ESSAYS 663 



the government of the country. The ambition of the British can also hardly be 

 termed other than legitimate ; for they possessed vast interests in the country, and 

 it was but natural that they should wish to introduce a progressive and enlightened 

 system of government. 



Thus one can say that while illegitimate ambition is a chief cause of war, 

 legitimate ambition may also be a cause of it. 



Fear, due to the instinct of self-preservation, is also a greater cause of war than 

 appears on the surface, in that it arouses the spirit of hostility. 



Will a nation watch with equanimity the gradual disappearance of its trade and 

 commerce, the absorption of its most lucrative industries, and the " peaceful 

 penetration" and colonisation of its territories by foreigners, even though such 

 evils are due to its own shortcomings ? Will not the cry sooner or later arise, 

 " Ireland for the Irish ! " " South Africa for the Africander ! " " Mexico for the 

 Mexicans?" Were not such sentiments largely responsible for the Boer War* 

 the invasion of Mexico by the United States, and are they not largely responsible 

 for the disaffection in Ireland? "England for the English ! " commenced to be 

 heard in 1913-14 in connection with the peaceful penetration of this country by 

 the Germans. 



It is fear of being reduced to the status of helots which gives rise to these 

 battle-cries. 



Is not this same sentiment mainly responsible for civil wars ? " The land for 

 the worker ! " is practically identical as a battle-cry and almost invariably precedes 

 a great revolution. Civil war, indeed, appears to arise from causes very similar 

 to, if not identical with, those which result in international war. And civil war is, 

 in itself, a cause of international war. For a revolution in a country threatens the 

 social stability of its neighbours ; it is infectious and must therefore be suppressed. 

 The attempt to suppress the French Revolution resulted in a world war. The 

 great Powers are now, accordingly, endeavouring merely to isolate Russian 

 " Bolshevism." 



It is to be noted also that Russian Bolshevists, like the French revolutionaries, 

 seek to impose their views on neighbouring nations. 



It thus seems clear that war is due to the two sentiments of fear and ambition, 

 of which illegitimate ambition, the predatory spirit, is the chief cause. 



Why should National Ambition grow with Military Power? 



It is clear that German ambition grew with German armaments. In the first 

 instance arose legitimate ambition, manifested in 1866 and 1870, which gradually 

 developed into illegitimate ambition as the national armaments increased in power. 

 There are, evidently, grounds for the contention that armaments are responsible 

 for war. How can this fact be accounted for ? 



It has long been a well-established military maxim that the offensive is the 

 only safe defence and that no army can hope to defeat its adversary unless it 

 attacks. Hence, every effort is invariably made in every army worthy of the 

 name to inculcate the " offensive spirit " to all ranks from the Commander-in-Chief 

 to the private. An army which lacks this spirit, unless it be overwhelmingly 

 superior in numbers and armaments, cannot hope for victory ; and this is equally 

 true of warfare on land, sea, or in the air. In this respect an army or navy is in 

 contrast with a police force, in which the defensive spirit only is inculcated. But 

 whereas an army or navy expects to meet forces of equal or perhaps superior 

 strength which it hopes to overcome by sheer fighting capacity, a police force 



