The Mainspring of Human Progress

Chapter 21

FREEDOM VERSUS WAR

UNDEB the pagan fallacy of a static universe in which new wealth cannot be created, the only way to gain an advantage is to take something away from someone else. When men are free, they soon learn that wars of aggression are unprofitable; that human energies are far more productive when applied to the peaceful pursuits of creating and exchanging useful goods and services.

But when war is forced upon them, they always give a good account of themselves. The reasons for this are not far to seek:

1. Military strength rests on a foundation of economic strength.

2. Economic strength depends on the number of people engaged in productive work, as against the number on public payrolls.

3. Free individuals have greater initiative. They are more ingenious and more resourceful in adapting themselves to the emergencies of war and in matching wits with the aggressors – from a military standpoint as well as from a technological standpoint.

4. They have more to fight for and do not need to be egged on by spurious propaganda.

Force and Trickery

From Genghis Khan to Adolf Hitler, the standard practice in the Old World has been to appropriate the goods of others through the use of brute force. To justify their aggression, those in authority have used propaganda designed to frighten their subjects into believing that they are surrounded by enemies about to attack.

Under their gods of superstition – the will-of-the-swarm, the despots, the dictators, and the führers – the peoples of Europe and Asia have carried on an almost uninterrupted war since the beginning of history. During the past 30 centuries, for example, only one year out of every 15 has been free from war; and even in the brief intervals of peace, the preparations for war have sapped energy which might otherwise have been directed toward constructive pursuits. Imagine what kind of world this would be if the energies of its 2,155,000,000 people were removed from war efforts, freed from bureaucratic regimentation, and applied to the invention, production, and exchange of useful goods and services.

The Cause of War

Down through the ages, human beings have always tried to stop war by utterly crushing the enemy. There has been no progress, for the simple reason that the underlying cause of war is not the enemy. Combat on the battlefield is merely a symptom. War is caused by a false notion of human energy, based on the ancient superstition that men and women should be reduced to the status of the beehive. When the majority of people on this earth come to realize that they are free, self-controlling, responsible for their own acts and for their relationships with others, there will be no war.

Until that time, Americans must continue to lead the struggle against the forces of paganism – in time of peace as well as in time of actual war. We’ve always given a good account of ourselves on the battlefield, and we’ve played an important role as the arsenal of democracy – or rather, as the arsenal of freedom. The victims of paganism always look to America for help in fighting off their aggressors. And America always plays the major role in helping its friends, as well as its enemies, to get back on their feet.

But there are definite limits to how far we can go in that direction. Perhaps we would be doing the peoples of the world a greater and more enduring service if, along with each item of food, clothing, money, and equipment, we sent a simple, matter-of-fact statement of the reasons underlying our ability to make contributions which are so far out of proportion to our population and our natural resources.

And I rather like this idea from another standpoint. In the role of salesmen for America, perhaps we might become more appreciative of our own product, more steadfast in holding to the faith of our fathers, more alert in resisting the alluring promises of false Utopias, which for over 6,000 years have kept the vast majority of people underfed, poorly clothed, embroiled in wars, and surrounded by famine, pestilence, and human degradation.

THE END