Moribund Society and Anarchy · Chapter
XIII: Militarism explained
This chapter exposes the brutalizing and dehumanizing nature of military life, contrasting the romanticized portrayal of soldiers by bourgeois writers with the harsh reality of barracks discipline, inspections, and the suppression of indivi
What happens
This chapter exposes the brutalizing and dehumanizing nature of military life, contrasting the romanticized portrayal of soldiers by bourgeois writers with the harsh reality of barracks discipline, inspections, and the suppression of individual dignity. It argues that the army is a school of corruption that reduces men to passive machines, and critiques the hypocrisy of those who glorify militarism while forcing all classes to experience its degradations.
Themes in this chapter
Militarism and the State
The chapter is a direct critique of militarism as a tool of state control, portraying the army as a corrupting institution that destroys individual dignity and autonomy.
Individualism and Solidarity
Highlights the suppression of individual pride and independence in the military, contrasting with the need for solidarity against such dehumanization.
Critique of Private Property
Implicitly critiques the bourgeois class that uses the army to protect its property and interests, while subjecting all to brutal discipline.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator directly addresses the reader, urging reflection on the horrors of barracks life and exposing the lies of bourgeois writers.
- Their Masters
Referred to as the bourgeoisie who force everyone under their flags, revealing the infamies hidden behind military tinsel.
- The Anarchists
Implicitly present as the critical voice against militarism, though not named directly in the excerpts.
Key passages
“Go, poor devils, who for the sake of the word 'country,' or for fear of the court-martial, are going to waste the best years of your youth in these schools of corruption called 'barracks.'”
The narrator condemns the military as a corrupting institution that wastes young lives under the guise of patriotism or coercion.
Directly attacks the concept of patriotic duty and the reality of barracks life.
“If you wish to remain men, do not be soldiers ; if you cannot stand humiliations do not don the uniform.”
To preserve one's humanity and dignity, one must refuse to become a soldier.
Emphasizes the dehumanizing effect of military service.
“The volunteering for a year and twenty-eight days has done more against militarism than all that anybody had previously been able to say against it.”
The exposure of educated classes to military service through short-term volunteering has been more effective in revealing its horrors than any prior critique.
Highlights the impact of personal experience in undermining militarist propaganda.