These functions are essentially organizational. First of all, the existence of a
society as a political "nation" requires as part of its definition an attitude of
relationship toward other "nations." This is what we usually call a foreign
policy. But a nation's foreign policy can have no substance if it lacks the means
of enforcing its attitude toward other nations. It can do this in a credible manner
only if it implies the threat of maximum political organization for this purpose--
which is to say that it is organized to some degree for war. War, then, as we
have defined it to include all national activities that recognize the possibility of
armed conflict, is itself the defining element of any nation's existence vis-a-vis
any other nation. Since it is historically axiomatic that the existence of any form
of weaponry insures its use, we have used the work "peace" as virtually
synonymous with disarmament. By the same token, "war" is virtually
synonymous with nationhood. The elimination of war implies the inevitable
elimination of national sovereignty and the traditional nation-state.
The war system not only has been essential to the existence of nations as
independent political entities, but has been equally indispensable to their stable
internal political structure. Without it, no government has ever been able to
obtain acquiescence in its "legitimacy," or right to rule its society. The
possibility of war provides the sense of external necessity without which nor
government can long remain in power. The historical record reveals one
instance after another where the failure of a regime to maintain the credibility of
a war threat led to its dissolution, by the forces of private interest, or reactions
to social injustice, or of other disintegrative elements. The organization of a
society for the possibility of war is its principal political stabilizer. It is ironic
that this primary function of war has been generally recognized by historians
only where it has been expressly acknowledged--in the pirate societies of the
great conquerors.
The basic authority of a modern state over its people resides in its war powers.
(There is, in fact, good reason to believe that codified law had its origins in the
rules of conduct established by military victors for dealing with the defeated
enemy, which were later adapted to apply to all subject populations.) On a day-
to-day basis, it is represented by the institution of police, armed organizations
charged expressly with dealing with "internal enemies" in a military manner.
Like the conventional "external" military, the police are also substantially
exempt from many civilian legal restraints on their social behavior. In some
countries, the artificial distinction between police and other military forces does
not exist. On the long-term basis, a government's emergency war powers --
inherent in the structure of even the most libertarian of nations -- define the
most significant aspect of the relation between state and citizen.
society as a political "nation" requires as part of its definition an attitude of
relationship toward other "nations." This is what we usually call a foreign
policy. But a nation's foreign policy can have no substance if it lacks the means
of enforcing its attitude toward other nations. It can do this in a credible manner
only if it implies the threat of maximum political organization for this purpose--
which is to say that it is organized to some degree for war. War, then, as we
have defined it to include all national activities that recognize the possibility of
armed conflict, is itself the defining element of any nation's existence vis-a-vis
any other nation. Since it is historically axiomatic that the existence of any form
of weaponry insures its use, we have used the work "peace" as virtually
synonymous with disarmament. By the same token, "war" is virtually
synonymous with nationhood. The elimination of war implies the inevitable
elimination of national sovereignty and the traditional nation-state.
The war system not only has been essential to the existence of nations as
independent political entities, but has been equally indispensable to their stable
internal political structure. Without it, no government has ever been able to
obtain acquiescence in its "legitimacy," or right to rule its society. The
possibility of war provides the sense of external necessity without which nor
government can long remain in power. The historical record reveals one
instance after another where the failure of a regime to maintain the credibility of
a war threat led to its dissolution, by the forces of private interest, or reactions
to social injustice, or of other disintegrative elements. The organization of a
society for the possibility of war is its principal political stabilizer. It is ironic
that this primary function of war has been generally recognized by historians
only where it has been expressly acknowledged--in the pirate societies of the
great conquerors.
The basic authority of a modern state over its people resides in its war powers.
(There is, in fact, good reason to believe that codified law had its origins in the
rules of conduct established by military victors for dealing with the defeated
enemy, which were later adapted to apply to all subject populations.) On a day-
to-day basis, it is represented by the institution of police, armed organizations
charged expressly with dealing with "internal enemies" in a military manner.
Like the conventional "external" military, the police are also substantially
exempt from many civilian legal restraints on their social behavior. In some
countries, the artificial distinction between police and other military forces does
not exist. On the long-term basis, a government's emergency war powers --
inherent in the structure of even the most libertarian of nations -- define the
most significant aspect of the relation between state and citizen.
