SECTION 7 - SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
THE NATURE OF WAR
War is not, as is widely assumed, primarily an instrument of policy utilized by
nations to extend or defend their expressed political values or their economic
interests. On the contrary, it is itself the principal basis of organization on which
all modern societies are constructed. The common proximate cause of war is the
apparent interference of one nation with the aspirations of another. But at the
root of all ostensible differences of national interest lie the dynamic
requirements of the war system itself for periodic armed conflict. Readiness for
war characterizes contemporary social systems more broadly than their
economic and political structures, which it subsumes.
Economic analyses of the anticipated problems of transition to peace have not
recognized the broad preeminence of war in the definition of social systems.
The same is true, with rare and only partial exceptions, of model disarmament
"scenarios." For this reason, the value of this previous work is limited to the
mechanical aspects of transition. Certain features of these models may perhaps
be applicable to a real situation of conversion to peace; this till depend on their
compatibility with a substantive, rather than a procedural, peace plan. Such a
plan can be developed only from the premise of full understanding of the nature
of the war system it proposes to abolish, which in turn presupposes detailed
comprehension of the functions the war system performs for society. It will
require the construction of a detailed and feasible system of substitutes for those
functions that are necessary to the stability and survival of human societies.
THE FUNCTIONS OF WAR
The visible, military function of war requires no elucidation; it is not only
obvious but also irrelevant to a transition to the condition of peace, in which it
will by definition be superfluous. It is also subsidiary in social significance to
the implied, nonmilitary functions of war; those critical to transition can be
summarized in five principal groupings.
ECONOMIC. War has provided both ancient and modern societies with a
dependable system for stabilizing and controlling national economies. No
alternate method of control has yet been tested in a complex modern economy
that has shown itself remotely comparable in scope or effectiveness.
THE NATURE OF WAR
War is not, as is widely assumed, primarily an instrument of policy utilized by
nations to extend or defend their expressed political values or their economic
interests. On the contrary, it is itself the principal basis of organization on which
all modern societies are constructed. The common proximate cause of war is the
apparent interference of one nation with the aspirations of another. But at the
root of all ostensible differences of national interest lie the dynamic
requirements of the war system itself for periodic armed conflict. Readiness for
war characterizes contemporary social systems more broadly than their
economic and political structures, which it subsumes.
Economic analyses of the anticipated problems of transition to peace have not
recognized the broad preeminence of war in the definition of social systems.
The same is true, with rare and only partial exceptions, of model disarmament
"scenarios." For this reason, the value of this previous work is limited to the
mechanical aspects of transition. Certain features of these models may perhaps
be applicable to a real situation of conversion to peace; this till depend on their
compatibility with a substantive, rather than a procedural, peace plan. Such a
plan can be developed only from the premise of full understanding of the nature
of the war system it proposes to abolish, which in turn presupposes detailed
comprehension of the functions the war system performs for society. It will
require the construction of a detailed and feasible system of substitutes for those
functions that are necessary to the stability and survival of human societies.
THE FUNCTIONS OF WAR
The visible, military function of war requires no elucidation; it is not only
obvious but also irrelevant to a transition to the condition of peace, in which it
will by definition be superfluous. It is also subsidiary in social significance to
the implied, nonmilitary functions of war; those critical to transition can be
summarized in five principal groupings.
ECONOMIC. War has provided both ancient and modern societies with a
dependable system for stabilizing and controlling national economies. No
alternate method of control has yet been tested in a complex modern economy
that has shown itself remotely comparable in scope or effectiveness.
