[Given the discussion on the Iraq War, those of you who are interested in war and in history will likely find the following thought-provoking. It's not long, being a book review.]
Ronald Reagan once joked that these are the 10 most terrifying words in the English language: “Hi, I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” Ian Morris, a professor of history and classics at Stanford, would modify Reagan’s remark. “In reality, the 10 scariest words are ‘There is no government, and I’m here to kill you.’”
Does government enhance or diminish the safety of the governed? Answers depend on your view of human nature. Rousseau maintained that humans are peaceful in their natural state; wars result from the corrupting influences of civilization. Thomas Hobbes was less optimistic. Before the restraining effects of governments, he argued, we lived in “continual fear and danger of violent death.” The intellectual descendants of Hobbes and Rousseau tend to regard government as either a cure for or a cause of violence.
Morris thinks this question is an empirical one, and his new book proposes an answer that he finds astonishing. InWar! What Is It Good For? Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots, Morris advances the claim that war has made humanity safer and richer over the last 10,000 years. Governments played an essential role in this process: “War made governments, and governments made peace.”
This was not quite how things appeared to the Caledonian chieftain Calgacus before he fought the invading Roman army in AD 83. “They call stealing, killing, and rape by the lying name government! They make a wasteland and call it peace!” He was articulating an objection to Morris’ thesis with dozens of parallels from different periods: From the standpoint of the conquered, war hardly seems to promote peace.
But the Roman orator Cicero felt that Calgacus and the peoples vanquished by Rome were missing a broader point. Without the protection and authority of a strong ruling government, provinces would endure endless local and civil wars and remain vulnerable to raiders and invasions. Taxes were a small price to pay for the peace and prosperity Rome provided. more . . .
Ronald Reagan once joked that these are the 10 most terrifying words in the English language: “Hi, I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” Ian Morris, a professor of history and classics at Stanford, would modify Reagan’s remark. “In reality, the 10 scariest words are ‘There is no government, and I’m here to kill you.’”
Does government enhance or diminish the safety of the governed? Answers depend on your view of human nature. Rousseau maintained that humans are peaceful in their natural state; wars result from the corrupting influences of civilization. Thomas Hobbes was less optimistic. Before the restraining effects of governments, he argued, we lived in “continual fear and danger of violent death.” The intellectual descendants of Hobbes and Rousseau tend to regard government as either a cure for or a cause of violence.
Morris thinks this question is an empirical one, and his new book proposes an answer that he finds astonishing. InWar! What Is It Good For? Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots, Morris advances the claim that war has made humanity safer and richer over the last 10,000 years. Governments played an essential role in this process: “War made governments, and governments made peace.”
This was not quite how things appeared to the Caledonian chieftain Calgacus before he fought the invading Roman army in AD 83. “They call stealing, killing, and rape by the lying name government! They make a wasteland and call it peace!” He was articulating an objection to Morris’ thesis with dozens of parallels from different periods: From the standpoint of the conquered, war hardly seems to promote peace.
But the Roman orator Cicero felt that Calgacus and the peoples vanquished by Rome were missing a broader point. Without the protection and authority of a strong ruling government, provinces would endure endless local and civil wars and remain vulnerable to raiders and invasions. Taxes were a small price to pay for the peace and prosperity Rome provided. more . . .
