Economics does not explain wars. If it did, Austria and Hungary—both much worse off than Germany—would have started the next war, poor China would have attacked prosperous Japan in 1937, and poverty-ridden Latin American guerrillas rather than oil-rich Middle Eastern holy-warriors would have blown up American skyscrapers in 2001. Despite the Great Depression and Europe’s failure to pay its war debts, America did not wage war against Europe in the 1930s, and there was no talk in England of starting a preemptive war against Germany for national aggrandizement or loot. Wars are started by the leaders of statist governments—governments with unchecked military and police powers—who harness populations that have accepted the supremacy of the state, the nation, or the race, and who seek national aggrandizement through sacrifice and massive violence. Statism—any doctrine that subordinates the individual to the state—is the indispensable precondition of a dictator and his wars. Statism has been the greatest killer in history. Its continent-wide slaughters dwarf the murders committed by criminals in all of history combined. —John David Lewis
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 11:10:00 +0000
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