The European Anarchy

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The European Anarchy by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson ISBN: 9781465559074
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
ISBN: 9781465559074
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
In the great and tragic history of Europe there is a turning-point that marks the defeat of the ideal of a world-order and the definite acceptance of international anarchy. That turning-point is the emergence of the sovereign State at the end of the fifteenth century. And it is symbolical of all that was to follow that at that point stands, looking down the vista of the centuries, the brilliant and sinister figure of Machiavelli. From that date onwards international policy has meant Machiavellianism. Sometimes the masters of the craft, like Catherine de Medici or Napoleon, have avowed it; sometimes, like Frederick the Great, they have disclaimed it. But always they have practised it. They could not, indeed, practise anything else. For it is as true of an aggregation of States as of an aggregation of individuals that, whatever moral sentiments may prevail, if there is no common law and no common force the best intentions will be defeated by lack of confidence and security. Mutual fear and mutual suspicion, aggression masquerading as defence and defence masquerading as aggression, will be the protagonists in the bloody drama; and there will be, what Hobbes truly asserted to be the essence of such a situation, a chronic state of war, open or veiled. For peace itself will be a latent war; and the more the States arm to prevent a conflict the more certainly will it be provoked, since to one or another it will always seem a better chance to have it now than to have it on worse conditions later. Some one State at any moment may be the immediate offender; but the main and permanent offence is common to all States. It is the anarchy which they are all responsible for perpetuating.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
In the great and tragic history of Europe there is a turning-point that marks the defeat of the ideal of a world-order and the definite acceptance of international anarchy. That turning-point is the emergence of the sovereign State at the end of the fifteenth century. And it is symbolical of all that was to follow that at that point stands, looking down the vista of the centuries, the brilliant and sinister figure of Machiavelli. From that date onwards international policy has meant Machiavellianism. Sometimes the masters of the craft, like Catherine de Medici or Napoleon, have avowed it; sometimes, like Frederick the Great, they have disclaimed it. But always they have practised it. They could not, indeed, practise anything else. For it is as true of an aggregation of States as of an aggregation of individuals that, whatever moral sentiments may prevail, if there is no common law and no common force the best intentions will be defeated by lack of confidence and security. Mutual fear and mutual suspicion, aggression masquerading as defence and defence masquerading as aggression, will be the protagonists in the bloody drama; and there will be, what Hobbes truly asserted to be the essence of such a situation, a chronic state of war, open or veiled. For peace itself will be a latent war; and the more the States arm to prevent a conflict the more certainly will it be provoked, since to one or another it will always seem a better chance to have it now than to have it on worse conditions later. Some one State at any moment may be the immediate offender; but the main and permanent offence is common to all States. It is the anarchy which they are all responsible for perpetuating.

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book The Communistic Societies of the United States From Personal Visit and Observation by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book The Book of Gates by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book Ship-Bored by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book In White Raiment by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book Passages from The English NoteBooks (Complete) by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book Discovering Evelina: An Old-fashioned Romance by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book The Young Engineers in Arizona: Laying Tracks on the Man-Killer Quicksand by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book Castles and Chateaux of Old Navarre and the Basque Provinces by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book The Lawton Girl by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book A View of the Present State of Ireland by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book Schopenhauer by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book Life and Correspondence of David Hume, Volume (II of II) by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book Antigua and the Antiguans, (Complete) a Full Account of the Colony and Its Inhabitants From the Time of the Caribs to the Present Day by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Cover of the book Fantomina: or, Love in a Maze: Being a Secret History of an Amour Between Two Persons of Condition by Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy