Bernhardi's Praise of War.
I return to the doctrines set forth by von Bernhardi and apparently
accepted by the military caste to which he belongs. Briefly summed up,
they are as follows--his own words are used except when it becomes
necessary to abridge a lengthened argument:
* War is in itself a good thing. It is a biological necessity of
the first importance. (P. 18.)
* The inevitableness, the idealism, the blessing of war as an
indispensable and stimulating law of development must be repeatedly
emphasized. (P. 37.)
* War is the greatest factor in the furtherance of culture and
power. Efforts to secure peace are extraordinarily detrimental as
soon as they influence politics. (P. 28.)
* Fortunately these efforts can never attain their ultimate
objects in a world bristling with arms, where healthy egotism still
directs the policy of most countries. God will see to it, says
Treitschke, that war always recurs as a drastic medicine for the
human race. (P. 36.)
* Efforts directed toward the abolition of war are not only
foolish, but absolutely immoral, and must be stigmatized as
unworthy of the human race. (P. 34.)
* Courts of arbitration are pernicious delusions.
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