l ivin g t hing which can be

, ,

Morni ng P ost, Apr il 21, 1 9 10 I pass over the f act that t o

.

cite all thi s as a r eason f or arm am ents i s absu rd D oes the.

M ornm g P ost r eally s u gg est that the G erm ans are go i ng to att ac k
E ngl and b ecaus e the y don t lik e the E ngli sh t ast e i n art or m usi c
’

, ,

or cooki ng ? The noti on that pr ef er enc es of thi s sort need the

pr ot ecti on of D readnoughts i s sur e ly to b r i ng the whol e thi ng
withi n the do m ai n of the grotesq u e .
2 54 T H E G REAT I LL U S I O N
wou nded and can be ki ll e d and lik e e ve ry ot her livin g thing
,

r equir e s p rot e ct ion ag ains t woundin g and de s truct ion .

Consci e nce and morals are produc t s of social and no t of

in divi dual li fe and t o say that the so l e purpos e of the
,

S ta t e is t o mak e possibl e a decen t live l ihood is as t hough

a m an shoul d say t hat the sol e Obj ec t of human li f e is t o
sat is fy the in t er e s t s Of e x is t ence A man cannot live any
.

kind Of li f e wi thout f ood clothing and sh el t er but t ha t

, , ,

condi t ion doe s not abo l ish or diminish the val ue of the
li f e indus t rial the li f e in t ell ect ual or the li fe art is t ic
, , .

The S ta t e is the con di t ion Of all th e s e liv e s and i t s purpose

,

is t o sus tai n t h em Tha t is wh y the S t at e mus t de fend

.

i t s e l f In the ideal the S t at e r epre s en t s and e mbodi e s the

.

whol e p eop l e s concep t ion of what is t ru e of what is

’

be aut i f u l and of what is ri ght and i t is the sublime

, ,

qua l i ty of human nat ur e that e v e ry grea t nat ion has pro

du c e d ci t i ze ns r e ady t o sacrifice t he ms e lve s ra th e r t han
submi t t o an e xt ernal f orce a tt emp t ing t o dic tat e t o them
”
a conc ep t ion o t h e r t han t h e ir o w n of what is ri gh t
. .

O ne is ,
cours e surp ris ed to see the for egoing in the
of ,

Morning P ost the concluding phras e w ould j ustify the

p r e s e nt agi t ation in I ndia or in Egy p t or I re land
against B ritish rul e What is that a g itation but an
.

att e m p t o n the part of the p e opl e s o f thos e p rovinc e s

“
to r e sist an e xt e rnal forc e att e mpting to dictat e to
th e m a conc e ption oth e r than th e ir ow n Of what is
right Fortunate ly how e ve r for British Imp e ri alism
, , ,

“
a p e o p l e s conc eption of w h at is tru e o f w hat is
’

,
”
b e autiful and of what is ri g ht and th e ir maint e nanc e
, ,

o f that conc e ption n ee d no t n e c e ssarily have anything

,

what e v e r to do with the p articular administrative condi

tions und e r which th ey may li ve—the only thing that a
conc e ption of Stat e pr e dicat e s The fallac y which .

runs through the w hol e p as sag e just quot e d and which ,

2 56 THE G REAT I LL U S I ON

disr egard th e m e ntire ly And y e t a g ain it is onl y the

.

Stat e di v isions w hich military conflict has in v i e w .

What was one of the r e asons l e ading to the c e ssa

tion of r e ligious wars be tw ee n Stat e s ? I t was that
r e ligious conc e p ti ons cut across the Stat e fronti e rs so ,

t hat the Stat e c e as ed to coinci de with the r e ligious

divisions of Euro pe and a condition Of things was
,

brou g ht about in which a Prot e stant Sw ed e n was alli ed

w ith a C atholic F ranc e . This re nd er e d t he conflict
absurd and r e ligious wars b e cam e an anachronism
, .

B ut is not p r e cis e ly the sam e thing taking plac e with

r e fe r e nce to the con fl icting conc e ptions o f life which
now s e p arat e m e n in Europ e ? H ave w e not in Gr e at
Britain now the sam e doctrinal stru g gl e which i s goin g
o n in Franc e and G e rmany and in Am e rica ? TO tak e o ne
—
instance soci al conflict O n the one S i de in e ach cas e
.

are all t he int e r e sts bound u p w ith ord e r authority

, ,

individual free dom W ithout r efe r e nce to the comfort of

the w eak and on the oth e r t he r e construction Of human
,

soci ety along hith e rto untri e d lin e s Th e s e p robl e ms

.

are o f r most m e n p robably — are c e rtainly com ing to be ,

if th ey a re n ot n o w — much mor e p rofound and funda

m e ntal than any conc e ption which coincid e s with o r
-

c an be id e ntifi e d with Stat e divisions . I nd ee d what

,

are t he conc e ptions of which t he divisions coincid e

w ith the p olitical fronti e rs of the British E m pire ,

in vi ew Of the fact that that Empir e includ e s n e arly

e v e ry rac e and n e arly e v e ry r e ligion und e r t he s u n ?

It m ay be said o f cours e that in the cas e o f G e rmany

, ,

and Russia w e have an autocratic conc e p tion Of social

organization as com p ar ed with a conc e ption bas ed on
in dividual fre edom in England and Am e rica .

Both M r Hyndman and M r Bla t chford s ee m to tak e

. .
 THE STAT E A s
A P E RSO N 2 57

“
this v i ew . To m e says t he form e r
, it is quit e ,

e vid e nt that if w e S ocialists w e r e to achi e ve succ e ss w e

should at onc e be liabl e to attack from wi t hout by the

military p owe rs which calmly ove rlooks the fact that
,

Socialism and anti militarism have gon e m uch farth e r

-

“ ”
and are far b e tt e r organiz e d in t he military Stat e s
than th ey are in England and that the military gove rn ,

m e nts have all th e ir work cut o u t as it i s to k e e p t h ose

te nd e nci e s in ch e ck Within th e ir ow n bo rd e rs without ,

quixotically und e rtaking t o p erform the sam e s e rvic e in

oth e r Stat e s .

This conc e p tion of the Stat e as the p olitical e m

bodim e nt Of hom og e n e ous doctri n e is du e i n larg e
p art not only to the distortion p roduc e d by fals e analogy ,

but to the survi v al of a t e rminology w hich has be com e

Obso l e t e as ind ee d the whol e Of this subj e ct is vitiat ed
, , ,

by thos e tw o things The Stat e in anci e nt tim e s was

.

much mor e a p e rson ality than it is to day and it is -

,

m ainly quit e mod e rn t e nd e nci e s which have brok e n

up its doctrinal homoge n e ity and such break u p has ,
-

r e sults which are of the v e ry first importanc e in th e ir

hearing u p on int e rnation al pugnacity The matt e r .

d e s e rve s car e ful examination Profe ssor William .

Mc D ou gal in his fascinating work An Introduction

,
“
,
”
to Social Psychology says in the chapt e r on the
,

i nstinct of p ugnacity :

The r eplacemen t of in dividual by col l e c tive pu gnaci ty is

mos t C l earl y i l lus trat e d by barbarous p eopl e s l iving in smal l ,

s trongly organi zed communi t i es W i t hin such commu ni t i e s

.

individual comba t and e v e n e x pr essions Of p ersonal ange r

may be almos t compl et ely suppr e ss ed whi l e the pu gnacious ,

ins t inct finds i t s el f in pe rpe t ua l war fare b e t wee n communi t i e s

whos e r el at ions r emain subj e c t t o no law As a rul e no .
2 58 T H E G REAT I LL U S I O N
mat eri al ben e fi t is gain e d and of t en non e is sought in the se
, ,

t ribal wars . A l l are k e p t in cons tan t f ear of atta c k .

.

whol e villag e s are of t en e xt erminat ed and the popula tion is ,

in ithis w ay k ep t down v e ry f ar b elow the l imi t on which

any pr e ssure on the m eans of subsis t e nc e could aris e This .

p e rp e t ual war f ar e lik e the squabb

, l e s of a room f u lo f quarr e l
some C hi l dren s eems t o be almos t wholl y and dire c t ly due
,

t o the u ncomplica t ed op e ra t ion of the ins t inct of pugnacit y .

N O ma t e rial b e n e fi t s are sou gh t ; a f e w h e ads and som e t im es

a slav e or t w o are the only trOphieS g ain ed and if one asks
‘ '
,

an in t e ll i gen t chi e f why he ke eps up this s e ns e l e ss pract ice ,

the b es t r e ason he can g iv e is t ha t unl e ss he doe s s o ; his

n e i ghbou rs will not resp ec t him and his peOple and will fall ,
.

”
upon them and e xt erminat e t h em .

N ow , how do e s su Ch hostility as that i ndicat ed in this

‘

p assag e di ffe r from the hostility which m arks i nt e r

national di ffe r e nc e s in ou r day ? I n ce rtain v e ry e vi de nt
z

re s p e cts
. I t do e s not su ffi c e in ou r cas e t hat the ‘

for e ign e r should be m e r e ly a for e ign e r f or u s to want

“
'

to kill him : th e r e must be s om e con fl ict o f int e r e st .

W e are com pl e t e l y indiffe re nt to the S c andinavian ‘the ,

B e l g ian the D utchman the Spaniard the A ustrian

, ,
“

, ,

and the I talian and w e are su pp os e d fo r the «mom e nt

,

to be gr e atly in lov e with t he Fr e nch The G e rman is ‘

.

the e n e my B ut t e n ye ars ago it was the F r e nchman

.

w ho was the e n e my and M r Chamb e rlain was talk ing

,
.

of an allianc e with t h e G e rmans —ou r natural alli e s he

“
:

call e d th e m—whil e it was f or Franc e that he r e s e rve d

,

*
his attacks I t can not be th e r efor e that th e r e is any
.
, ,

inh e ren t racial hostility in ou r nation al charact e r ,

I r ef er to the r em ar kabl e sp eech i n whi c h Mr Cham b erlain .

notifi ed F ranc e that sh e m u st m end her m anners or t ak e the

conseq u ences (see L ondon daily pap ers b etween N ovem b er 2 8
”

and D e c em b er 5 ,
3 60 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

t ribe e ntire ly h omog e n e ous E v e n the fact o f li ving .

across a rive r was su ffici e nt t o turn anoth e r trib e into

fore i g n e rs and to involve a d esir e to kill th e m The .

d e ve lo p m e nt from that stag e to the pre s e nt has in

clud e d in addition to the tw o factors j ust e num e rat e d
, ,

thi s : w e now includ e as f e llo w count rym e n many w ho -

would unde r the old conc e p tion n e c e ssarily be for eign e rs ,

and the p roce ss of ou r d e v e lopm e nt e conom ic and ,

oth e rwis e has mad e o f for e ign e r s b et wee n whom in

, , ,

G e n e ral Le a s philoso p hy th e re S hould exist t h is

’

“
p rimordi al hostility l e ading i n ev itably to war one ,

Stat e from which all conflict Of int e r e st has disapp e a r ed

e ntir e ly The mod e rn Stat e o f Franc e includ e s w hat
.

w e r e e ve n in historical tim e s e ighty s eparat e and

, ,

warring Stat e s since e ach Of the old Gallic citi e s repre

,

s e nt e d a di ff e re nt Stat e I n England w e have com e

.

to r egard as f e llow citiz e ns b e tw ee n whom th e r e c an be

-

no sort of conflict o f int e re st scor e s of trib e s that sp ent

th e ir tim e mutually throat cutting at no v e ry distant -

p e riod as history go e s W e r e cogniz e inde e d that

,
.
, ,

p rofound national di ffe re nc e s like thos e which exist

be twe e n the W e ls h man and the En g lishman or the ,

Scotsman and the I rishman not only n ee d invol ve no ,

c onflict o f int e r e st but n ee d involv e e v e n no s e parat e

,

p oli t ic al exist e nc e .

O ne has h e ard in r e c e nt tim e s of the gradual re vi val

o f N ationalism and it is commonly ar g u e d that the
,

com m ander of the E ngli sh f orces at Mu nster w e r ead : He

divert ed hi s f orc es i nt o E ast C l anwi lli am and harassed the ,

c ou ntry ; kill ed all m anki nd that wer e f ou nd there in not

l eavi ng b ehi nd u s m an or b east c orn or cattl e sp ar ing non e
,

of what q u ality ag e or sex s oeve r

, ,
B esi de m any b u rne d to .

death w e kill e d m an wo m an c hil d hors e or beas t or what ever

, , , , , ,

fi nd
"
w e co uld .
 T H E STATE A S A PE RS O N 26 1

p rincipl e of N ationality m ust stand i n the way o f

c o O p e ration b e tw e e n Stat e s
-
But the facts do not
.

justify such conclusion for a mom e nt The formation .

o f Stat e s has disr eg ard e d national divisions altog e th e r .

I f conflicts are to coincid e with national divisions ,

Wal es should CO Op e rat e w it h Brittan y and I re land as

-

against N orm andy and England ; Pro v e nc e and Sav oy

with Sardinia as against I do not know what
Fr e nch provinc e b e caus e in the final r e arrang em e nt Of
,

Europ e an fronti e rs rac e s and p rovinc e s have b ecom e so

in e xtricably mix e d and ha ve p aid so littl e re gard to
,

“
natural and inh e r e nt di vi sions that it is no long e r ,

p ossibl e to dis e ntan g l e th e m .

I n the be g in ning the Stat e is a homog e n e ou s trib e

o r family and in t he proc e ss of e conomic and social
,

d ev elo p m e nt th e s e di vision s so far b re ak down that

a Stat e may includ e as the B ritish Stat e do e s not only
, ,

half a doz e n diff e r e nt rac e s in t he mot h e r country but ,

a thousand di ffe r e nt rac e s scatt e r ed o v e r various parts of

the e arth — whi t e black y e llow brown co p p e r colour ed
, , , ,
-
.

This sur ely is o ne of the g re at sw e e ping t e nd e nci e s of

, ,

histo ry—a t e nd e ncy which O p e rat e s imm e diat ely any

com plicat e d e conomic life is set up What j ustification .

hav e w e th e re for e for sayin g dogmatically that a

, ,

t e nd e ncy to c o Op e ration which has sw e p t b e fore it

-

profound ethnic di ffe r e nc e s social and political divi

,

sions a p roc e ss which has b ee n constant from the dawn

,

of m e n s att e mpts to liv e and labour tog e th e r is t o sto p

’

at the w all Of mod e rn Stat e divisions which re pre s e nt ,

non e Of the profound divisions of t he human rac e but ,

mainly m e r e administrative conve ni e nc e and e mbody ,

a conc e ption which is b e in g eve ry day p rofoun dly

modifi ed ?
26a T,H E G R EAT I LLU S I O N ,

Som e indication o f the p roc e ss e s in vo lve d in this .

d ev elopm ent has al re ady b ee n g ive n in the outlin e .

sk etch in Ch apt e r I I Of t h i s s ection to w h ich the

. , , ,

r e ad e r may be re ferre d ( p ,
I hav e th e r e att e m p t ed .

to make p lain that [J ari fiassu with the d rift from physi cal
forc e toward s e conomic induc e me nt go e s a corr e s pond
,
-

ing diminu tionof pu g nac ity u ntilthe psyc holog ical fa cto r ,

whi ch is th e e xact rev e r se O i pugnacity com e s to have

, , _
,

mor e force even than the economic o ne Q u it e apart f ro m .

any e conomi c qu e stion it is no long e r p ossibl e for the ,

Britis h Gove rnm e nt to orde r the e xte r mi nation o f a whol e

p o p ulation Of the wom e n and ch ildr e n in the Old Biblical
, ,

style I n the sam e way the gr eat e r economic inte rde pe n

.
,

d e n c e which i mp ro v ed mean s of commun ication have

,

p ro v o ke d m u st c arr
,
y with it a g r e at e,
r m o ral int e rde pe n ,

d e nc e and a t e nd ency which h as brok en down p rofound

,
s ,

nation al divisions lik e thos e whi ch s eparat e d the C e lt ,

and t he Saxon will c e rtainly br e ak down o n the psycho

,

logical sid e divisio ns whi ch are ob v ious ly mor e artificial .

Among the multi p l e factors which have e nter e d i nt o

the gr e at s w e e p ing t e nd e ncy j ust sk etch e d are o ne or
t w o which stan d ou t as most lik ely to hav e im m ediat e
e ffe ct o n t he br e akdown o f a p ur ely p sychol og ical hos

t ility e mbo di e d by me r ely S tat e di v isi ons O ne 1 5 that .

l e ss e ning of the rec iprocal s e ntim e nt Of coll ective res

, ,

ponsibility w hich the com pl e x h e t e rog e n e ity of t he . .

m od ern Stat e involv e s What do I m ean by this s e n se .

, ,

Of coll e cti v e r esponsibility ? TO t he C hin e s e Box e r all

“ ”
Europ eans are fore1gn d evils ; b etw ee n G e rmans , ,

E nglis h R u ss ians th e re is littl e distinction j ust as to

, ,

the black in Africa th e r e i s littl e di ffe r e ntiation b e tw ee n

the various whit e rac es E v en the yok e l in Eng land .

“ ”
talks of th e m for e i gn e rs I f a Chin e s e B ox e r is .
264 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N
G erm any is delib erat e l y pr eparing t o de s t roy the B ri t ish
Empire
and lat e r in the ar ticl es he add e d
B ri t ain is disuni t e d ; G e rmany is homoge neous W e .

are quarr e l l ing abou t the Lor ds V e t o Hom e Rul e and a

’

, ,

doze n o t h e r qu es t ions of dom e s t ic po l i t ics We hav e a .

Li ttl e N avy Party an An t i Mili t aris t Party ; G ermany is

,
-

”
unanimous upon the que stion of naval e x pansion .

I t would be di fficult to pack a mor e dan g e rous untruth

into so few lin e s What are the facts ? If G e rmany
.

m e ans t he bulk Of t he G e rman p e o p l e M r Blatchford , .

is p e rfectly awar e that he is not t elling the truth It is .

not tru e t o say Of t he bulk o f the G e rman p e opl e that

th ey are d elib e rat e ly p re p aring to d e stroy the B ritish

E mpir e The bulk of the G e rman p e opl e if th ey are
.
,

re p re s e nt e d in any o ne p arty at all are r e p r e s e nt ed by the

,

Social D e mocrats who have stood from t he fi rst r e so

,

lu t ely a g ain st any such int e ntion N ow the facts ha ve .

to be misstat e d in this way in ord e r t o p roduc e that

t e m p e r w hich make s for w ar I f the facts are corre ctly
.

stat e d no such t e m p e r aris e s

,
.

What has a particularly comp e t e nt G e rman to say to

M r B latc hford s g e n e ralization ? M r Fri e d the e ditor
.
’
.
,

Of D ie F riedensw arte w rit e s ,

Ther e is no one G erman p eop l e no s ingl e G e r m any , .

The r e are more abrup t con tras t s be t ween G er m ans and

G ermans t han b et wee n G e rmans and Indians N ay the .
,

con t radis t inct ions Wi th in G erman y are gr eat er t han t hos e

be t ween G ermans and the uni t s of any oth er f or ei gn nat ion
wha t e ver I t might be possibl e t o mak e e ff ort s t o promot e
.

g ood un de rs t an ding b e t we en G ermans and Engl ishmen ,

be tw een G e rmans and Fr enchmen t o org ani ze visi t s b et we en

,

nat ion and nat ion ; bu t i t wi l l be f or e ve r impossibl e t o set

 THE STATE As A PE RS O N 26 5

on f oot an y such eff ort s a t an un ders t an ding be tw een

G e rman Social D emocra t s and Prussian Junk ers be t we en ,
”
G erm an An t i S emi t e s and G erman J ews
-
.

The disa pp e aranc e Of m ost int e rnational hostili ty

d e p e nds u p on nothing mor e intricat e than the r e aliza
t ion Of facts which are littl e mor e compl ex than the
g eographical knowl ed g e which e nabl e s us to se e that
the ang e r Of the yok e l is absurd wh e n he pumm els
a Fr e nchman be caus e an Ital ian has swin dled him .

It may be ar g u ed that th e r e n e v e r has e xist e d in the

past this id e ntification be tw e e n a p e opl e and t he acts
Of its Go ve rnm e nt wh ich r e nd e red the hatr e d Of o ne
country for anoth er lo g ical yet that the hatr e d has
,

aris e n That is tru e ; but c e rtain ne w factors hav e

.

e nt e r e d r e c e ntly to modify this probl e m One is that

.

n e ve r in t he history Of t he world have nations b e e n so

compl ex as th ey are to d ay ; and the s e cond is that n eve r
b efor e hav e the dominating int e r ests Of mankind so
com p l et ely cut across Stat e divisions as th ey do to d ay .

The third factor is that n e v e r b e for e has it b e e n pos

sibl e as it is possibl e by ou r m e ans Of com munication
,

to d ay to Offs e t a soli darity of class es and id eas as

,

against a pr e sum ed Stat e solidarity .

Tak e an actual ins t ance Wh e n the Russi an fl eet

.

sunk the H ull fi shing smacks not long sinc e w e could

-
, ,

hav e g on e to war with Russia—to t he great satisfaction ,

probably Of the Russian Gove rnm e nt at that t im e at

, ,

I n The E vol uti on of Modern G erm any ( F isher U nwi n

“
,

L ondon)the au thor says G erm any i m p li es not one p e op l e b u t ,

many p eopl es of di ff er e nt c u lt u r e
, di ff e r e nt po liti cal and
soci al i nstit u ti ons divers ity Of i nt e ll e ct u al and econom i c
lif e
. W hen the aver age E nglishm an sp eaks of G erm any h e
r eally m eans P r ussia and consciou sly or not he ignores the f act
,

that i n b u t f ew t hi ngs c an P r u ssi a b e r egarded as typ i cal of

the whol e E m p ir e .
2 66 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

gri ps w ith a budding Libe ral mo ve m e nt in its ow n

count ry . I n s o far as Lib e ral O p inion c an Obtain
.

e x p r e ssion in Russia that op inion was as c on ' :

de m natory of the action Of the Admi ral as w as O p inion '

in Eng land I m ag in e for a mom e nt that Lib erali sm

.

had mad e a littl e mor e p rogr e ss as it has lately in , ,

,

Russia and w as a litt l e mor e articulat e and that t he

, ,
.

Russian Li be rals w e r e using thi s incid ent t o discre dit : -

autocracy in Russia and to advance a cau se anim at ed?

,
~

by En g lish id e as We should in d e claring w ar u p on

.
,
:

the Russian Go ve rn m e nt ; be d e claring war in fact u p on , ,

.

t he Lib e rals u p on ou r ow n id e as
, ( F o r a stat e Of war '

.
.

would be ~us ed by the R u ssian Governm e nt as e xc u se '

for crushin g Russian Would the killing

Of Russian p easants bring to any En g lishman u nd e r f

standing the facts O f the c ase any satis fac tio n to h is ~ w n

j ust ang e r against the Ru ssian Admiral ? Might w e o !

not as soon kill a numb e r Of Chinam e n ? And in killing '

'

Russ ian Lib e rals could w e ove rlook the fac t ' t h at w e
,
:

w e r e killing thos e as de sirous of the pu nishm e nt t of -

the Russian Admiral a s w e w e r e

.

N e ve r at any stag e Of t he w o rld s deve lopm e nt has

‘
’
'
s ’ l

th e r e e x ist e d as to day the m ac hi nery for e mbodying

- o t '

th e s e int e res ts and cl ass id e as and id e als which cut

'

across fronti e rs I t is not ge ne rally und e rstood how

.
J ” -

m any Of ou r acti viti e s ha ve b e com e int e rnational Tw o .

g r e at force s ha ve be com e int e rnationalized : Capital on

-

the one hand L abou r and So cialism o n the othe r '

.
,

The Labou r and S oc ialist mov e m e nts hav e always

‘ ‘

b ee n int e r national and b e com e mor e so e ve ry ye ar F ew

,
.

conside rabl e s trik e s tak e p lac e in any o ne country .

without the labou r o rganizat ions Of oth e r countri es

‘

f u rnishing h elp and ve ry large sum s have b e e n c on

, :
2 68 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N

t he fact that i n 1 9 04 som ething o v e r t w o million s ,

r e pre s e nting twe lve coun t ri e s w e r e a ffiliat e d w h e reas

, ,

in 1 9 0 8 nin e t e e n countri e s w e r e r e pr e s e nt e d in a total

m e mb e rshi p Of n early six millions Although this int e r .

national body works on the principl e Of b e in g non

political at the Paris Confe r e nc e it v ot e d a motion Of
,

sym p athy unanim ously in favour Of the plucky

Spanish comrade s w ho o p pos e d the ord e r o f mobiliza
”
tion b y a g e n e ral strik e which motion also gav e e xpr e s
,

sion to the hop e that the work e rs of all countri e s would

shortly be su ffi ci e ntly organiz e d int e rnationally to pre
ve nt war by th e ir in fl u e nc e and the e m p loym e nt Of all
t he m e ans in th e ir pow e r At the last g e n e ral strike in
.

Sw ed e n in 1 9 0 9 the G e rman Trad e U nionis t s con

,

tribut ed fifty thousand pounds the English Trad e ,

*
U n ionists n e arly tw o thousand and so o n , .

Th e l as t C ongr ess at C op enhagen dealt with such practi cal

q u esti ons as the general li ne to b e t ak en by S oc iali sts and ad
van c e d po liti c al p ar ti e s with r e f er enc e t o th e C O Op erati ve m ove
-

ment m easur es wer e tak en f or u n ifyi ng wor king cl ass l egi sl ati on -

thr oughou t E urop e f or i nsuri ng com m on acti on i n the m att er of

,

i nt ernational ar bitrati on and di sar m am ent and practi cal m eans

,

wer e agai n discu ss ed f or givi ng e ffect t o the r esol u ti ons Of the

I nt ernati onal Congr ess F or the I nt ernati onal Tr ades U ni on
.

movem e nt ther e i s an i nt er nati onal s ecr etari at at B er li n and each ,

of the adh er i ng b o di es p ay s a du e of 1 50 m ar k s a y ear f or each

thou sand Trade U ni oni sts Com m on action i n the m atter of

.

bl ackl egs r esult ed from the Congr ess hel d by the I nt ern ati onal
Trades U ni on at Chr i sti ani a and w as confi rm ed by the P ari s
,

Conf er enc e Of 1 909 and c om m on ac ti on w as al s o dec i ded in t hi s

l ast Congr ess on the q u esti on Of sweati ng A b egi nni ng w as .

m ade al so i n arr i vi ng at a com m o n m i ni m u m E u r op e an e ight

hou r day The I nternati onal Trades U ni on bo dy p u bli shes a
year ly r eport i n G erman F r ench and E ng li sh and the total
.

, , ,

num b er Of Trade U n i oni sts i s th ere gi ven as very nearly ten

mil li ons Of whom rather mor e than half are affi liat ed int er
,

nati o nally .
 THE STATE As A PE RS O N 269

SO much for the labour sid e What for the sid e Of

.

ca p ital ? With r e fe r e nc e to ca p ital it may almost be

,

said that it is or g aniz e d so naturally int e rnationally

that formal organization is not n e c e ssary Wh e n t he .

Bank Of England is in dang e r it is the Bank Of Franc e

,

w h ich com e s automatically t o its aid e ve n in a tim e of

,

acut e p oliti c al hostility It has b e e n my good fo rtun e

.

in the las t t en ye ars to discuss th e s e m att e rs with

financi e rs on one sid e and labour l e ad e rs on the oth e r ,

and I hav e always be en p articularly struck by the fact

that I have found in th e s e tw o class e s p r e cis e ly the
sam e attitu de Of int e rnationalization I n no d e p art .

m e nt Of human activity is int e rnation alization so c om

p le t e as in financ e T
. he capitalist has no country and ,

he knows if he be Of the mod e rn ty p e that arm s an d

, ,

conqu e sts and j uggl e ry with fronti e rs se rv e no e nds Of

his and may v e ry w e ll d e fe at th e m But e mploye rs as
, .
,

apart from capitalists are also d ev eloping a strong in

,

ternat ional coh e sive organization Am ong the B erlin

.

de s p atch e s in the Ti mes of A p ril 1 8 1 9 1 0 I find the , ,

following conc e rning a big strik e in the building trad e ,

in which n early a quart e r o f a m illion m e n w e nt ou t .

Quoting a writ e r in t he N 07 th G erman G azette the corr e ,

s ponde nt says

The wri t e r l ay s s tr e ss upon the effi ci e ncy of the em

ploye rs arrangemen t s He sa y s in part icular that i t wi ll
’
.
, ,

probabl y be possible t o e xt en d the l ock out t o in dus t ri e s -

associat ed wi t h the buil din g indu s t r y e sp ecially the c eme n t

,

in dus t r y an d t ha t the e mploy ers are compl e t ing a ring Of

,

car t e l t reat i es which wil l pr e v en t G e rman workmen f rom

,

finding emp l oyme n t in n e ighbourin g count ri e s and will ,

insur e for G erman employ ers all possib l e support f rom

abroad I t is sai d tha t Swi t ze r l and and Aus tria wer e t o
.
 2 70 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N
concl u de tr ea t ie s yes t e r day on the S ame condi t ions as
Sweden N orway D e nmark Hollan d and France and t hat
, , , , ,

B el g ium and I t al y woul d come in so t hat t h er e will be com ,

plete c o Op er at ion on the par t Of a l l G e rmany s n e i ghbours

’
-

e x c ep t Russi a In the circums t anc e s the m en s org ans rat her ’

.

ove r l abou r the poin t wh en th ey produce e l aborat e e vi dence

Of prem edi ta t ion The Vorw czrts prove s t hat the e m
.
' '

ployers hav e lon g bee n pre parin g f or a t rial of s tr en gth

‘ ’
,

bu t that is admi tt ed The Official org an Of the emp l oyers

.

say s in so man y words t hat an y in t erve n t ion is us el ess

' ‘

, ,
.

un t il the f orce s have b een measu r e d in Ope n ba tt l e

‘
.
’

And hav e not th e s e forc e s b e g un alr eady t o affe ct the

p sychological domain with which w e are now e sp e ci ally
d ealing ? D O w e plac e national vanity for instanc e
“

, ,

O n the sam e p lan e as the indi v idu al ? H a ve w e not

‘

alre ady re aliz e d the absurdity in v olve d

‘

I hav e quot e d Admiral Mahan as follo w s

That e xt e nsion of nat ion al au thori ty ov e r al i en com
m u nitie s which is the dominan t no t e in the worl d po l i t ics Of
,

t o day dignifi e s and e n l arge s e ach S t at e and e ach ci t i ze n

-
,

t hat e n t ers i t s fold S en t imen t imaginat ion aspirat ion

.
, , ,

the sa t is f ac t ion of the rat ional and moral f acul t ie s in some

Obj e c t b e tt e r t han br ead alon e all mus t fi nd a part in a ,

wort hy mot ive Lik e indivi duals nat ions and empir e s have
.
,

sou l s as w ell as bodi e s Gr eat and bene fi c e nt achi e ve me n t

.

minis t ers t o wor thi er con t e n t men t t han the fillin g Of the

H av e w e n ot com e t o re ali ze that this is all moon

shin e and v e ry m ischi e vous moonshin e ? L et us
,

e xami ne it a littl e .

A man w ho boasts Of his poss e ssions is not a ve ry

.

p l e as ant o r admirabl e ty p e but at l e as t his poss e ssions ,

are for his ow n u se and do bring a tan g ibl e satisfac

tion m ate rially as w e ll as s e ntim e ntall y He is t he
,
.
2 72 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N

s elf knowing communiti e s

-
whos e m e mb e rs will be
,

unit e d tog eth e r by or g anic and vital s y m pathi e s and ,

not by th e ir common submission to a common

p olic e man .

How small and thin a pr e te nc e is all the talk of

national p r e stig e wh e n the matt e r is t e ste d by its r e lation
to t he individual is sho w n by t he com m on p lac e s o f ou r
e v e ryday s ocial int e rcou rs e I n social consid e ration .

e v erything e lse tak e s pr e c e d e nc e o f nation a lity e v e n ,

in thos e circl es wh e r e Chau vini sm is a cult O ur .

Royalty is so impr e ss ed with the dignity which

attach e s to m e mb e rshi p of the British Em pir e that its
Princ e s w i ll marry into the royal hous e s of the sm all e st
and m e an e st Stat e s in Euro p e whil e th ey would r egard ,

marriag e with a B ritish comm on e r as an unh e ard O f -

’ ’

m esalhance This standard Of social j udgm e nt so marks

.

all the Euro p e an royalti e s that at the pr e s e nt tim e not

one rul e r in Eu rop e b e longs p ro p e rly s p e aki ng to the , ,

rac e which he rul e s I n all social as sociations an

.

“
an alo g ous rul e is follow e d I n ou r se le c test circl e s
.

an Italian Roumanian Portugu e se o r e ve n Turkish

, , ,

nobl e is re c e i ve d wh e re an English trad e sman would be

,

taboo .

This t e nde nc y has struck almost all authoriti es who

have inve stigat e d sci e ntifically m od e rn int e rnational
r e lations Thus M r T Baty the w ell known authority
. . .
,
-

o n int e rn ational law writ e s as follows

,

ove r the wor l d soci ety is org ani zing i t s e l f b y s trat a

All .

The En g lish m erchan t goe s on busin e ss t o W arsaw Ham ,

bur g or L eghorn ; he finds in the merchan t s of I t a ly G er

, ,

man y and Russia the i deas the s t andard of livin g the

, , ,

s ympat hi e s and the aversions which are fami l iar t o him a t

,

home Prin t in g and the l oc omot ive have enormous ly re

.
 T HE STATE As A PE RS O N 2 73

du c ed th e importance of l oca l i ty I t is the mental a tmos .

p h e re o f i t s f e ll ow s and no t o f it s n ei g hbourhoo d which the

, ,

chi l d of the y ou nge r g en e rat ion is beginning t o brea the '

.

W he the r he r eads the R evu e des D eux M ondes or Tit B its -

,

the mode rn ci t i ze n is be comin g a t onc e cos mopo l i t an and

class cen t re d L e t the proc e ss work f or a f ew mo re y ears ;
-
.

w e sh all see th e common in t ere s t s Of cosm opoli t an clas s e s

'

r evealin g themse lves as far more po t en t f actors t han the

shadowy common in t e r e s t s of the subj e ct s Of S ta t e s The .

Argent in e merchan t and the B ri t ish capi talis t al ik e r e g ar d

the Trade Union as a possib l e e n emy—wh e the r B ri t ish or
Ar gent in e matt ers t o t hem l e ss t han nothing The Ham .

burg dock e r and his brot he r of London do not pu t nat ional

in t er e s t s b e for e the primary c l aims of caste In t e rnat ional .

class f eeling is a r e al i ty and not e ven a n ebulous r e ali ty ;

,

the n e b u la has de v e l op e d C en t r e s of con densa t ion O nl y .

the o t h e r day Sir W R u nciman who is c e r t ain ly no t a

.
,

Cons erv at ive pr e si ded ov er a meet in g a t which t her e we r e

,

laid the f oundat ions of an In t e rnat ional Shippin g Union ,

which is in t ended t o un it e S hipow n ers of what ev e r coun try

in a common org aniza t ion W hen i t is once r e cogni zed t ha t
.

the r e al in t er e s t s of mode rn p eop l e are no t na t ional bu t ,

social the r e su lt s ma y be
,

As M r Baty points ou t this t e nd e ncy which

.
, , he
“ ”
calls stratification e xt e nds to all class e s,

I t is impossib l e t o i gnore the si gnificanc e of the In t e r

nat iona l Con gr e ss e s not onl y of Social ism but of pac ifi c ism
, , ,

of e spe ran t ism of f eminism , Of e v e ry kin d of ar t and

,

sci ence that so conspicuousl y s et the ir s eal upon the holi da y

,

s e ason N at ion ali ty as a limi t ing forc e is br e aking down

.

b e fore c osm Opolitani sm In dire ct in g i t s f orce s in t o an

.

in t e rnat i onal chann el Socia l ism wi ll hav e no diffic ulty wha t

,

e ve r. W e are th erefor e con front ed wi th a comin g

, ,

I nt ernati onal J ohn Murr ay ondon

“
L aw .
, L
2 74 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N
condi t ion of affairs in which the f orce Of nat ionali ty will be
dis t inc t l y in f e rior t o the force of c lass c ohe sion and i n
,

which class e s wi ll be int e rnat ionall y org ani zed so as t o

wi el d t he ir force wi th effe ct The prosp ect induces some
.

curious re fl ec tions
.
"

We ha ve h e re at p r e s ent
, in
m e r ely e mbryonic form ,

a g roup of moti ve s oth e rw is e O p pos ed but m eeting and

,

agree ing u p on o ne p oint : the organization of s oci e ty

o n oth e r than t e rritorial and national di v ision s .Wh e n
m oti ve s o f s uch b re adth as th ese gi ve force to a ten
de nc y it may be said that the v e ry stars in th e ir cours e s
,

are working to the sam e e nd .

 C HA P TE R I
AR MA M E N T , B U T N OT A L ON E AR MAM E N T

Why w e cannot abandon arm am ent irr esp ective of others—The

hu m an nat ur e of thi s par t of the probl em —W hy ar m am ents
al one are lik ely t o l ead to w ar— \Vhy agr e e m en ts b e twe en
Go vernm ents are lik ely to fail and m u st i n any case b e of ,

li mited eff ect .

I N t he fi rst edition of this book I wrot e

Are w e imm ediat e ly t o c eas e pr eparat ion f or war since ,

our de f ea t canno t a dvant ag e our en emy nor do us in the

long run much harm ? N o such conclusion r esul t s f rom a
s t udy of the considera t ions e laborat e d here I t is e vi dent .

t hat so lon g as the misconcep t ion w e are de al in g wi t h is al l

bu t unive rsal in Europe so lon g as the nat ions b e l i e v e tha t
,

in some way the mili tary and pol i t ical subj ugat ion Of o thers
will brin g wi t h i t a t an gible mate rial advan t ag e t o the con
q u e ror , w e all d o in f ac t s t,and in dan ge r f rom such
,

aggr ession N o t his in t er e s t bu t wha t he dee ms t o be his

.
,

in t ere s t will f urnish the r eal mot iv e of our pro sp ec t ive

,

e n em y s ac t ion A nd as the i l lusion wi t h which w e are

’
.

de al in g do e s in de ed domina t e all t hos e min ds mos t ac t iv e

, ,

in Europ ean po lit ics w e mus t whil e t his remains the cas e
, , ,

regard an aggr e ssion e v en such as t ha t which Mr Harrison

, .

for e s e e s as wi t hin the bounds of pract ical po l i t ics

, ( W ha t .

is not wi t hin the boun ds of possibili ty is the e xt en t of

de vas ta t ion which he f or e s ee s as the r e sul t of such a ttack
which I th ink the f or eg oin g pag es s u fl
,

, , i c iently dem onstrate ) .

O n thi s ground alon e I deem t ha t w e or any o th er nat ion

2 77
'
2 78 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N
are j us t ifi ed in t akin g m eans of s el f def ence t o pr ev ent such-

aggr e ssion This is not t he r efore a p l ea f or disarmam en t

.
, ,

irr e spe ct ive of the act ion of other nat ions So l on g as .

cu rr en t po l i t ical philosophy in Europ e r e mains wha t i t is ,

I wou ld not urge the r educt ion of our w ar budg et by a singl e

s ov e r e i gn .

I se e r eason to alt e r a word of this but I wou ld

no ,

add o ne o r t w o as som e of my critics s ee m t o have

,

o v e rlook ed a p art o f the conclusion which go e s with the

for e goin g —nam e ly that so long as the production of
,

w ar mat e rial and the trainin g fo r war are ou r only

p r e paration for p e ac e w e shall almost c e rtainly pre
,

p are not for p eac e bu t for war and e ve ry new shi p that
, , ,

w e build do e s but add t o the w e alth which w e throw

into the g ulf and by incr e asing the sus p icion and
, ,

distrust that go with the eve r incre asing we i g ht Of -

mat e rial do e s but r e nde r a solution Of the matt e r

,
‘

mor e di ffi cult .

What i s the situation ?

At p re s e nt th e r e is only one p olicy that holds the
—
fi eld to go on building shi p s T h e —
oth r p olicy loo king
e .

t o an agr ee m e nt fo r the limitation o f armam e nts

G e rmany has r ej e ct e d for r e ason s which are su ffi ci e ntly
cl e ar Whil e Gr e at Britain at the p r e s e nt mom e nt is
.

p r edominant G e rmany in the t e rms of curr e nt diplo

, ,

macy e xists o n the su ffe ranc e of Gr e at Britain That

, .

is to say a nation Of sixty m illion p e o p l e constituting

, ,

the gr e at e st m ilita ry Pow e r in Europ e is in s o far as , ,

the fi e ld o f activity cov e r e d by naval forc e is conc e rn ed

—a fi e ld of activi ty which ou row n p hilosophy as voic ed ,

by A dmiral Mahan d e clar e s to be the v e ry key of

,

p oli tical influ e nc e in the world at larg e and all the ,

advantag e s that are su pp os ed to go th e r e with—at

2 80 T H E G REAT I L LU S I O N

s t rug g l e with anot h e r Pow e r whil e that oth e r Powe r

has all the ad vantag e Of se a forc e Adm iral M ahan .

hi ms elf says *

O bse rvan t m en know that t her e hav e b een at l e ast t hre e

wars in t his S O cal l ed p eriod of p eac e (durin g the las t de
-

cade) wars non e the l ess be caus e no b l ows wer e e x

-

chan ge d for f orce de t ermin ed the issue s The common

, .

phrase for such transac t ions is the risk Of war has b een ‘

ave rt e d The e x pr e ssion is dange rou sly misl ea ding b ecaus e

.
’
,

i t is suppos ed t hat the con t ro ll in g e l eme n t in thi s conclusion

has b e e n the adroi t ne ss Of s t at e smen wher eas the e x istenc e ,

and ca l cu l a t ion Of f orc e hav e b e e n r e a l l y de t e rminat iv e .

Force t oo not m e r e ly in the raw ma t e rial bu t the organize d

—
, , ,

—
forc e of armi e s and navi e s r ea dy or unr e ady t o mov e ”
.

H is co mm e ntat or , t he D ai ly Mall adds ,

W i t hou t suffi ci en t armamen t s a Powe r can be b ea t e n in

dip l omacy or ba ttl e or in bo t h , W hat happe ns wh e n
.

the in t e r e s t s of t w o Powe rs con fl ic t ? The s t at e sman of the

firs t Pow er say s t o the s e con d Pow er W e must beg y ou to ,

give w ay The s e cond Powe r r e p l i e s W e r eally cannot

.
’
, .
’

The firs t Power r e j oins I f so w e are sorry bu t i t wi l l be

,
‘
, ,

v ery unpl e asan t f or you The s e cond Power then calcul at e s

.
’

i t s b att le ships and arm y corps I t cal l s upon i t s G en eral .

S t aff for a s t at emen t as t o wh e t her i t has a chance of w in

n in g If i t l e arns t hat it has no chance — that i t has only
.

tw e nty D n adnougkts t o the o th er Pow e r s t hirt y— the n i t '

wi ll gi ve w ay rather t han m e et disas t e r I t has suff er e d .

de f ea t if a b l oodle ss one
, I t has surr en de re d i t s in t er e s t s
.
,

an d thos e in t er es t s ma y b e vi tal From s tar t t o finish this .

proce ss which is known as dip l om acy depe n ds on e s tim a t e s

, ,

o f forc e an d on the e x i s t e nc e of f orc e B u t be cause f orce .

all the t im e r emains in the back groun d the i gnoran t mis ,

conc e iv e i t s r ea l nat ur e The y do not s ee t ha t Russia for

.
,

D aily Mai l
,
J u ly 1 6 , 1 9 1 0.
 A R MA M E N T N O T A L O N E A R MA M E N T
, 281

ex ampl e by her surrender t o the G e rman u lt imat um of las t

,

y ear l os t as much as by her def eat at the hands of Japan

,

in the act u al war i n the Far Eas t In de ed she l os t more .

, ,

for he r in t e r e s t s in the F ar Eas t we r e l e ss vi tal t han t hos e

”
in the B al kans .

Bu t if the for e going r e asoni ng a pp eals w ith forc e to

E ng lishm e n w ho alr e ady have the p r e dominanc e Of
,

se a pow e r how is it lik e ly t o a pp e al t o G e rmans whos e

, ,

se a pow e r is so gr e atly inf e rior ? We are askin g o f

G e rmany v e ry much mor e than S he asks of us S he .

says ,
“
We want e quality Of forc e an e quilibrium ”
, .

England says : We don t w ant e quilibrium w e want ’

,

domination The G e rman Admiral Ros e ndahl dis

.
,

cussin g the B ritish and G e rman navi e s and the pro

os als fo r disarmam e nt wrot e in t he D eu tsche R evu e
p ,

fo r J un e 1 9 09 : ,

If England claims and i t is p erman en tly ne c e ssary for

her an absolute supr emacy a t se a t ha t is her afl
,

, air and no , ,

s ensibl e man wi ll r eproach her for i t ; bu t i t is qui t e a

di ff er e n t t hin g f or a gre a t Pow er lik e the G e rman Empir e ,

by an in t ernat ional t r eaty suppos e d t o be bin ding for all

,

t ime e x pre ssl y t o re cogni ze and acc ep t t his in princip l e

, .

Assur edly w e do not wish t o e n t er int o a buil ding comp e t i

t ion wi th Englan d on a f oo t ing Of equal i ty bu t a
po l i t ical agr e emen t on the basis of the uncondit ional
sup eriori ty of the B ri t ish fl ee t wou l d be the e quival en t of
an abandonm en t of our nat ional di gni ty and though w e do
not sp e aking broadl y wish t o dispu t e En glan d s predom in
, ,
’

ance a t sea yet w e do m e an in cas e of war t o be or t o

, , , ,
”
b ecome the mas t ers of our ow n coas t s
, .

Professor S p e n s e r Wilkinson who quot e s this ,

* “
p assag e adds :
,
Th e r e is not a word in this which

B rit ai n at Bay . Const abl e , Lon don .

282 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
can gi ve just caus e Of O ffe nc e to England or English
”
m en . The r e doubtabl e M r Blatchford hims e lf .

com p l e t ely r e cognize s the r e asonabl e n e ss of the G e rman

vi e w in thi s m att e r He says *
.

I t doe s not r e quire a ve ry great effor t of the imaginat ion

t o enab l e us t o see that proposal wi t h G e rman e y e s W e re .

I a G erman I shoul d say The s e is l an de rs are cool ,

cus t omers The y have f enc ed in all the b es t par t s of the

.

gl obe t he y hav e bough t or cap t ur ed fortre ss e s and port s in

,

fi ve con t in e n t s th ey hav e gain e d the l ead in comm erc e t hey

, ,

hav e a vir t u al monopo ly of the carry in g t rade of the world ,

t he y ho l d comman d of the s e as and now t hey propos e that ,

w e shall all be bro t h e rs and t ha t nobo dy sha l l fi gh t or s t eal

,
”
an y mor e .

We th e re for e at an i mpasse or rath e r at a m e re

are ,

battl e of p urs e s : both sid e s must go on building— if

n ec e ssary to the limit o f th e ir national r e sourc e s
,
.

But hasthis no da nger

We all of us Big N a vy m en and Littl e N a vy m en
_ _

alik e kno w that it has ve ry grav e dang e r

, Th e r e
is fi rst the dange r arising fro m that human natur e to
which t he war ad v ocat e s are so fond of a p p ealin g .

An acut e Am e rican Obse rve ri writ e s :

‘

Talk Of w ar howe ve r caus el e ss t ends t o b eg e t war

, , .

Fami l iari ze tw o nat ions wi t h the dai ly t hough t of fi ght in g ,

and i t will be a mirac l e if t h ey f ail t o fi gh t L et t h e m .

occup y t hems elv e s dail y for tw o or t hr e e y ears wi th dis

cussing e v en when u tt e rl y deny in g the possibi l i ty of the
,

t hing and t hat thin g be come s mor e possib l e D iscuss

, .

caus e s of w ar den y t hat the y e x is t and y ou provok e t hem

, , .

I m e an t o say t ha t i t is of no cons equ enc e that you are all

the t im e pro t e s t in g t ha t w ar is impossibl e ; you are all the

G erm any and E ngl and p 1 3 , . .

1 D r B
’
a y a r d.H a l e i n World s Work F e b r u ary 1 9 1 0
’
, , .
284 THE G R EAT I LL U S I O N

on su ffe rance Eve n the S p ectator som e ten ye ars ago

.

po int e d ou t t he hop el e ss position that G e rmany would

occu p y in any conflic t wi t h En g land From an article
publish e d in that j ournal on J anuary 1 6 1 8 9 7 I tak e , ,

the following

L et us consi der qui etly and wi thou t he at what w oul d

have happ en ed had the S t at e ( England) tri ed the ex
p e ri m e nt o f war w i t h G e rm an y t his t ime las t y e ar .

O ur fl eet is much st ron g er t han the G erman fl ee t so much ,

s t rong e r in deed that the G e rmans woul d not hav e risk e d i t s

, ,

de s truc t ion bu t would hav e k e p t i t sa fe ly in port

, The .

G e rman N avy is a good one and i t s sailors and o ffi cers are

,

brav e m en but e ve n t hey do not consi der that i t would be

,

possibl e t o b eat our S hips when outnumbe r ed t hr ee t o one .

W e may tak e i t then tha t the G e rmans havin g no n eed t o

, , ,

S how t h e ir coura g e in a hop e l e ss e n g ag e m en t wo u l d hav e ,

kep t th e ir fl ee t in port What woul d hav e b e en the r e su lt

.

of such an ac t ion ? In the firs t place such G erman ships

,

of war as are t o be f oun d in th e Pacific or on the A frican

coas t s would have b e en e i t he r sunk or cap t ur ed The .

n ext r e sult wou ld hav e b e en t ha t an e x p e di t ion despatched

f rom In dia or Mauri t ius woul d hav e s e i zed G e rm an Eas t
A frica one f rom the Cap e An gra P e qu ena and D amaral and
, ,

one f rom En g lan d the Cam e roons and one f rom Aus t ralia
,

G erman N ew G u in ea B ut i t may be said so far G erman y

.
, ,

would have s uff er e d v e ry li tt l e N o doub t bu t t his is by

.
,

no me ans all the harm w e cou l d hav e infl ict ed on G er

many . G erman y has a mercant i l e marin e of vas t pro
port ions The Ge rman fl ag is e ve rywhe r e B ut on the
. .

de clara tion of war the whol e of G e rman y s t radin g shi ps

’

would be at our me rcy Throughou t the se as of the wor l d

.

ou r cruis ers would s e i ze and confisca t e G e rman S hips .

W i thin the firs t week of the dec l arat ion of w ar G e rman y

would hav e suff ere d a loss of man y mi ll ion pounds by the
cap tur e of her S hips N or is tha t al l O ur Co l oni es are
. .
 A R M A M E N T N O T A L O N E A R MA M E N T
, 28 5

dott ed w i t h G erman tradin g hous es w ho in spi t e of a k een

-
, ,

comp et i t ion do a gr ea t deal of busin e ss

, W e shoul d .

no t of cours e wan t t o t r ea t t hem harsh ly bu t w ar mus t

, , ,

m ean f or t hem the se lling of t he ir busin e ss es for what t hey

wou l d f e t ch and going home t o G e rman y In thi s way .

G e rmany wou l d los e a hold upon the trade of the wor l d

which i t has tak en he r man y y ears of t oi l t o cr eat e Think .
,

t oo of wha t G erman y has sp en t upon subsidi ze d s t eamship

,

l in e s lik e the N orth G e rman Lloyd W ar wi t h Engl an d .

mus t m ean the utt er ruin of t his gre at carry ing corporat ion .

A g ain think of the eff ec t upon G ermany s trade of the

,
’

closin g of all her port s Hamburg is one of the g rea t e s t

.

por ts of the world W ha t wou l d be i ts condi t ion if prac t ica lly

.

not a sing le ship could l eave or e n t er i t ? Bl ockade s are no

doub t v e ry di fficu l t thing s t o ma in tain s t ric tly bu t H amburg ,

is so p laced t ha t the op e rat ion wouldbe comparat ive ly e as y .

In t ru th the b l ockade of all the G erm an por t s on the B alt ic

or the N or t h S ea woul d pr e s en t li ttl e di ffi cu lty Con .

si der the effe c t on G erman y if her fl ag wer e swep t f rom the

high s eas and her port s b l ockaded S he mi gh t no t miss her .

col oni e s f or they are onl y a bu rden but the loss of her s ea
, ,
’

born e t rade would be an e quival en t to an imm ediat e fine of

at l eas t a hun dr ed mi ll ion st e rlin g In plain wo rds a w ar .
.
,

wi th G e rman y e ve n whe n con duct ed by her wi t h the u tmos t

,

wisdom and prude nce mus t me an f or her a dir e ct loss of a

,
”
t e rribly heavy kind and f or us vir t uall y no loss a t all
, .

This an it p l ea se you is not from som e pa mphl e t

, ,

o f the G e rman N a vy L e agu e but from the organ which ,

is now a p t to r e s e nt t he incr e as ed G e rman navy as

im p l y ing aggr e ssion u p on E n g la nd !
Thi s ar ti cl e written in r ep ly to a G erm an all egati on of
w as
our h el p l essness But that doe s not alt er the f ac ts thou gh the
.
,

Spec tator tak es the gr ound that the pr op er w ay to mee t G erman

“

activity i s not by ab us ing the G er m ans f or do i ng what th ey have

a right to do and what w e shoul d do in si m il ar c ircum stances
,

b u t by o u tb u il di ng t he m ( N ovem b er 2 6 ,
 2 86 T H E G REAT I LL U S I O N

Supposing that in the for egoing the r ol e s w e re

r e vers e d and the passag e s w e r e to b e r e ad by an
,

En g lishman in a G e rman pa p e r I s th e r e a sin g l e .

En g lishman anim at e d by the axiom s of ou r pr e s e nt

day stat e craft w ho would not say that it was his
count ry s first duty to alt e r so humiliatin g and so
’

intol erabl e a situation by an incr eas e o f naval arma

m e nt ? V e ry we ll G e rmans have don e it and are
, ,

doing it and w h at is t he r e sult ? Tha t ou r gr e at

,

popular p ap e rs r e p r e s e nt this fact as an ag g re ssion

u p on E n g land I s th e re not at l e ast som e justi fi ca
.

tion fo r the view h e ld by som e parti e s in G e rm any

that Englishm e n d e mand the ov e rp owe ring predom in
anc e of the British N a vy not for p u rp os e s o f d e fe nc e
, ,

but for the p urpos e of k e e ping G e rmany in p er p e tual

tut e lag e and fo r the p urpos e of continuing to b e at he r
,

in tho se di p lomatic w orld battl e s whi ch tak e plac e

without the actual ex ercis e o f forc e but wi t h only ,

the thr e at of forc e about which Admiral M ahan has

,

writt e n in the p assag e that I have quot e d ? Tak e

the for egoing p as sag e from the S p ectator showing ,

the utt e r h el p l e ssn e ss of G e rm any te n ye a rs ago ,

tog e th e r wi th the sort o f boast which lik e the follo w ,

ing one may fi nd in at l e ast som e E n g lish p a p e rs

,

Thanks t o the N avy w e are the mos t har den ed

invade rs the wor l d has e v er s e en Tak e a singl e B ri t ish
.

re gimen t at ran dom the soth ! uee n s Ow n I t s r e cords

,
’
.

show t ha t durin g the p eriod of onl y 1 3 0 ye ars i t has

f ou gh t in Canada G e rman y Corsica E gy p t D e nmark
, , , , ,

Spain France Hol l and In dia Russia and N ew Zealan d

, , , , , .

Pr e tty we l l is i t not
,

The B ri t ish Army has fou g ht in e v e ry l an d f rom China ,

t o the Ar gen t in e R epublic and f rom the H imalayas t o

,

the Cap e and N e w Ze alan d The only s e rvic e tha t the

.
2 88 THE G REAT I LL US I O N
an accusation by pointi ng ou t that G erm an s are
winning t he war of p eac e com pe tition 8 0 u nm istak
ably that it would be folly for th e m to translat e the
,

strug g l e from the ar e na o f G e rm any s att e st ed ’

su p e riority to an ar e na wh e r e t he con fl ict must at ,

any rat e be doubtf u l

, He ur g es that En g land , ou t the
.

oth e r hand is far m or e lik e l y to br e ak t he p e ac e so

,

soon as she finds he r e conomic rival t 0 be striding past '

her in tra de He urg e s that the pas t histo ry o f B riti sh

.

ri val ry with the maritim e Powe rs of the Contin e nt all

t e nds t o establish the Ssam e th eory The Pro fe ssor c on .

c lu de s with this advic e t o his count rym e n G e rman y

should se e k to e stabli sh the sam e stat e of pe ac e as t he
U nit ed Stat e s has succ ee d e d in imposing Th er e has ;

b ee n no war b e tw ee n the tw o countri es b ecau se the

B ritish have fe ar e d A m e rica have be li e ved that th e y
,

could not ho ld Ca nada e xc e pt by Am e rican forb e arance ,

and h ave no d e sire to quar re l wi t h the gr eat R e p ublic

”
u nd e r any circumstanc es .

The vi e w of Profe ssor H arms fi nds confirm ation in

that e x p r ess e d by Profe ssor D elbruck in the article from
‘
which I have alr eady quot ed Profe s so r De l bruck says :
.

The E ng li sh populat ion is di sturbed by German

industrial progr ess E n gl ish indus tr y is b eing pr ess ed
on all sides by G erman compet i tion From th ese f ac t s
.

the f e e l in g has ari s e n in E ng lan d t ha t i t is not? de s irab l e t o

wai t un t il her mari ti me as we ll as her in dus trial supr emac y
is los t , but tha t while she is s t ill mis tre ss of the seas
and is in alliance wi t h France the oppor t uni ty should be
tak en t o suppre ss G e rman y .
"

Do
‘

w e , o n t he
'

si de, fi nd any c onfi rmation of

E ng li sh ‘

the fore going su S pic io n ? U nfo rtunat e ly w e find a gr e at ,

Contemporary R evi ew Oct ob er 1 90 9 , , .

 A RMA M E N T N O T AL O N E A R MAM E N T
, 2 89

d e al Sir Edmund C C ox writ e s

. . in t he
pr e mi e r
English r ev i e w the N ineteenth Centu ry
, , for A p ri l 1 9 1 0 ,

“
Is t here no al t ernat ive t o this e ndl e ss yet fut il e
compe t i t ion in shipbu il din g ? Yes the r e is I t is one , .

which a Cromwe ll a W illiam Pi tt a P alm ers ton a D isra eli

, , , ,

would have adop t ed lon g ago This is that al t e rna tive .

the onl y possibl e conclusion I t is t o sa y to G e rmany :

.

‘
All that you have b een doing cons t i tu t e s a se ri es of
unfri endl y acts Your f air wor ds go for nothing O nce for
. .

al l you mus t put an e nd t o your warlike pr eparat ions I f

, .

w e are no t sa t isfi ed that y< u do so w e shall f ort hwi th sink

e v e ry ba tt l eshi p and cruis e r which you poss e ss The .

si t uat ion which you hav e cr eat ed is int o l e rabl e I f you .

de t ermin e t o fi gh t us if y ou insis t upon war w ar y ou shal l

, ,

have ; bu t the t ime shall be of our choosing and not of y ou rs ,

and t ha t t im e shall be now

’
.

E v e n Profe ssor Wilkin son admits that a p arty in

fav our of the p olicy outlin e d by Sir E C C ox do es . .

e xist fi The Am e rican obs e rve r D r H a

"
le w h om I have , .
,

alr e ady quot e d carri e s away the s am e im p r e ssion He

, .

s aysi
‘

The imm ediat e dan ge rs of the si t ua t ion are primaril y

f rom the English si de and ma y be sci e n ti fica l l y s tat ed as
,

consis t ing in the mor e rat ional r ealiza tion by a

de t e riorat in g p e opl e of the n ec e ssi ty of an e ar ly and swi f t
effort t o r e g ain a pr e s t i ge which is slippin g f rom th em .

Engl and doe s no t in i t s h eart of hear t s b eli eve i ts ow n

t al k of G erman y s warlike int en t ions bu t i t shiv ers w i th
’
,

awak ening consciousn ess of i ts ow n for an imme ns e

advan tag e wi ll lie wi t h the Power which lau nches the
firs t blow I t is the knowl edge of this fac t t hat mul tipli es
.

man y t ime s the lik e lihood of hos t ili t i e s : mu tual suspicion ,

which cannot affor d t o awai t ve ri fi cat ion will urge t o ,

Br itai n at B ay p , . 1 01 . 1 World s Work F ebr uary

’

, , 1 9 1 0.

19
290 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N
prior ac t ion . Englan d and G erman y will each be imp e l l ed
t o s t ri f e e v en wi thou t caus e by the conv i c t ion that the othe r
, ,

is pr e parin g t o s t r ik e .

In Vi ew of thefor egoing can anyon e hon estly say that

,

t he sh ee r savag e bulldog piling up o f the machin e ry of

war carri e s no dang e r ? I s it not on the contrary full, ,

o f da ng e r ?

It is not e w orthy that the war adv ocat e w ho flings

so r e adily at t he h e ad o f the p acifist the c h arg e o f

ignoring h uman natur e do e s so hims e lf habitually he

e xp e cts oth e r p e o p l e t o be guid e d by a motiv e which he

would n ev e r allow to affe ct his ow n conduct He knows .

p e rfe ctly w ell that if he w e r e a G e rman in the circum ,

stanc e s of the cas e he would not surr e nd e r the cont e st

m e r e ly b e caus e of the t e nacity of the o pp osing nation ;
e t h e e xp e cts the G e rman to do what he would n e v e r do
y .

E v e n Admir al Fish e r w hom I do not p lac e am ong the

,

*
J ing oe s can sp eak as follows
,

I am not for war I am f or p eac e Tha t is w hy I am

'

.
,

for a supr e m e N av y . D id I no t wri t e in your au t ograph

book a t the Hagu e The supr emac y of the B ri t ish N avy is
the b e s t s e curi ty f or the p e ac e of the wor l d ? M y sol e ’

obj e c t is p eace W ha t y ou call my t rucul ence is all f or

.

p eace I f you rub i t in bo th a t home and abroad t hat you

.

are r e a dy f or ins t an t war wi t h e v e ry uni t of y our s tren gt h in

the firs t lin e and wai t in g t o be firs t in and hi t y our en e m y in
,

the b e l l y and kick him wh e n he is down and boil your ,

prison ers in oi l (if you t ak e an y) and t ort ur e his women and

,
”
chil dr en t h en p eopl e wi l l kee p c l ear of you
, .

W e ll the fore going is simply not tru e

,
All the .

e vi de nc e that I hav e j ust quot e d shows that it is

e sp e ci ally p e rnicious w h e n a pp li e d to t he solution of
R eview of R evzew s F eb ruar y 1 9 1 0
, , .
29 2 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N

j ust s e e n and w hich if unch e ck e d will l e ad with

, , ,

ev e ry p robability t o war The th ird s olution is fo r one

.

sid e to sto p its incre a se of arm am e nt s and wait on the

action of the oth e r a s olution w hich for the v e ry r e asons
, ,

t hat r e nd e r the oth e r tw o im p racticabl e cannot be

,

look e d for Wh at th e n r e mains ?

.
, ,

B e fore coming to any m ethod a ve ry common c on

,

fusion that b ears on thi s subj ect has to be conside red .

 C H A PTE R I I
T HE RE LATI ON OF D E F E N C E I
TO AG G RE S S O N

Root of whol e probl em is the force of the motive f or aggros

the
si on—W ithout such motive the necessity f or def ence dis
appears—Simultaneity of progr ess towar ds rationali sm on
both si des of the f ence .

I N the first p art of t h i s b ook I have u rg e d that at the

root of the w hol e armam e nt diffi culty li es the th eory
that ec onomic adv antag e go es wit h the exerci se of
milita ry forc e that in oth er w ords armam e nt s exist as
, , ,

the lo g ical outcom e of t h at illusion wit h wh ic h this

book d e als .

To this c ertain o f my critics ha v e r e p li ed t h at I h av e

o ve rlook ed the fact t h at a rm s are for d efe nc e and
not for aggress ion ! E v e n the most r esp on si b l e tak e
this sa p i e nt vi ew B ut what cr eat es the n ec e ss ity for
.

d efe nc e ? Sur ely the p ro b ability of aggr ession And .

w hat cr eat e s t he p robability of aggr e ssion ? Equally

sur e ly it is the as sum p tion that t h er e is som e adv antag e
in a g gre ssion I s it n ec e ssary to u rg e that in the last
.

analysi s the d et e rmining factor of the w hol e a rmam ent

p roble m is the force of the motive f or aggressi on P
I nfantil e as it may s ound it e vid e ntly is n e c e ssary in
, ,

v i ew of muc h of the criticism which the firs t edition o f

this book pro v ok ed to dw ell u p on the re lations of d e fenc e
,

to aggre ssion The p ur p os e of armam e nts i s e it h e r to

.

29 3
294 THE G REAT I LL U S I O N

r ep e l attack or to achi e ve som e advantag e by making it ,

and in a p ractical world the lik elihood of attack is

mainly d e te rm in e d ( 1 ) by the ad v antag e which woul d
accru e from succ ess and (2) by the p robability of
,

succ e ss Both e l e m e nts are e ss ential I f it be d e mon

. .

s trat ed that no possibl e ad v antag e can be obtain e d by

a s ucc e ssful attack no one w ill make that attack We

, .

do not build fo rts at the N orth Pol e Som e y ears ago

.

the bank in a W e st e rn mining town w as fr equ e ntly

”
subj e ct e d to h old up s b ecaus e it w as known that the
,

gr e at mining com p any owning the town k ep t larg e

quantiti e s o f gold th e re for the p aym e nt of its workm e n .

The com p any th e r e for e took to p aying its w ag e s

, ,

m ainly by ch equ e on a San Francisco bank and by ,

a simpl e syste m of cl earanc e s p ractically abolish e d the

u se o f gold in consid e rabl e quantiti e s in t he mining

town in qu e stion The bank w as n ev e r attack ed

.

again .

N ow the d e monstration that g old had bee n r ep lac ed

,

by books in that bank was as muc h a work of d efe nc e as

thou g h the b ank had s p e nt t e n s o f thousands of dollars
in constructi ng forts and e a rthworks and mounting ,

Gatling guns around the to w n O f the t w o m e thods

.

o f d e f e nc e
, that of substituting ch equ e s for gold w as
infinit ely ch e a p e r and mor e effective
, .

The last forty or fifty y e ars o f cr e dit d eve lopm e nt

in Euro p e has don e fo r the Stat e s o f Europ e w hat
the manag e rs did for that bank S e izabl e w e alth has
.

be e n r ep lac e d b y uns e iz abl e cr e dit e ntri es And wh e n.

all that this fact invol ve s b ecom e s thorou g hly r e al iz ed ,

th e re will be as littl e n ee d for E urop e s e labo rat e ’

d e fe nce as th e re was for any e lab orat e d e fe nc e o f the

W este rn bank wh e n the ch e qu e syst e m was introduc e d .
296 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N

Stat e conflicts b e com e e v ery day m or e futile for its

satisfaction E ve n p utting ou t of mind the mat e rial and
.
,

assuming only se ntim e ntal o r t e m pe ram ental m oti ve s ,

the pl e a o f t he various p arti es to the ca se t h at th e ir

armam e nts are j ustifi ed not for p ur p os e s of aggr e ssion
, ,

b ut by the n e ce ssiti e s of d e fe nc e r e mains j ust as s elf

,

stultifying If e ach r e p udiate s any int e ntion of attack

.
,

and is s inc e re in that r ep udiation the n e c e ssity for

,

d e fe nc e falls to the ground .

The in v e stigation e laborat e d in the tw o p r e c e ding

parts of this book conc e rns its elf quit e as much with the
t e m p e ram e ntal or se ntim e nt al moti ves for ag g r e ssion as
w ith the mat e rial and sho w s that factors w hich are
,

clos ely alli ed to thos e o p e rati v e in the e conomic domain

are com ing mor e and m or e t o r e nd e r military conflict
be t wee n Stat e s as in effectual fo r the satisfaction o f the
p sychological as the mat e rial moti ve I t is quite t ru e
.

that the th e si s so e laborat ed only conc erns its elf with

the moti v e s for a g gr e ssion and I did not think it nec es
,

sary in the first e dition o f this book to p oint o u t that

just t o t he d eg ree to w h ich the motive for ag g re ssion is

att e nuat ed the n e c e ssity for d efe nc e is r e lax ed And
, .

if th e r e are any w ho w ould r e pro ve m e for indulging

in platitud e s o f the charact e r j ust e nlarg e d on I wish ,

I had the s p ac e to quote s om e of the criticism s w hich

the first e dition o f this book e v ok ed !
O f a like charact er to the r e mark of the Ti mes is the
criticism of the Sp ectator as follows
Mr Ang el l s m ain poin t is tha t the advan tag e s cus t om
.
’

arily associa t e d wi t h na t ional in dep e n de nc e and s ecuri ty hav e

no e x is t ence out si de the popul ar imag inat ion . He hol ds
tha t En gl ishm en woul d be e qual ly happ y if they wer e un de r
G e rman rul e and t hat G ermans woul d be e qually happy if
,
RELATI O N O F D E FE N C E To AG G RE SS I O N 297

t he y wer e under English rul e It is irrat ional th ere fore t o

. , ,

take any measur e s for pe rpe t uat ing the e x ist ing Europ ean
order since only a s e n timentalist can set an y value on i t s
,

maint enanc e .Probab ly in privat e life Mr Ang ell is l e ss .

consis t en t and le ss inc l in ed t o preach the bur g lar s g ospe l ’

t ha t t o the wis e man meum and tuum are bu t tw o nam e s f or

the sam e thing I f he is an x ious t o mak e conv er ts he wi ll
. ,

do w ell t o app ly hi s r e asonin g t o subj e ct s tha t com e n ear er

home and convince the ave rage man t ha t marriage and
,

priva t e prope rty are as much i l lusions as pa trio tism I f .

s e n tim en t is t o be banished f rom poli t ics it cannot r easonabl y ,

”
be r e tain ed in morals .

As r ep ly to t h is som e what extraordinary c riti

the
c ism is dir e ctly g e rman e to what it is important t o
make cl ear I may p e rha p s be e xcus ed for r e pro
, , ,

du c ing my l ett e r t o the S p ectator w hich w as in p a rt as,

follows
How f ar the foregoin g is a corr ec t des crip t ion of the
scop e and charact e r of the book un der r evi e w may be
g at he r e d f rom the fol l owing s tat em en t of f ac t My .

pamphl e t doe s not attack the s en t im en t of patrio tism (u nle ss

a cri ticism of the due llis t s concep tion of di gni ty be con
’

s ide red as such); i t simpl y do e s no t deal with i t as be in g ,

out side the limi t s of the main t he sis I do not hol d and th er e
.
,

is not one lin e t o which your r e vi e wer can poin t as j us t i fy in g

such a conclusion that Engl ishm en wou l d be e qua l ly happ y if
,

they we re un der G erman ru l e I do not conc l u de tha t i t is

.

irra tional t o t ak e meas u r e s f or p erp e tua t ing the ex is t ing

Europ ean or der I do not e x pos e the folly of s e lf de fence
.
-

in na t ions I do not obj e ct t o S p en din g mon ey on armam en t s

’
.

at t his j unct ure O n the con trary I am part icular ly

.
,

e mphat ic in de clarin g t ha t whi l e the pr e s en t philosoph y is

wha t i t is w e are boun d t o main tain our r ela ti ve posi t ion wi th

,

o ther Powers I admi t tha t as lon g as t her e is dan ge r as I

.
,

be l i e v e t her e is from G erman aggre ssion w e must arm I

, , .
29 8 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
do not preach a burgl ar s gosp el that meum and tu um are the
’

sam e t hin g and the whol e t endency of my book is the e x ac t

,

r e vers e i t is t o show t ha t the bu r gl ar s gosp e l— whi ch is the ’

g osp el of s ta t ecraf t as i t now s t an ds —is no longer possib l e

amon g nat ions and t ha t the diff erence betw e en m um and
,

tuu m mus t n ec e ssaril y as soci e ty gains in complicat ion be

, ,

g iv e n a s t rict e r obs ervanc e t han i t has eve r he r e t ofor e been

g iv e n in his t ory I do not urge that se n t imen t shoul d be
.

banished f rom poli t ics if by s ent imen t is mean t the common

,

morali ty t hat gui de s us in our trea tmen t of marriag e and of

privat e prop e rty The whol e ton e of m y book is t o urge
.

wi t h all possibl e emphasis the e xac t r e vers e of such a

doc t r in e ; t o ur g e t ha t the m orali ty which has b ee n by our
n ec essi t i e s deve l op e d in the soci ety of indivi duals mus t also
be app l i ed t o the soci ety of na t ions as t ha t soci ety b ecome s
b y vir t ue of our deve l opmen t mor e in t erdep enden t .

“ I hav e onl y t ak en a small port ion

of y our r e vi ewer s
’

art icle (which runs t o a who l e pag e) and I do not t hink I am ,

e x agg erat in g wh en I sa y t ha t n ear ly all of i t is as unt ru e and

as much a dis t ort ion of wha t I r eally say as the passag e f rom
which I have quot ed What I do att emp t t o mak e plain is
.

that the n e ce ssi ty f or de fenc e measur es (which I comp l e t e ly

r ecogni ze and emphat icall y couns e l) impli e s on the par t of
someon e a mot iv e f or aggr ession and tha t the mot iv e aris e s
,

f rom the ( at pr e s e n t ) univ ersal b eli ef in the e conomic

advan tage s accruing f rom succe ss fu l conqu e s t .

I chall enged thi s univ ersal axiom of s t ate craf t and ,

att e mp t ed t o show t hat the m echanical de velopmen t of the

l as t t hirty or f or ty y ears esp e ci ally in the me ans of com
,

m u nic ation hadg iv e n ris e t o c e rt ai n economic phenome na

,

of which re ac t in g bours e s and a s ynchroni ze d b ank ra t e

- -

t he worl d ov er are p e rhaps the mos t charac t eris t ic —which

r en der mo dern w ealt h and t rade in t an g ibl e in the s e ns e that
they cannot be s eized or int e rf er ed wi t h t o the advan t ag e of a
mi l i t ary aggr essor the moral be ing not t ha t s e l f def ence is
, ,
-

out of dat e bu t t hat aggr e ssion is and t hat when aggre ssion
, ,

c eas e s s e l f def ence wi l l be no longer n ec essar y

,
-
I urg e d .
,
3 00 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N
s pendin g mon ey on armamen t s whil e the pr e sen t philosophy
is wha t i t is ( 4) The s tr e ss laid in the book on the
’
.

e conomic f oll y of pa trio t ism as com monl y un de rs t ood do e s

, ,

s e em t o m e t o sugge s t t ha t s en timen t shoul d be banished

‘

f rom poli ti cs B u t I admi t t hat t his w as only an in f erence

’
. .

t hou gh as I s t ill thi nk a fair infer enc e (5) I apologi ze f or

, , .

the wor ds the bur gl ar s gospe l They have the fault ih

‘ ’ ’
.

”
e i de nt to rh e t orical phr ases of be ing mor e t ellin g t han e x ac t .

This r ej oind e r as a m att e r o f fact still r ev e als the

, ,

confusion w hich p rom p t ed the fi rs t criticism B ecaus e .

I urg ed that G e rmany could do u s r e lati v ely littl e h arm ,

s inc e the harm w hich she inflict e d o n u s w ould im

m ediat e ly r eact on G e rman p ros p e rity my critic assum es ,

that this is e qui v al e nt t o s aying that E nglishm e n would

be as ha pp y o r as p ros p e rou s und e r G e rman r u l e He .

quit e o ve rlook s the fact that if G e rmans are con v inc ed

that th ey w ill o b tain no be n efit by ou r conque st th ey
w ill not att e m p t that conqu es t and th e r e will be no ,

qu estion of ou r living und e r G e rm an r u l e eith e r l ess or

mor e ha p pily or p ros p e rously As to the critic s s econd
.
’

p oint I hav e ex p r es sly e x p lain ed t h at not ou r ri v al s

,
’

r e al int e r e st but w hat he d ee m s to be his r eal int e r e st

m ust be the guid e t o ou r conduct M ilita ry forc e is .

c e rtainly e conomically futil e but s o long as G e rm an

,

p olicy r ests o n the a ss umption of the s u pp os e d e conomic

v alu e of m ilitary forc e w e have to m ee t t h at forc e by
,

the only forc e that c an r e p ly t o it .

E ve n if the infe r e nce s which my critic dra ws we r e

tru e on e s w hic h for the most part th ey are not he still
, ,

ove rlooks one im p ortant e l e m e nt I f it w e re tru e that .

“ ”
the book invol ve s the folly of p atriotism how is that ,

in any way r el e vant to the di scuss ion sinc e I also urg e ,

that nations are j ustifi ed in p rot ectin g even th e ir folli e s

R E L ATI ON O F D E FE N C E T O AG G RE S S I O N 30 1

against the attack of oth e r nation s ? I may re gard the

Christian Sci e ntists or the S eve nth D ay Adve ntists
, ,

o r the S p iritu a lists as v e ry foolis h p eo p l e and to

, ,

som e e xt ent mischi ev ou s p e o p l e ; but we r e an Act

o f Parliam e nt introduc ed for th e ir su pp r ession by
p hysical forc e I s h o u ld r e sist such an act with all the
,

e n e rgy of w h ic h I w as ca p abl e . I n w hat way are the

tw o attitud e s contradictory ? I t is the attitud e I tak e
,

it of educat ed m en the world o ve r The fact has no

, .

im p ortanc e and it hardly be ars on thi s subj ect but

, ,

I regard c e rtain English conc ep tions of life be aring on

matt e rs of law and social habit and p olitical ph iloso p hy
, , ,

as infinit ely p r efe rabl e to the G e rman and if I thought

,

that such conc e p tion s d e m and e d d e fe nc e ind e finit ely by

gre at armam e nts thi s book w ould n eve r h av e b ee n
writte n But I tak e the vi e w that the id e a of suc h
.

n ec e ssity is bas e d on a com p l et e illusion not only

,

b e caus e as a m atte r of p r es e nt day fact and e ve n in the

-
,

p re s ent stat e of p olitical philoso p hy G erm any has not

t he l e ast int e ntion of going to w ar w ith us t o chan ge
ou r notions in la w o r lit e ratur e art o r soci a
, l organiza
tion but also b e cau se if she had suc h notion it w ould
,

be found e d u p on illusions wh ich she w o uld be bound

so on e r or lat e r to sh e d and I s h ould r egard it as muc h
,

a p art of the work o f d e fe nc e to show G e rman s how

mischi ev ous and futil e th eir d esir e to d e stroy ou r moral
p rop e rty was as it would be pa rt of ou r d e fe nc e to go
o n building battl e shi p s until G e rmany had r ealiz e d t h at

truth .

A gr eat p art of the misconc e p tion j ust d ealt with

aris e s from a hazily conc e i ve d f ear that ide as lik e thos e
e mbodi e d in t h is book may att e nuat e ou r e n e rgy o f

d e fe nce and that w e shall be in a w eak e r position

,
3 02 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

r e latively to ou r ri v als than w e w e re be fore But this .

ove rlooks the fact that if the p rogr e s s of id eas w e ak e ns

ou r e n e rgi e s of d e f e nc e it also w eak e n s ou r ri v al s e n e rgy
’
,

o f attack , and the str e ngth of ou r r e lativ e position s

is just what it w as originally with this e xc e ption that w e
, ,

have tak e n a st ep to w ards p eac e inst e ad of a st e p

toward s war wh ich the m e r e p iling up of armam e nt s
,

unch e ck e d by any oth e r factor mu st in the e nd in e vitably

l e ad to .

It is tru e of cours e that critics lik e tho se whom

, ,

I hav e j ust quot e d fee l (hazily also ) that the p rogres s of

id e as which may weake n ou r e n e rgy of d efe nc e w ill not
we ak e n the e n e rgy of attack on the p art of Ou r ri val to
a corr e s p onding d egree But such a conclusion ignor e s
.

all histo ry as c e rtain fact s alr eady touch ed u ponfi and

,
"

oth e rs d etail ed in the n ext chap t e r mak e suffi ci e ntly

p lain .

S e e pp 1 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
.
- - - - - -
.
39 4 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N
hundr ed articl e s w hich have a pp ear e d in Gre at B ritain
*
alon e .

I n s h ee r b ulk th e r e fore the discu s sion p ro v ok e d in

, ,

the E nglish Pr e ss by t he th e sis h e re p re s e nt e d has be e n

ve ry larg e running in som e cases to whol e p age s of
,

im p ortant n ews p ap e rs Yet in a v ery few cas e s only

.
,

ce rt ainly not more t h an s ix at t he most has th e re be e n ,

any att e m p t at dir e ct r ebuttal of t he main e conomic

principl e—a r ebutt al made that is w ith su ffici e nt d e tail
, ,

and de fi nite ness to allow of discussion of any kind t .

Ye t t he th es i s is c ontrov e rsi al e noug h in all con sci e nc e ;

it run s full tilt at the ve ry foundation s of orthodox
s tat es manshi p I t aim s at the v e ry basic dogma upon
.

w h ic h re st all ou r di plomatic allianc es and all t he

j uggl e ry of the chance ll e ri e s N e ve rth e l e ss for the most
.
,

p art its d efinit e p ro p osition s in the midst of all this ,

di scu ssion simply r e main undiscuss e d

, .

N ow it m ay be urge d of cours e that t he th e sis is so

, , ,

They are t ak en f rom am ong o ther pap ers the f o ll owi ng The
, ,

Tim es, the M orning P ost, the D ai ly Mail, the D aily Chronicle, the
D ai ly N ew s, th e Morning L eader, the F i nanci al Tim es, the Fi nancier,
the F inancial N ew s, the Westm inster G azette, the E veni ng S tandard,
the Spectator, the N ation, the Ou tlook, the Tatler, the Observer, the
Onlooker, th e N ew Age, the Weekly D i spatch, TP s Weekly , P u blic
’
. .

Opi nion, the E conom ist, the I nvestor s R evi ew , y ohn B u ll, the
’

World, the B ritish Weekly , the B ritish Working Man, the Clarion,
the L abou r L eader, the Christian World, th e Christian G lobe, the
B road Arrow , the M ethodis t R ecorder, the Uni ted M ethodist, the
Catholic Tim es, the G lasgow Herald, the S cotsman, the Manchester
G u ardian, and practi cally all the provinc i al daili es , the ! u arterly
Revi ew , the E dinbu rgh, the R evi ew of R evi ew s, World s Work,
’

the Westm inster R eview —ih other wor ds, a very r epr esen tative
lis t
.

t The defi nit e poi nts i n each

criti cisms I have i n mi nd
of the ,

those of the S pectator the Tim es the D aily Mail and a c orrespon
, , ,

dent of the E conom ist and P u blic Opinion have all b een dealt with ,

(sec r esp ectively pp 6 7 8 9 70 1 74 5 2 9 56 7 8)

, ,
- - -
,
-
,
- - -
 M ET H O D S 3 05

p re p oste rous as to be se lf cond e m n ed thus the sil e nc e

-

conc e rning the m ai n p rincipl e B ut in that cas e if it .

,

is as p re p ost e rous as all that if it stand s elf conde mn ed

,
-
,

wh y all this discussion ? And still mor e significantly ,

if its foolishn e ss is so ev ide nt to all minds why are my ,

critics at such p ains to p ro ve that m e n are illogic al and

uncontroll ed by r eason and so littl e a p t to guid e the ir
,

conduct by wi se rule s ? F or p ractically all that are o f

h ostile int e nt (the p ro p ortion of th e s e has be e n ve ry
much small e r th an I had dare d to think p ossibl e) bas e
th e ir opposition not only on t he pl ea that though the
,

fac t s h e re ex p os e d may be tru e the G e rman E mp e ror ,

”
has not bee n con ve rt e d or that Europ e ge n e rally is
,

unr ege n e rat e o r that nations are still ve ry ignorant on

,

th e s e matt e rs but in addi tion that m e n are not

, , ,

gove rn e d by logic or reason and that thos e qualiti e s ,

are always in dang e r of b e ing sw am md by t he non

rational el e m e nt in us by sh ee r im p uls e oft e n b y a
, ,

non rational p atriotism which conqu e rs int e r e st and

-

som e tim e s conqu e rs morality Thus the S pectator .

For ours elv es as f ar as the mai n e conomic proposi t ion

,

goe s he pr eache s t o the conv ert ed

, I f na t ions w ere .

p er f ect l y wis e and held p er f ect ly sound economic theori e s ,

t he y woul d r ecogn iz e that ex chan ge is the un ion of forc es ,

and t ha t i t is v ery f oolish t o hat e or be j ea l ous of yo u r

c o op era t ors
-
. W e are absolut ely convinced t ha t
”
burgl ar y is the poor e st of all t rade s .

What th e n if the main p ro positions are j ust is

, , , t he
basis of the criticism ? I t is that t h ough
‘
w e not accus e the G e rman pe opl e of b e in g a na tion
do
of bur g lars—t h e y are an yt hin g bu t t ha t — unfort una t e ly the ,

dominan t and g ov e rnin g cas t e in G erm an y has as w e hav e ,

3 06 T HE G R EAT I LLU S I O N
s t at ed abov e not b een conv er t e d t o Mr Ang ell s vi ews t ru e
, .
'

”
as t hey may be bu t hol ds e x actly the opposi t e opinion
,
.

And also that

Me n not mer e ly mon ey makin g machin es but
are -
,

cr e at ure s imp e lle d by moral mot ive s using the wor d of , ,

cours e in i t s wi de s t s ense
, Som et ime s a passion for .

e x pansion or domina t ion com e s ov e r t h em ; som e t im e s t h e y

s ee m imp el l ed t o figh t f or fi ghting s sak e or as t he ir l eaders ’

, ,

and rh e t oricians vagu e ly sa y t o f ulfil th e ir de s t ini e s , .

Men are savage bloodt hirs ty cr eat ur e s

, and wh e n th e ir
b l oo d is up will fight f or a wor d or a si gn or as Mr Angel l , , .

”
would pu t i t f or an i llusion
, .

C riticism at the o t h e r e nd of the j ournalistic scal e

that for instanc e from M r Blatchford —is of an exactly
, , .

similar charact e r M r Blatchford says . .

Mr Ange l l may be righ t in his con t ent ion t ha t modern

.
‘

war is unprofi t ab l e t o bo th b el l i g erent s I do no t b e l i e ve i t .

,

but he may be ri ght B ut he is wron g if he imag in e s t ha t

.

his th eory wi l l pr e v en t Europ ean war To pre v en t Europ e an .

wars i t ne eds mor e t han the trut h of his t heory : i t n e eds

t hat the war lords and dip l omat is t s and financi ers and
work ers of Europ e shal l b e l i e ve the t h eory For u n t il .

t he s e m en are f ully convinced that war wi ll bring no

advan t age t o the vict or war will con t inu e t o be as C laus e
, ,

wi tz say s a part of policy So lon g as the rul e rs of nat ions

, .

b e li e ve t hat war may be e x p edi en t (se e Clau s ewi t z) and so ,

”
long as t hey b e l i e v e t hey have the power w ar wi l l con t inue , .

Th e r e for e this bo ok is futil e ; for that of cours e is , ,

t he plainly impli e d conclusion .

N ow t he author is not ur g ing disarmam e nt o r e v e n

, ,

re duction of armam e nt until ge n e ral opinion in t he,

cou ntri e s conc e rn e d mak e s it safe so that the warning ,

has no force o n that scor e He is urging that the only .

3 08 T HE G REAT I LLU S I O N

irration alism ; therefore w e shall do nothing to

re nd e r insi g ht cl e ar and w e ll de fi ne d -
.

The e m p ire of sh ee r imp uls e of the non rational ,

-
,

is strong e st wh e n as sociat ed w ith ignoranc e

M oh am m e dan fanaticism C hin e s e Boxe rism ) , ,

and only yi elds to the ge n e ral progre ss of id eas

(e sound e r r e li g ious notions s we e ping away t he
hat e and horrors o f r e ligious p ers ecution ) therefore ,

t he b e st way t o maintain p e ac e is t o p ay no att e n

tion to the pro g re ss of political id e as .

The p rogr e ss of id e a h as com p l e t ely trans

s
form e d r eligious f ee ling i n so far as it se ttl e s the
policy of one r eligious group in r e lation to anoth e r ;
therefore the progr e ss of i de as will n e v e r t ransforiri
p atriotic fee ling which s ettl e s t he p olicy of one
,

political group in r e lation to anoth e r .

What in sho rt do e s t he argum ent of my c ritics

, ,

amount to ? Thi s : that so slow so stupid is the world ,

that though t he facts may be unassailabl e th ey w ill

, ,

n ev e r be l e arn e d within any p e riod that n ee d conc ern

Without in the l e ast d e siring to scor e off my critics ,

As I corr ect these proof s I r ec e ive f rom a corr espondent the

l eadi ng ar ti cl e c ut f rom an eveni ng pap er ( the E vening N ew s) i n ,

whi ch preci sely the p l ea that I am deali ng with is put i n the f orm
of a di al og u e b e tw e en Mars and P e ac e Mars urges that t her e i s .

one w ay of ge tting rid of the passi ons which mak e w ar

How shall I do that i as k ed P eace ’

.

Mars s m il e d grim ly I don t thin k you would car e f or the

.
‘ ’

j ob he sai d
,
’
.

B u t I c an b e very b rave in a good cause sai d P eace ’

, ,

e ag er ly Te ll m e what I must do
’
. .

W ell sai d Mars I should b egin by exterminating the human

,
’

Yes, y ou woul d, said P eac e but I shall b ett er I shall

’
do .

educat e them
’
.

Than k goo dn ess, sai d Mars,

’
with a sigh then I m saf e for
‘ ’

another thou sand years at l eas t .

’
 M ET HO D S 3 09

and still l es s to be discourt e ous I som etim es wonde r

,

it has n eve r struck th e m t hat in the e ye s of the

p rofan e this attitud e of th e irs must a pp e ar r eally as a
most colo ssal vanity We w ho writ e in n ew s p a p e rs
.

“ ”
and re vi e ws unde rstand t he se things ; w e c an be
guid e d by r eason and wisdom but the common clay ,
“ ”
will not see th ese truths for t h ousand s of years I .

talk to the con vert e d (so I am told) wh e n my book is

re ad by the e ditors and revie w e rs They of cou rse can .
, ,

und e rstand ; but the notion that m er e di p lomats and

stat e sm e n the m e n w ho make u p Gove rnm e nts and
,

nations should ev e r do so is of cours e quit e too

, , ,

p r ep ost erous .

P e rsonally h o weve r flatt ering thi s notion mig h t be I

, ,

ha ve n eve r be e n abl e t o fee l its soundn e ss I h ave always.

h
strongly fe lt t e p r ecis o pp o it
e s e— nam ely that what is ,

p lain to m e will v e ry s oon be equally p lain to my n e i g h

bour Poss e ssing p r e sumably as much v anity as m ost I
.
,

am n eve rth el e ss absolut ely con vinc e d that sim p l e facts

, ,

w hic h star e an ordina ry busy man of affairs in the fac e

are not going to be f or e ve r b id from the multitud e .

“ ”
D e p e nd u p on it if w e can see th e s e t h ings so can
, ,

the m e r e stat e sm e n and di p lomats and t h os e w ho do

the w ork o f the world .

I do not p r et e nd of cour se t h at m ultitu d e s are not

, ,

sw aye d by sh ee r i rrational p assion or that it is much ,

good p ointing ou t e ven the p lain e st facts at the h e i g ht

o f a war f ev e r But e ve rybody is not always at a feve r
.

p oint of irrationalism A chang e of O p inion wh ich

.

would a dmitt edly be quit e im p ossibl e at the z enith of

p atriotic trans po rt is quit e p ossibl e and feasibl e wh e n
the Maffic ke r is onc e more cloth e d and in his right
m ind ; and what he w ill l earn in his lucid int e rv als w ill
310 TH E G REAT I LLU S I O N

att e nuat e the v iol e nc e of his outbursts e ven if it do e s ,

not obviat e th e m altog e th e r .

I have o f cours e alr e ady d ealt with t he p l ea t h at it

, ,

“ ”
tak e s thousands of y e ar s to modify id e a s and fee ling ,

whic h are the factor s of m e n s conduct I n this con ’

.

nec tion I w ould r e call only one incid e nt t h at I have

cit e d : a sc e n e p aint ed by a S p anish artist of the Cou rt

and nobl e s and po p ulac e i n a gr eat Euro p e an city ,

gath e re d on a public h oliday as for a fe stival to see

a b e autifu l child burn e d to d e at h for a faith that as ,

it p lainti v e ly said it h ad sucke d in with its moth e r s

,
’

milk .

How long se parat es u s from that sc e n e ? W h y not ,

t he li ve s of thr ee ordinarily e ld e rly p e o p l e And how .

long aft e r that sc e n e — whic h was not an isolat e d

incid e nt of u ncom m on kind but a v e ry e ve ryday ,

m att e r ty p ical of the id e as and f eelings of the ti me at

,

—
which it was e nact e d w as it be for e the r e n ewal of
such be cam e a p ractic al im p ossibility ? I t w as not ~

a hundr e d years I t was e nact e d i n 1 6 80 and within

.
,

t he s p ac e of a short lif e tim e t he world k ne w that n e v e r

agai n would a child be burn ed alive as the r e sult of a
l eg al cond e m nation by a d u ly constitut ed Court and as ,

a public fe stival witn e ss e d by the King and the nobl es

,

and the p op ulac e in o ne of the gr e at citi e s o f Euro p e

, .

“
O r do thos e w ho t alk of unchanging human nature
,

“
and thousands of y e ars r e ally pl e ad that w e are in
dang e r of a r e p e tition of such a sce n e ? I n t hat cas e
o u r r e ligious tol e ration is a mistak e Pr ot e stants stand
.

in dang e r of s uch tortur e s and should arm th e m s e lve s

,

with the Old armoury of r e ligious combat—the rack the ,

thumbscr e w the iron maid e n and the r e st — as a

, ,

m att e r of s h e e r p rot e ction .

31 2 T H E G REAT I LL U S I O N

hims elf by the I nqui sition against what be r egard e d as

the dang e rous intrigu es of the Prot e stant was prot e ct ,

ing wh at b e r e gard e d not m e re ly as his ow n soci al and

political s e curity but t he e t e rnal salvation he b e li e v ed of
, , ,

unborn m illions of m en Yet he surr e nd e r e d such instru

.

m e nts of d e fe nc e and finally Catholic and Prot e stant

,

alik e cam e t o s ee that the pe ac e and s e curi ty o f both w e re

far b e tt e r assur e d by this intangibl e thing—the ri g ht
i deas of m e n— t h an by all the m e chanical ing e nuity o f
p ri sons and torture s and burnings which it w as possibl e
t o d e vis e
. I n lik e mann e r w ill the p atriot com e finally
t o se e that b ett e r than D readnoughts w ill be the r e cog
nit ion on his p art and o n t he p art o f his p ros p e ctiv e

e n e my that th e r e is no int e r e st mat e ri al o r mo ral in

, ,

conqu e st and military domination .

And that hundr e d ye ars which I h ave m e ntion ed as

r e p r e s e nting an a pp ar e ntly im p assabl e gulf in the
progre ss of Euro p e an i deas a p e riod which mark e d an
,

e volution so gr e at that t he v e ry m ind and natur e o f

m e n s e e m e d to chang e was a hundr e d y e ars without

,

n e ws p ap e rs almost without books a tim e in which

, ,

books w e r e such a rarity that it took a g e n e ration for

o ne t o trav e l from M adri d to London ; in which the

st e am p rinting pr e ss did not e xist nor the railroad nor

, ,

the t e l e gra p h nor any of thos e thousand co nt rivanc es

,

which now mak e it p ossibl e for the words of an English

stat e sman s p ok e n t o ni g ht to be r e ad by sixty million
-

G e rmans to morro w morning—to do in sho rt mor e

-
, ,

in the way of the diss emination of id e as in ten

months th an was possibl e t h e n in a c e ntury .

Wh e n things move d so slowly a g e n e ration or tw o

,

su ffice d to transform t he mind of Europ e on the

r e ligious sid e Why should it be im p ossibl e to change
.
 M ETH O D S 31 3

that mind on the p olitic al sid e in a g e n eration or h alf ,

a ge n e ration wh e n things m o v e so much more quickly ?

,

Are m e n l e s s dispos e d to change th e ir p olitical than

th e ir r eligious o p inion s ? We all know t hat not to be
the cas e I n e ve ry country in Euro p e w e find political
.

parti e s advocating or at l east acqui e scing in po lici e s

, ,

which th ey stre nuously o pp os e d ten years ago D o e s .

the ev id e nc e av ailabl e go to show t h at the p articular

sid e of p olitics with whic h w e are d ealing is notably
mor e im p e rviou s to c h an g e and d e velopm e nt than the
r e st— l e ss within the re ach and influ e nc e of new id eas ?
I mu st risk h e r e the r ep roach of egotism and bad
tast e to call att e ntion to a fact w hic h be ars m or e
dir e ctly on that p oint p e rh a p s than any oth e r t h at
, ,

could be cit ed .

I t is som e fift ee n years sinc e it first stru ck m e t h at

c e rtain economic fact s of ou r ci vilization r eacting -

bours e s a synchroniz e d bank rat e in all the economic

,

cap it als of t he world and so on— w ould soon forc e

,

u p on the att e ntion of m en a p rinci p l e w hich though ,

e xisting fo r long p ast in so m e d e gr ee in h uman a ff airs ,

had not b e com e O p e rati ve to any e xt ent b ecaus e th e r e

,

we r e no sim p l e dram atic visibl e factors such as ,

thos e w h ich I ha ve m ention e d (the r e sult aft e r all

, ,

of the m e chanical p rogr e s s o f the la st thirty o r forty

years) to bring it hom e vi vidly to t h e m Was th e r e

,
.

any doubt as to the re ality of the mat erial facts i h

volve d ? Circumstanc e s of my occu p ation h ap p ily
furnish ed op portuniti e s of discu ssing the matt e r
thoroughly with banke r s and stat e sm e n of w orld wi de -

authority Th e re was no doubt o n that scor e H ad

. .

w e y e t arriv e d at the point at w hich it was possibl e t o

mak e the m att e r p lain to ge n e ral O p inion ? W e re

31 4 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

politicians too ill educat e d on the r e al fact s o f the

-

world to o much absorb e d in t he rou g h and tumbl e o f

,
- -

workaday p olitic s to change old id e as ? W e r e th ey and ,

the rank and fi le still t oo e nslav e d by t he hy p notism of

,

an Obsol e t e t e rm inolo g y t o acc e p t a new v i e w ? O ne

could only put it to a practical t e st A bri e f exposition .

of the cardinal p rinci p l e s was e mbodi e d in a bri e f

pam p hl e t and publish e d obscure ly without ad ve rtis e

m e nt and b e aring n e c e ssarily an unknown nam e The
, , , .

r e sult w as all consid e red startling and c e rtainly did

, , ,

not j ustify i n the l e ast the p l e a that th e re e xists uni

v e rsal hostility to the advanc e of p olitical rationalism .

E ncourage m e nt cam e from most u nlook e d for quart e rs -

p ublic m e n whos e int e r e sts had b ee n mainly military ,

all ege d J ingo e s and e ve n from soldi e rs The m or e

, .

consid e rabl e e dition has a pp ear e d in E n g lish G e rman , ,

Fr e nch D utch D anish Sw e dish S p anish Italian

, , , , ,
‘

Russi an and J apan e s e

,
Editions are in p r e paration
.

in Turkish P e rsian and H industani , and all so far

, ,

e mbark e d on as p ure ly com m e rcial und e rtakings .

N owh e r e has the Pre s s compl e t ely ignore d the book .

Pap e rs of Lib e ral t e nd e nci e s hav e w elcom e d it eve ry

wh e r e Thos e oi mor e r eactionary t e nd e nci e s have
.

be e n much l e ss h ostil e than one could hav e exp e ct ed * .

I not desir e i n the l east of cou rse t o cr eat e the i m pr essi on

do
that I r egar d the tru ths here e l ab orat ed as m y di scovery as ,
”

thou gh no one had wor k e d i n this fi e l d b efor e P rop erly S p eaki ng .

,

there i s no such thing as pr i ority in i deas The i nt er dep endence

.

of p eop l e s w as procl ai m e d by phil osoph ers t hr ee thou sand y ears

ago The F r ench school of pac ifi sts—P assy F olli n Yves G u yot
.
, , ,

de Moli nar i and E stou rnelles de C onstant have don e sp l endi d

,
-

wor k i n th1s fi el d : b u t no one of them so f ar as I know has , ,

undertak en the wor k of t esti ng i n detail the p oliti co econom i c -

orthodoxy by the pr i ncip l e of the e conom i c futility of m ilitary

f orc e ; by bringing that pri nci p l e to b ear on the everyday
31 6 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N
civilization are tho se t h at r e sult from a r ev olution of id eas .

I n the abs e nc e of such the mor e it chang e s the mor e

,

it is the sam e t h ing and in the abs e nc e of such one

,

may r e mak e the m ap of Euro p e and in a short tim e ,

w e should be starting the sam e old w e a ry p roc e ss o ve r

again That ind ee d is the histo ry of t he att e m p t to

.
, ,

se ttl e thi s thing by forc e D ynamit e said the lat e

.
,

h e ad of the Rus sian H oly Synod is almost innocuous ,

”
compare d wit h the d e structive forc e of a new id e a .

And the d efe nd e r of the old ord e r in Ru ssia and the ,

l e ad e r of thos e fighting against the new w as p robably ,

as good a j udg e of the forc e bot h of new id e a s and

dynamit e as any man in Euro p e .

I am a w ar e of cours e of the r elati v e failur e of p eace

, ,

m o ve m e nt s in the p ast but think that failure c an be

,

e x p lain e d by tw o cardinal e rror s : ( 1 ) The hy notism

p
o f the short cut -
the d e si r e t o bring about formal
'

agre em e nt s b etw ee n ri v al gov e rnm e nts whil e y et Op1 n1on

be hind thos e go ve rnm e nt s is an imat e d by the se ns e of
ri v alry still strong with the fee ling that in military
,

force r e sid e s lat ent o r p ositi v e ad v antag e ; and (2) the

att e mpt to r eform opinion by a pp eal to an abstract
p ri ncipl e the j ustification for which is fe lt to be mainly
,

m oral .

As to the fir st p oint it is h ardly to be e x p ect e d

, ,

w hil e p olitical p hiloso ph y r e main s w h at it is and w hil e ,

diplomacy acc ep ts it as an axiom that the p o we r and

p rid e and p ro sp e rity of a State r e sts u p on its arms ,

that agre em e nts will l e ad to anything mor e than a

t e m p orary ch e cking of the rat e of incr eas e or a sli g ht
diminution of the w e ight w hich Europ e carri e s Such .

agr ee m e nts can only s er ve t o k eep armam ent s j ust b elo w

the b r e aking p oint -
N ot b y su c h m eans h av e the for
.
 M ETH O D S 31 7

ward st ep s of the past be e n take n The struggl e for

.

r eligious fr e edom w as not gain e d by agree m e nts drawn

u p b et wee n Catholic Stat e s and Prot e stant Stat e s o r ,

e v e n b e t w e e n Cat h olic bodi es and Prot e stan t bodi e s .

N o suc h p roc e ss w as p o ssibl e for in the las t r e sort

,

th e r e was no suc h thing as an ab solut e ly Catholic

Stat e or an a b solut ely Prot estant one O ur se cu rity.

from p e rs ecution is du e sim p ly to the g e n e ral r e cog

nitio n o f t he futility o f the e m p loym e nt of p hysical

forc e in a matt er of r eli g iou s b eli e f O ur progre ss

.

towards p olitical rational ism w ill tak e plac e in lik e

mann e r .

Fr e nch p olitics h av e gi ve n u s this p ro v e rb : I am

the l e ad e r th e r efor e I follow
, . This is not m e r e
cynicism but e x p r e ss es in r e ality a p rofound t ruth
, .

What is a l ead e r in a mod e rn Parliam e ntary s e ns e ?

He is a m an w ho holds offi c e by v irtu e o f the fact that
he r e pre s e nt s t he m e an of o p inion in his p arty I nitiati ve .
,

th er efor e cannot com e from him until he can be sur e

o f the su pp o rt o f his party—that is until the initiative
,

in qu e stion r e p r e s e nts the com mon O p inion o f suc h

party I t ha pp e n ed t o the author to discuss the vi e ws
.

e mbodi ed in this book with a Fr e nc h Parliam e ntary

“
chi e f w ho said in effe ct : O f cours e you are talking
, ,

to t he con v e rt e d but I am h elpl e ss

, Su pp os e that I
.

att e m p t ed to embody th ese v i ew s b efor e th ey w e r e

r e ady for acc ep tanc e by my p arty I should sim p ly.

los e my l e ad e rshi p in fa v our of a man l e s s o p e n to new

id eas and the p ros p e ct of the acce p tanc e of s uch w ould
,

be not incr e as e d but diminish e d

, .E v e n if I we r e not
alr e ady con v e rt ed it w ould be no g ood trying t o con ve rt
,

me . Con v e rt the b ody of the p arty and its l e ad e rs wi ll

,
”
not n ee d con v e rsion .
318 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N

That sur ely is the position more o r l e ss of eve ry party

, ,

l e ad e r throughout t he world .

What p r e ve nts the anti a g gr e ssionist party in G e rman y

-

k e e pin g in ch e ck the shipbuil ding t e nd enci e s of th e ir

Gove rnm e nt ? I t is mai nly tw o things : ( 1 ) Th ey cannot
be sur e that the B ritish Gove rnm e nt w ill always be c on
troll e d by the non aggressionists ; th ey c an only m ak e
-

a mor e or l e ss goo d gu e ss ; and th e y are oblig e d to

a dmit with the G e rman jingoe s that national s e curity
must not be found ed o n gu e ss e s ( 2 ) Th ey cannot g ive
.

effe ct t o what th e y f e e l w ithout b e ing e xpos e d t o the

charg e of in di ff e r e nc e to national s e curity Th e s e tw o

.

factors giv e the alarmists o n both sid e s the last w ord ,

and plac e the situation i n the last r e so rt in th e ir

b ands I n t he O ctob e r ( 1 9 09 ) numb e r of t he D eu tsche
.

R evue a pp e ar e d an article by a r e tir ed G e rman o ffi cial ,

H e rr von Rath de tailing som e re m inisc enc es o f H e rr

'

vo n H olst e in which S how cl e arly that e v e n in G e rm any

,

the principl e which I ha v e j ust i ndicat e d works in this

ridiculous fashion Eve n the l ead e rs Of G e rman p olicy
.
,

in clos e touch with the G e rman Go v e rnm e nt are hostil e ,

to the policy o f armam e nt aggrandiz e m e nt and t he ,

p arti e s which support th e s e l ead e rs or at l e ast the

,

abs e nc e o f whos e acti ve hostility e nabl e s th e m to carry

o n the gov e rnm e nt are e qu ally hostil e t o aggran diz e
,

m e nt ; but the alarm ist e l em ent ( it m ay be quit e

small but noisy and active ) p ush p arty and leaders ‘

alik e into a p olicy t o w hich th ey are o p pos e d ! Th er e

is a law in e conomics known as t he Gr e sham Law .

Wh e r e good and bad coin are in circulation tog e th e r ,

it is the good coin which disap p ears b e caus e p e o p l e try

,

always to p a y th e ir d ebts in the worst ; in oth e r words ,

t he bad coin driv e s o u t the good Som ething similar

.
3 29 THE G REAT I LLU S I O N
The dang er of war b e tw een G e rmany on the one ,

han d and Englan d and Franc e on the o th er is eve n t o

, , ,

day p l ayin g a part in the pol i t ical calcu lat ions of o t he r

coun t ri e s .

Ev en am on g Parliamen t ar y deput i e s there are many w ho

condemn the N avy f eve r bu t no one of t hem wil l t ak e the
,
’

r e sponsibili ty of r ef using t o vot e ships .

Any body w ho t o day mak e s a s t and agains t the prevailin g

-

N avy fe v er is a tt acked f rom all si de s as wan t in g in

patriot ism ; bu t a f ew y ears hence the j us t ice of my Opinion
”
wil l be e s t ablished .

Could any situation be mor e ridiculous more f util e ? ,

Could anything ex p os e mor e cl e arly the diffi c u lty of

d e aling w ith this matt e r by dir e ct action be twee n the
tw o Go v ernm e nt s— that the o nly r e al solution li e s in
the rational ization of id e as among the rank and fi le o n
both sid e s of the fronti e r
And as to the s e con d p oint —that p acifist pro p aganda
has fail e d larg e ly be caus e it has not put (and pro ve n)
t he pl e a o f i nt e r e st as distinct from the moral p l e a It .

see m s ungracious t o insist u p on the futility o f so much

e arn e st and disint e r e st e d e ff ort, p rompt e d by moti ve s

w hich are so s p l e ndid ; but I est ee m the ave rag e

p acifist too hi g hly to beli eve him the wildly u n
p ractical p erson he is g e n e rally r e pr e s e nt e d or the ,

so rt o f p e rson that w ill not fac e fact s W e ll what

.
,

are the facts ? Th ey are that he is for the m ost pa rt

r e g arded w ith int e ns e p r ej udic e as a s e ntim ent alist a ,

fanatic a dr e am e r and not in touch with the workaday

, ,

w orld That is t he common at titude to wards him

.

as much in Am e rica or Franc e o r G e rmany as in

, , ,

En g land But w ould such an attitud e on the p a rt of

.

the av e rage man o f the world e v e r hav e arise n if he had

 M ETH O D S 32 1

bas e d his advocacy sim p ly and p ur ely u p on int e r e st ?

We may be li e ve that the bim etallist o r the P rotec ,

t io nist or the su ff rag e tt e o r the Socialist is wron g

, , , ,

but non e of th em has to m ee t the wid e spre ad pre

j udic e the acti ve hot blood e d dislik e which the
,
-
,

—
ave rag e s e nsual man or fo r that matt e r the ave rage
,

—
,

“
s e nsual n ewspap e r r e s e rv e s for the p e ac e at an y - -

”
p ric e man .

And this h ostility is the m or e extraordina ry b e caus e

it is absolut ely c e rtain — and eve n t he m ilitarists as I ,

have shown are oblige d t o admit this — that the natural

,

t e nd e nci e s of the ave rage ma are s e tting mor e “

and mor e away from war He is quit e r e ady to

.

be li eve in p eac e onc e he is p e rsuad e d that it is safe

,

to do so .

D oes not t he ev id e nc e giv e n in the fi rs t chapt e rs of

both the first and s e cond parts of this book in dicat e
su ffici e ntly the root of the profound distrust of and
.

hostility t o the p e ac e m an I s it not b ecaus e his p l e a has

been mad e rath e r on the basis of altruism than of int e r e st ,

on morality rath e r t h an o f p olicy ? The m an in the

str ee t i s firm ly convinc e d t h at he is b e ing ask e d t o
surr e nd e r som e solid int e r e st in favour of morality
s e ntim e nt as he would call it—that the p e ac e at
”
,
-

any pric e man is thinking too littl e of his ow n country

-

and too much of oth e rs .

I kno w quit e w ell of cours e that the p acifist is

, ,

p e rfe ctly r e ady to fac e this unpopularit y and tha t he ,

do e s not advocat e p e ac e in t he e x p e ctation of gainin g

p opularity th e r e by .B ut that is not the point I f his .

p urpos e is the crown of mar t yrdom why of cours e , , ,

nothing more is to be said ; but I am as suming tha t his

Obj e ct is the accom p lishm e nt of a d e finit e end— the aboli
21
3 22 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
t ion o r r e duction o f armam e nt The goo d soldi e r i s not
.

afraid to die but a sol di e r may be kill ed quite as much

,

b e caus e he is in e ffi ci e nt as b e caus e he is bra ve I t is .

part o f goo d soldi e rship not to get kill e d and to acc om ,

p lis h t he e n d in vi ew .

I know it is al so urg ed ( Tolstoi urg e d) that the

d e mand fo r p eace ou g ht not to be bas e d o n selfi sh
n e ss ; that the m oral pl e a should occupy the front
rank and that t he moral pl ea i s the m ost effe ctive
,
.

I f that i s the cas e how do e s one account for the

,

ordinary man s distrust of p e ac e advocacy ? I s it that

’

he r e gards the p e a c e man as t oo mat e rialistic and ,

s e lfi sh and i mm oral
O ne may w e ll chall e ng e the whol e p r e mis e that
the consid e ration of on e s int e r est is im moral What
’
.

is morality but the c odification of t he la w s of g e n e ral

int ere st ? I s it imm oral for a man to r efrai n from
alcohol b e caus e his h e alth is be tt e r without it ? The
r e sult in any cas e is so bri e ty but the re sult o f the
, , ,

p e ac e advocat e s pr e s e nt m ethod is that t he drunkard

’

drinks mor e than e ve r b ecaus e so m uch has he h e ard

, ,

o f his soul and so littl e o f his body that he has firmly ,

h l
g o t it into his h e ad e w ill be bund e d strai g ht into

his co ffin t he mom e nt he stops ! And he is e ve n told

by som e Of the ad v ocat e s that he m ust not mind that ,

“
b e cause s elf pr es e rvation is not the final law and
-
,

the p rogr e ss o f humani t y m ay d e m and the e xtinction

”!
(in this world ) o f the indivi dual P
All thi s mischi e f has to be undon e and t he plan e ,

o f the whol e discussion shift e d to that o f p olicy and

int e rest .

Se e c itati ons in Chapter I P art I .

3 24 TH E G R EAT I LL U S I O N
Astonishing as this may sound it is the absolut e ,

truth .

Ye t t h ere are numb e rl e ss po ints at which a start could

be mad e The c o Op e ration of t he parliam e nta ry parti e s
.
-

o f t he tw o countri e s mainly conc e rn e d athwart th e ir ,

fronti e rs irre sp e cti v e of the action of th e ir r e s p e ctive

,

Go ve rnm e nts would of cours e effe ct wond e r s

, , , .

I t is not g e n e rally r e aliz e d in England how fa v ourabl e

the p r e s e nt mom e nt is for s om e such d e finit e campaign .

The di scussion o f the N a vy E stimat e s in the R e ichstag

e arly in March 1 91 0
, r e ve al e d t he most de ep s e at e d
,
-

o pp osition in t he Social D e mocratic p arty to the na val

p olicy of the G e rman Go v e rnm e nt .

One sp e ak e r m ad e us e o f an argum e nt which is ve ry

“
m uch to the p oint in ou r discussion What will be .

”
the final re sult he argu ed
, o f ou r pushing En g lan d
,

into this incr eas ed e x p e nditure ? Simply that she will

ado p t Prot e ction to find the mon ey I nflate d m ilitary .

ex p e n d i tur e is one sure road to a Prot e ctiv e tari ff .

How w ill ou r manufactur ers looking to the g e n e ral ,

English fore ign mark e ts r e li sh this d e ve lopm e nt

,

He might have argu e d that a gr e at G e rman N avy ,

far from b e ing the m e ans of fin ding ne w mark e ts w as ,

thu s l eading straight to the closing of suc h as alr eady

e xi st ed .

Sure ly h e r e is com mon ground e nough for a be

g in n ing fl ‘
Th e D aily Mail its e lf is witn e s s to th is
I n a r ecent addr ess r eport ed i n the Ti m es of J u ne 6 1 9 1 0
, , ,

Mr R am say Mac D onald sai d : W her ever he had m et Ger man

.
“

wor ki ng m en he had r e ceived this m essag e : Tell the m en of

,
‘

E ngl and th at w e st and f or p eac e Te ll the p eop l e of E ngl and

.

that ther e are e l em ents i n G erm any that s tand f or w ar b u t that ,

w e are fi ghti ng t hos e e l em e nts and w e want t heir s u ppor t i n

,

fighti ng the sam e el em ents i n E ngland The message of peace .

’
 M ET H O D S 3 25

sam e strong t e n de ncy I n its t e l egram s from B e rlin

.

“
(J uly 1 8 1 9 1 0) is a m e ssag e to t he e ffe ct that
, Mr .

Asquith s disclosur e that the G e rm an Gove rnm e nt

’

d eclin e d to discuss a nav al und e rstandi ng w ith B ritai n

o n the g round that G e rman public Opinion was op p os ed

to such a st e p arous e s astoni sh m e nt and in di g nation .

The B erliner Tag eblatt the org an o f the gre at in dust ri al

,

and financi al class e s and the chi e f mouth p i e c e of

,

e nli g ht e n e d G e rman thought at t he p r e s e nt mom e nt ,

says :
Emphat ic prot e s t mus t be made ag ains t the ass e rt ion
that G e rman public Opinion woul d not support a lt era t ion
o f the N aval L aw wi t h a vi e w t o an un de rs tan din g wi t h

Englan d The G erman na t ion would r e sis t the a tt emp t

.

on the par t of an y for ei gn Powe r t o dic ta t e the e xt en t of

G erman N aval armamen t s bu t i t is a v e ry diff e ren t thin g
,

when the gr eat e st s ea Powe r in the world e xt e nds a hand to

us wi t h a V i e w t o discov e ri ng way s and m eans o f limi t ing

armamen t s or at l e as t l eaving th em a t a fi x ed poin t

, .

The na t ion would we l come such wi t h the l iv e l i e s t g ood

wishe s I t is utt e r ly wron g t o por t ray the N aval law of
.

1 9 00 as a sacr ed and un alt e rab l e t hin g The law has be en

.

t wice chan ged radicall y by sweeping supp l e me n t ary pro

gramme s Indeed i t can be sai d t hat the law has b e en
.
,

al t oge the r discar ded .

G ermans wan t their commerce and coas t prot ec t ed but , ,

apart f rom a small clique dir ec tly in t er e s t ed in naval con

s t ruct ion t hey are de cidedly agains t the l1m it1e ss arm am e n ts
, .

Any prosp ec t of a fi nal aba t e me n t of the rat e of incr eas e

hi the rt o m ain t ain ed would be wel come d as fr eein g us from a
”
nightmar e .

w as given to him ab out ten days ago by the most r epr ese ntati ve
wor king m en s com m itt ee i n Germ any and al so by th e very m en
-
’

w ho b u ilt the G er man D readnoughts i n Ki el

”
.
3 26 T H E G REAT I LLU S I O N
The Ra dical M org enp ost in a l e ading articl e on the
,

naval discussion mak e s a strong attack upon the

,

G e rman Gove rnm e nt for thro w ing the r e sponsibility

for its unwillingn e s s to n e gotiate for the r e striction of
na v al armam e nts on G e rman public o p inion Aft e r .

quoting M r Asquith s utt e ranc e s on the subj e ct the

.
’
,

“
journ al d e clare s : Aft e r M r Asquith p e rha p s not .
,

unint e ntionally mad e this r e ve lation it is the duty of

, ,

G e rman p ublic o p inion to p roclaim aloud the vi e w it

hold s and has for y ears h e ld o n the subj e ct of p acific
, ,

e fforts t o bring about a r e striction of armam e nts .

The sam e p a p e r adds

The ov e rwhe l ming maj ori ty of the G e rman nat ion woul d
gree t an armame n t s ag r eem e n t wi t h En gland as a r e l i e f f rom
a heavy b ur den and is convinced t hat similar s ent im en t s are
,

che rished in Engl and L e t pro f e ssional dip l oma t s and

.

armour plat e pat riot s p l ay t heir dangerous andf rivol ous game
-
‘

bu t let t he m k ee p the nat ion and public Opinion ou t of the

machina t ions which do not endan ge r their heads bu t con
, ,

ce rn the prop er ty and b l ood of tw o na t ions which l ong f or

”
no t hin g so much as t o l iv e at p eac e wi th each ot her .

The Soci alist Pr e s s of c ours e go e s farth e r still

, , .

Vorw aerts co mm e nting on M r Asquith s s p e e ch o n the

’
.
,

N aval E stimat e s in the H ous e of Commons d e clar e s ,

that the Go v e rnm e nt n e ed only give the initiati v e to

fi nd forthwith a m aj ority in the R e ic h stag for the
limitation of naval armam e nt s .

And e ve n t he N orddeu tsche A llgemeine Zei tu ng warmly

ap p ro ve s the r e fe r e nc e to Anglo G e rman r e lations in -

M r Asquith s s p ee ch and go e s so far as to say

.
’
,

The se u tt erance s have a weight tha t can hardl y be

e x agg e ra t ed In this pronounce men t G e rman y s e es absolut e
.

evide nc e of a happ y chang e in the m e thod of j udg in g Ang lo

328 THE G RE AT I LLU S I O N

things : such c o O p e ration b e tw e e n parti e s e mbodying

-

the sam e id e a as to g uarant e e a consciousn e ss o n the

part of e ach as t o the work and t e nd e nci e s and opinion s
o f the oth e r That is to say that thos e o p pos e d to
.
,

aggr e ssion and big a rm am e nts in England should be

thorou g hly awar e o f the e xt e nt o f the sim ilar move m e nt
in G e rm any and m e ans should be tak e n of m aking
,

English opinion g e n e rally equally so The sam e of .

,

cours e should be tru e of G e rmany with r e fe re nc e to

,

England Som e m e an s should be found o f insuring

.

the sim u ltan e ity of the withdrawal o f su p port o f the

“ ”
armam e n t p olic y som e practical syst e m o f p airing
, ,

so t h at n e ith e r country by virtu e of the campai g n

,

o f rationalism should find its e lf in a r e lativ e ly inf e rior

,

position t o t he oth e r I f an anti armam e nt l eag u e

.
-

w e r e form e d in E ngland it should be an e ss e ntial

,

fe atur e o f the organization that for e ve ry m e mb e r e n

roll e d i n England a corr e sponding l e agu e should e nrol
a G e rman in G e rmany The sam e principl e would be
.

ap p li e d t o Parliam e ntary par t i e s ; a G e rman m e mb e r

o f the R e ichstag would und e rtak e t o O pp os e incr e as e

o f G e rman arm am e nts o n condition t h at an En g lish

m e mb e r und e rtook to carry o n similar Opposition in the

H ous e o f Commons The sam e principl e could be
.

e xt e nd e d to the cl e rgy U niv e rsity p rofe ss ors stud e nts

, , ,

Trad e U nions and so o n,

.

I t may be said that this is in contradiction to the

princi p l e laid down farth e r back that so lon g as
curre nt p olitical philosophy in Europ e r e mains what
it is I would not urg e the r eduction of ou r \Var Bu dg et
,

by a S in g l e sove r e ign B ut it is in no way in c on

.

t radic t io n The whol e plan impli e s t hat should the

.

p ropaganda r e ach the p oin t of affe cting e x p en ditur e on

 M ET H O D S 329

armam e nts p ol itic al p hilos o p hy would no long e r be

,

what it is because a chang e si mi lar to that taking p lace i n

,

E ng land w ou ld have gone on in those cou ntries w hose p oli cy

has direct bearing on ou rs The advanc e . of political
ration alism would by t he m eans p ro p ose d go on p ari
passu in England and G e rmany and n e ith e r country ,

co uld b y r e ason Of its anti a rmam e nt p ro p aganda find -

its elf militarily in a p osition of m anife st infe riority to

the oth e r so long as t he g e n e ral principl e outlin e d h e r e
,

we r e adh e re d to .

“
I am aw ar e of c ourse that the pai ri ng could
, ,

n eve r be absolut e ; o ne m e mb e r of the R e ichstag would

not hav e an abs olut e ly id e ntic al p ow e r with his fe llow

in the H ous e o f Commons but the principl e could be ,

a pp li e d in p ract ic e so as roughly to guarant e e that

e l e m e nt o f simultan e ity w hich is n e c e ssary in the
move m e nt and w hich w ould re nd e r any individual
,

in England allyin g him se lf th e re with im mun e from

the J ingo charg e o f indi ff e re nc e t o his country s d e fe nc e
’
.

H is country s de fe nc e would be in no way thr eat e n ed

’
,

s ince t he balanc e o f armam e nt bet w ee n England and ,

say G e rmany would be in no way affec t e d by his

,

action .

But w ith it all mu st go t he cam p ai g n o f e ducation ,

shrewdly and effi ci e ntly conduct e d ( as shre wdly and

effi ci e ntly conduct e d for instanc e as are som e of ou r
, ,

J ingo n e ws p a p e rs ) with du e r egard to the d e mands

,

o f strat e gy and tactics F ew e r frontal attacks on

.

e ntr en ch e d pr ej udic es ; the b e st r e sults w ill be Obtain e d

by flank and turning m ove m e nts .

L e t m e ill u stra te I have succee d ed in an hour s

.
,
’

talk in giving an int e llig e nt boy of twe lve a cl e ar e r grasp

,

of the r eal m ean ing of m on e y and t he m e chanism o f

3 39 T HE G REAT I L LU S I ON
cr edit and exchang e than is p os se s se d by many a m an
o f my acquaintanc e running larg e busin e s s e s N ow if .
,

e ve ry bo y in Am e rica En g land and G e rmany could have

, ,

as cl e ar an id e a o f the re al natur e of w e alth and mon ey ,

it would in te n ye ars tim e be an u tt e r impossibility to

,
’
,

organiz e a war scar e F or thos e bo y s wo u ld th e n c on

.

st itu t e a gr e at part o f t he acti ve p ublic o p inion of th e ir

tim e and would have at l e ast s om e dim conc ep tion o f

,

the p r e post e rousn e ss of the id e as u pon w hic h military

aggre ssion is bas e d I s th e r e any e norm ou s di ffi culty
.

in insuring that ou r youth should get such sim pl e

l e ssons in fi nanc e The Education D e p artm e nt of
e ach country co nc e rn e d is now so organiz e d as to
mak e the thing e ntir e ly fe as ibl e and the introduction ,

into the educational cu rriculum of e ach country of

som e such bri e f l e s son in which scru p ulou s car e should
,

be tak e n t o see that not a w ord conce rning pe ac e o r war ,

'

o r armam e nt s w as m e ntion e d woul d be a sim p l e matt e r

,

for a f ew r e solut e m e n d e t e rmin e d to car ry it ou t And .

o ne of t he strong e st p ositions of the J ingo w ould be

unde rmin ed without his having the l e ast ide a of what

was taking p lac e .

And this is but an e xam p l e—b ut a d etail of a hundred

lik e on e s that w ould if e mployed with the ri g ht dir e ction
,

and the right m e thod m ak e a cam p aign of this kind

,

irr e sistibl e
.

M ay it not be ho p e d t h at the English rac e by vi rtu e ,

o f its practical g e nius and its p ositi ve S pirit is d e stin e d

,

to l e ad t he w ay in this r e formation as it has led the way

in past p olitical and r e ligiou s r e formations and in such ,

r ev olution s as that in v olved in the abandonm e nt of the

 IN D EX

l ti
A c c e e ra on, law o f, 1 56 , 1 58 , 1 79 B l at c h ford , R ob e rt , 1 6, 1 2 7, 1 33 ,
A dam , P au , 1 71 l 1 70 , 2 09 , 2 1 3 , 2 42, 256 ,
Afi alo , 1 1 0 30 7 2 82 ,
l
A s ac e L o rrai ne v e rsu s e m any
-
Gr on e rm ans, 264 G
and F ranc e , 40 42 -
l
B oc h e an de 3 1 6 , J ,

l
A sac e and Alg e r a, 1 0 7 8 i -
l
B o c k, M au c e , 8 3 84 ri ,

A ng o l
e r m an c o n G ic ,
-
fl t l
B u m , H ans , 8 5
h u m o u rs o f, 1 1 7 l
B u n sc h , 1 3 8t li
An 10 e rm an c on Gc re al fli t , B ou rg e , P au , 1 71 t l
0 ec t of
'

e rm an G
1 20 2 1 -
B raz , 60 , 6 4 il
An g o e rm an c o n
- G
c t, w h a i s
'

t ti
B ri sh Co u m b a, 9 8 l i
be h nd, 1 28 i B ri ti sh Weekly 30 5
Worki ng M an, 305
,

A nti S ocialis tisehe K orrespon

denz , 2 10 B road A rrow , 30 5
i
Arc h b sh op o f A m ag h , 1 4 1 r r
B u ne ere 1 71 ti ,

ti
A r e n na 60 , 6 4
g ,
B u c k e , 2 26 l
t tl
Ari s o e , o n slav e ry , 2 23 l i
B il ow , P r n c e von, 1 70 , 2 1 1
o n th e a e , 2 46 St t l i
B u g ar a, 60
i
A s a M no and i r
e m an , 1 08 , Gr y Cai v ano To m as so , 1 88
1 1 7- 1 8
,

C am b ron ne , 2 71
q it
A s u h . 9 3 , 96 . 2 3 5, 3 26 7 -

Can ada and th e E m p re 9 3 94 , i

tt
-

A i la, 48
.

1 05
li l i
A u st ra an Co o n es , 9 8 , 1 0 5
F re nc h i n, 1 1 1
ti i
A u s r a and B osn a, 3 8 , 253
l l
Car y e , 1 86
B ach e l or o f A rt s 1 89 ,
t l i
Ce n ra Am e r c a c au ses o f his ,

B ac on 1 96 24 5 , ,
l
arg e c e d r r it 65 ,

B alf ou r 2 3 5 ,
l i
Ch am b e r a n, 66 , 1 0 1 , 1 77, 258
B ank o f E n l and if , G e rm an Ch ar e s l II
, 1 64 .

arm y lo ote 48 49 - C hri s ti an G lo be, 30 5

B ari ng 3 4 ,
Chri s tian World, 30 5
B arrac ks m oral , i nfl u e n c e o f,

21 -
14 l
C au s e w i z, 1 2 7, 1 33 , 307 t
B arr 8 T , .
, 1 71 l
C e v e and, 1 89 l
B aty T , .
, on
“
Stratifi c ati on ,
l
C o om b a, 1 8 5 6 i -

2 72 -
3
l i
Co o n al E m p e s in h s o , 30 ir i t ry .

B erli ner Tag eblatt, 3 2 6 1 9e 7

B e rtill o n D r 3 2 , .
,
q t
C o n u es i n p as and pre s e n , 45 t t
B e t h m ann H o ll w eg , v on , 21 1, Contemporary R evi ew , 2 79 2 88 ,

C ox , E dm u nd C , 2 89
328
.

B i e rm e r P rofess or 84 r it
C e d o f th e sm a a e s an d ll St t
B i rre ll Au s ti ne 3 1 6
,
,

,
,

th e G
re a P o w e rs o f E u op e, t r
B i sm arc k 7 8 2 3 , ,
-
3 2 . 33
'

B Orn se n, 2 71 Cro m w e , ll
lo ckw ood s M agazi ne,
'
1 8 , 1 70 Cu b a, War 0 1 98 - 9

33 2
 I N D EX 33 3

D ai l Chronicle, 305 F riedensw arte D ie, 264 ,

D ai y M ail, 40 77, 1 1 0, ,
1 2 7, 1 69 , r
F o u de 2 59 ,

. 2 1 0 . 28 0 .
305. 3 1 5 G au loi s , 1 71
D ai N ew s 3 05 ,
G e rm an rade and E ng t li sh
D ai y Teleg ra h, 2 1 1 c re d , it
D aw so n , Har u tt , 1 70 2 1 2 l ili
so c i a pro g re s s and m
,

l r r
D e b u c k P o fe s s o , 2 1 0 , 2 79, 288
,
r t ari s m 2 1 2 ,

D e m oli n s , E dm o nd, 2 1 3 D e m o c ac , 2 1 0 r y
D éro u léde 1 7 1 S
oc i a is m 2 1 0 l
De rvi
sh m i n d, 2 3 2 Gr e m any an d Alsa a, 3 1
,

ti
i n g h , 2 42 fi t an d E ng an d, 3 5 1 3, l , ,

D eu tsche R evue , 2 8 1 , 2 8 7, 3 1 9 1 4 , 1 8 20 2 7 2 8 51 54, 55 - - -

l
D i ke, S ir C h a es, 9 6 rl 60 69
, ,

D illo n D r 88 ,
i
n du s y o f, 3
.

tr
i r li
D s ae 28 9 ,
N a y of 5 6 v -

l
D oy e. 9 5 an d F anc e 69 r
,

D rey fu s c as e, 206 8 G i bb n 2 o , 22
D ru m o nt, 1 71 G l t Vi Adm i ral
o s e r, ce- 3 20
l
D u e 1 78 ,
G lto n d 13
z, v o e r, 0
,

dec ay o f, 2 3 5 Gr at B rit a n C l ni
e i , o o e s o f, 29 - 30

Echo de P ari s 171 90

E c ono m c al i
,

i t ell ec t al ih
an d n u t rade 1 00
o ve rs e a ,

t e rde e nde n c e o f t h e m o de r n and I n di a 1 9 3 ,

w o rl 1 53 -
4 2 20 - 1 Gr h am Law 1 3 5
es ,

E conom ist,
,

G y Si r E d a d 304
re , w r ,

E di nbu r h R evi ew , 3 05 G ti
G bb E 3 ard 6
ro u s, 1 0

l
ng an an d e rm any 3 , 5 G ru , cw ,

an d C anada 3 1 , 59 6 1 ,
,

,
G y t Yv 3 1 5
u o ,
e s,

p ow e o f, 4 r H al e D r B ayard 28 2 2 89
r ,
.
, ,
S he Lo rd, 1 30
, H am b u rg su p po s iti t i ou s an
E s t ou rnelle s de Con s an , 3 1 5 t t n e x ati on ,
,

2
5 54
-

E veni ng N ew s, 3 c H arm s P ro f e sso r B e rnard

? 2 87 8
-
, ,

E veni ng S tandar 305 H arpe n M axi m ili an 208 , ,

t
F ag u e , 1 7 1 H arri s o n F rede ri c 5 23 , , , ,

2 7. 2 8 . 57 58
rr r
F a a D e an, 1 4 1 ,
so. 3 1 3 4. .

i
F an, D r 1 64 59 6 2 , 66 1 05, 2 77
, .

F ig aro 1 71
.

H e n , 2 33ty
H ob s o n, J
,

F i nancial N ew s, 305 A , 1 4 1 , 2 43 . .

F i nanaal Tzi nes, 305 ll

H o and i f anne e d , x by Ger
F i nancier, 30 5 m an y ,
i l
F n and 60 H ol s t e i n 3 1 9- 20 , von ,
H u g h e s, Th o m as, 1 4 1
,

Fi sh er, A dm ra , 290 1 i l -

li
F o l n, 3 1 5 xl
H u e y , 1 45
F ortnig htly R evi ew , 1 5 H yndm an, 236
F ranc e an d t h e F ranc o P u ssi an r I b se n , 2 71
War, 71 , 73
an d Ge rm any i n 1 8 70 1 880, 8 2 -
I nt e rnati o nalis m 266 7 ,
-

and e m an G r
o pu lati o n y i n C ap itali s m 2 6 9
il t r g
, ,

a11 d m i a y e e c t iv e o f, i n S oc i ali s m 2 68 ,

18 in Trade U ni o ni s m , 2 6 7- 8
ri
F ed, 264
3 34 I N DEX
J am M il ne r Lo rd 9 6
"

es I .
, 1 64 , ,

J am es , P rofe ss or Willi am ,
1 40 , M odern fi n anc e ,
i n t e rdepe n
2 44 de nc e 46 4 7, 50 51 o f, - -

[ohn B u ll 97 305 , ,
li
M o nar , de , 74 3 1 5 i ,

J oh ns o n S i r H arry , , 1 20 lt
M o ke, 1 3 8, 1 8 2 , 1 9 1 , 2 3 8, 2 45
lanm al, P aris 3 2 ,
M onk, 9 3
[ou rnal des D ebats,
’
1 71 . M org an, 34
M org enpost, 3 2 7
K i dd B e nj am in
, , 15
[Warni ng L eader, 305
Kin l
Ch a es, 1 4 1
s ey , rl M oro c c o , u nde rs and ng o f Al t i
it
K e e n e r, Lo rd, 1 59 , 2 34
Koe s e r t
an d A dm ral von, Gr i 18 g e c iras , 4 8
koln ische Zei tu ng , 76
' ’
,
r
M u ray , M a o u a , 38 j r St rt
t
Ko ze s c an da 208 l , l
N apo e on 1 1 1 ,

t i
Kropo k ne , P nc e, 1 72 ri N ati on, 3 05
Krug e r, P au , 98 l ti
N a o na s m , e li
a o f, 2 60 1 r v iv l -

N ational R evi ew , 1 5, 2 2 , 1 70
L au ri e r Si r Wil fri d 9 3 94
, , ,
lt
N e w b o , C an o n 1 4 1
Le a, General H om r 1 3 6 7 1 68 9 e ,
-
,
-
,
N e w Ze a an d, 1 05 l
,

1 70 , 1 73 , 1 74 , 1 82 , 1 86 , 1 3 7,
1 9 1 , 1 9 2 , 2 34 , 24 5, 260
i r
N c a ag u a 1 8 5 6, 1 90 ,
-

i t
N e zs c h e, 1 8 2
Le B on, 1 71 N i neteenth Centu ry , 1 20, 1 3 9
Lec ky 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 ,
, 1 66 , 23 0, 3 1 2, 3 2 4
,

Lim bo rc h , 1 6 4 N ordaentsche A llg em ei ne Zei

’

Ll oy d Ge rg o e , 1 55
tu ng 1 8 , 26 9 , 3 2 7
Lo ti , P i e rre 1 98 ,
r
,

N o w ay , m erc an e m ar ne o f, til i
Lo w Si dney 1 39 1 73 , 1 74 , 1 8 7,
3 5, 6 1
, , ,

1 9 8 , 205
N o v ikow , J , 1 45, 1 72
Lu cas, Si r C P 9 2 9 5 2 50 . . , , , ,
2 51
.

Observer, 22
M ac donal d R am say 3 2 5
M ac h i ave lli 3 7
, ,
l
O de nb u g , vo n r , 2 10
,
Ou tlook 2 2 , 3 05
M ah an A dm i ral 1 7 1 2 8 ,

2 70 , 2 71 , 2 79 , 2 80
, , ,
O w e n D o u g as,
, l 17

M alt b 2 59 l rt
P a m e s o n, 28 9
M ane ster G u ardian , 238 , 3 05 P an Gr -
i t
e m an s am b iti ons , 20 - 2 2 ,
M arsh all , A , . 1 10 39 H7 ,

M arti n, T G . .
,
16 P arasi t i sm and po li c e w o rk ,

M ati n 8 9 2 2 ,
-
,
2 1 8 - 2 20
M c Ctu re s M ag azi ne ’
,
1 40 , 2 44 P assy , F , 3 1 5 .

M c D ou g al, P ro fess o r W illi am ,

ti
P a r e , 1 71
2 57 2 59
;
P e ars o n , P ro fess o r K arl ,
1 45
M e ss 1m y , 1 84 Ph ili
p I L , 2 26
M i c h e l e t 1 79 ,
ill
P h i p s , C ap a n t i M arc h ,
2 1 3,
M i lit ari sm an ddec ay i n h i s t o ry ,
20 3 - 204 t
P i c airn, 1 64
ne w an d old c o nc e p ti o ns , P t , W
it illi am , 2 89
234 -
45 P resse, L a ( Can ad an ), 9 3 i
M i h t an zati on i n E u ro p e , 19 1 P ress, P ar s , 1 71 i
i n F anc e , r 1 84 P reassi sehe jahrbiieher, 2 1 0
in G rm anye , 1 84, 208 - 2 1 3 r t r
P ro c u a o o f t h e H o y nod l Sy
in S ou t h Am e ri c a , 1 85, 1 88, i
i n R u s s a, 1 65, 3 1 7
1 9 8 , 20 1 i J
P ru s s an u nke rs , 209 , 23 7
M ille voye , 1 71 P u bh e Opi nion 6 7, 30 5 ,