Social Disease Always Due to Error 109 



intensity consists in the condition of a minimum of 

 vital intensity, which is a reductio ad absurdum. 

 But if the association of the entire human race is 

 the natural condition of our species we can realize 

 how much Marshal von Moltke deceived himself 

 when he said that war {i.e., the diseased condition 

 of our species) conforms to the order of things 

 established by God. If this were true, God 

 would have established an order of things which 

 is anarchy, and therefore the disorder of things. 

 In other words God would have established a 

 disorder which is an order. The contradiction 

 could not be more complete. 



The philosophy of force fails entirely to realize 

 that the condition of social disease is due to error. 

 The reason why the association of all men is not 

 yet complete is because of the wide-spread belief 

 that men can increase their well-being more rapidly 

 by despoiling their neighbours than by working 

 themselves to adapt the physical environment, 

 i.e., to produce wealth. 



The social disease of anarchy in human rela- 

 tions is the result of the belief in the effectiveness 

 of exploitation and banditism. The idea that men 

 can enrich themselves most quickly by despoil- 

 ing their neighbours has profoundly affected the 

 structure of all our national and international 

 institutions. By far the largest part of the en- 

 ergies of all national governments are absorbed 

 in the provisions for national defence. But 

 there would be no need of national defence unless 



