The Great Illusion · Chapter
Endnotes explained
The endnotes provide extensive citations, commentary, and supplementary arguments that reinforce the book's central thesis on the economic futility of war.
What happens
The endnotes provide extensive citations, commentary, and supplementary arguments that reinforce the book's central thesis on the economic futility of war. They address the survival of the unfit through modern warfare, critique the notion that war preserves virility, and challenge the idea of unchanging human nature. The notes also cite various authorities, respond to critics, and elaborate on the interdependence of nations and the role of economic factors in social progress.
Themes in this chapter
Economic Futility of War
The endnotes reinforce the argument that modern war does not lead to the survival of the fittest but rather perpetuates the unfit, and that economic interdependence is a more effective force for progress than military conquest.
Changeability of Human Nature
The notes challenge the notion of unchanging human nature by citing historical examples like the Crusades and the Inquisition, showing how beliefs and behaviors have transformed over time.
Interdependence of Nations
The endnotes emphasize the growing economic interdependence of nations, citing the example of South American republics being brought into the world's economic current, and acknowledge the work of thinkers like Novikow.
Critique of Militarism
The notes critique militarist arguments by citing the views of Bernhardi, Mahan, and Wilkinson, and by pointing out the artificial and initiative-crushing nature of modern military training.
Characters to notice
- Leo Maxse
Quoted from the National Review (February 1911) for his harsh attacks on British statesmen, illustrating internal political animosity.
- Lecky
Cited for his History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, discussing the Crusades and religious enthusiasm.
- Robert Blatchford
Quoted from 'Germany and England' to present the German perspective on British proposals for arbitration and disarmament.
- M. J. Novikow
Acknowledged for his work 'Le Darwinisme Social' which established the biological case against social Darwinism.
- General Bernhardi
Referenced for his book 'Germany and the Next War' as an example of militarist advocacy.
- Admiral Mahan
Cited for his article 'The Place of Power in International Relations' in the North American Review.
- Spenser Wilkinson
Mentioned for his books such as 'The Great Alternative' and 'Britain at Bay' as representative of militarist views.
- Winston Churchill
Mentioned in a quote from Leo Maxse as a 'Tammany Hall politician'.
Key passages
“War between people of roughly equal development makes also for the survival of the unfit, since we no longer exterminate and massacre a conquered race, but only their best elements (those carrying on the war), and because the conqueror uses up his best elements in the process, so that the less fit of both sides are left to perpetuate the species.”
Modern warfare, by not exterminating entire populations but only the bravest and strongest, actually leaves the weaker individuals of both sides to reproduce, thus promoting the survival of the unfit.
This note elaborates on the biological argument against war's supposed benefit of natural selection.
“Nor do the facts of the modern world lend any support to the theory that preparation for war under modern conditions tends to preserve virility, since those conditions involve an artificial barrack life, a highly mechanical training favorable to the destruction of initiative, and a mechanical uniformity and centralization tending to crush individuality, and to hasten the drift towards a centralized bureaucracy, already too great.”
The idea that military preparation strengthens a nation's vigor is false; modern military life is artificial and mechanical, which actually destroys initiative and individuality, and increases bureaucracy.
This note challenges the militarist claim that war preparedness enhances national vitality.
“It is that those countries have been brought into the economic current of the world; the bank and factory and railroad have introduced factors and motives of a quite different order from those urged by the priest, and are slowly winning those countries from military adventure to honest work, a thing which the preaching of high ideals failed to do.”
The economic integration of South American countries into global trade has been more effective in promoting peace and progress than religious or moral preaching.
This note illustrates the power of economic interdependence over ideological appeals.
