Is it better to study war or peace?
August 21, 2007 03:16 PM
The City Journal has two very interesting articles this month:
Why Study War? by Victor Davis Hanson
and
The Peace Racket by Bruce Bawer
Hanson's article describes the impending demise of military history in today's universities, while Bawer discusses the emergence of "peace" studies and its founders connection with communism and anti-Americanism. These scholars say in a very literate and well thought out way what I attempted to say in a much more caustic manner here.
There is a serious struggle taking place for the mind and soul of the Western world. Peace is not something to be studied, it is a negative -- the absence of war. War is something that can be studied, understood, and used to improve society. Peace has no real existence or meaning other than the time between hostilities. Always striving for peace, without the ability to resort to war and to win it, is a sure path to destruction.
Why Study War? by Victor Davis Hanson
and
The Peace Racket by Bruce Bawer
Hanson's article describes the impending demise of military history in today's universities, while Bawer discusses the emergence of "peace" studies and its founders connection with communism and anti-Americanism. These scholars say in a very literate and well thought out way what I attempted to say in a much more caustic manner here.
There is a serious struggle taking place for the mind and soul of the Western world. Peace is not something to be studied, it is a negative -- the absence of war. War is something that can be studied, understood, and used to improve society. Peace has no real existence or meaning other than the time between hostilities. Always striving for peace, without the ability to resort to war and to win it, is a sure path to destruction.
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