The U.S. As Obstacle to Human Progress

[19th century abolitionist William Lloyd] Garrison, like Simon Bolivar or Thomas Paine, was a patriot with cosmopolitan aspirations…he always understood emancipation as a ‘universal’ ideal. That he happened to work in the most obdurate slaveholding country in the Americas did not blind him to the progress of abolition elsewhere….only in the United States would the masters resort to warfare rather than negotiate some form of emancipation.” [Henry Mayer, All On Fire, p. 151.]

More than once in its history, its own self-perception notwithstanding, the U.S. has been an obstacle on the road to the improvement of human society.

Jihadis, Then and Now

England had become the milch cow of the Third Crusade. Every pennyt which could be taxed out of the pockets of the unfotunate people, or tithed or extracted by threat or promise, was being accumulated for one purpose only, to provide Richard Coeur de Lion with the most powerful and best equipped army which had ever carried the cross. England could wallow in debt and suffer the most venal government. That was of no consequence.–Thomas B. Costain, The Conquering Family, 174-175

Pathetic, those Medieval people, destroying the nation’s future and the lives of its citizens to satisfy the lust for power and mindless religious fundamentalism of its leaders.

Relationship Between International Law & Morality

In the Zuo Zhuan, China’s earliest surviving historical text, one can see the emergence of Chinese cultural consciousness about how to organize an “international political system,” in this case the system that existed in the feudal (Confucian) era of warring states.

Self-Inflicted Wounds

After vanquishing its external foes, the late Roman republic had every reason to be satisfied with its global position; domestically, too, the basic facts were highly favorable: relatively strong economy, unified society, and high esteem for the rule of law had laid the foundation for a political organization that would have passed for a fairly modern democracy. But within a few generations, elite irresponsibility had turned Rome into a corrupt and militaristic dictatorship. Sallust focuses on a key turning point, the years following a burst of military adventurism (under Marius and Sulla) and preceding Julius Caesar’s final overthrow of the Republic:

Never in its history–it seems to me–had the empire of Rome been in such a miserable plight. From east to west all the world had been vanquished by her armies and obeyed her will; at home there was profound peace and abundance of wealth, which moral men esteem the chiefest of blessings. Yet there were Roman citizens obstinately determined to destroy both themselves and their country….A deadly moral contagion had infected all their minds….although all disturbers of the peace in this period put forward specious pretexts, claiming either to be protecting the rights of the people or to be strengthening the authority of the Senate, this was mere pretence: in reality, every one of them was fighting for his personal aggrandizement. –Sallust, The Conspiracy of Catiline (Penguin Classics), pp.37-39.

Institutional Defense of Democracy

Describing the collapse of Roman freedoms in the years leading up to Julius Caesar, Appian noted:

“…neither freedom, nor democracy, nor law, nor reputation, nor office, were of any help any longer to anybody when the holders of the tribunate, which had come into existence for the prevention of injustice and the protection of ordinary people, and was sacred and inviolate, both committed and suffered such wrongs.”–Appian, The Civil Wars (Penguin Classics, 19)

Friendship or Subjugation

Trying to make peace with the North African enemy King Bocchus, Roman officer Lucius Sulla told the king:

“…no friendship is more advantageous than ours: in the first place, because the distance between us will minimize occasions of quarrel, while not diminishing the effectiveness of our support; secondly, because we already have plenty of subjects, whereas neither we nor anyone else ever had enough friends.”–Sallust, The Jugurthine War/The Conspiracy of Catiline (Penguin Classics, pp.138-139)

Violence Begets Violence

The Roman historian Appian had a nice sense of the dynamics by which a cycle of intensifying violence can lead to the destruction of social order. Perhaps our modern advocates of bombing the enemy into submission should take a look at the old histories…

In this way the episodes of civil strife escalated from rivalry and contentiousness to murder, and from murder to full-scale war; and this was the first army composed of Roman citizens to attack their own country as though it were a hostile power. From this point onwards their conflcits continued to be settled by military means and there were frequent attacks on Rome, and sieges, and every sort of incident of war, because nothing remained, neither law, nor political institutions, nor patriotism, that could induce any sense of shame in the men of violence. – Appian, The Civil Wars (Penguin Classics, 33-34)

Those who believe short-term accomplishments justify the establishment of dangerous precedents, take heed.

Cultural Richness

In the “neat phrases from literature” category, I just found this one amusing:

es un oficio bastante malo

An aging and not too health army officer in love with a 19-year-old beauty who also loved him, said this to his beauty in sympathy for her predicament. [Ernest Hemingway, Across the River and Into the Trees, ch 9.]

Like the hero of the novel, we should all speak numerous languages and decide which one is best for expressing which thought, because one size does not fit all.

Trusting Lackeys

At one point during Julius Caesar’s Gallic campaign, when the Aeduan tribe was allied with Rome, the question of whether or not to break the alliance and join Vercingetorix’s “rebellion”–what today might be called Gaul’s “national liberation movement.” The Aeduan leader had recently been confirmed in his position through the personal intervention of Caesar, who had ruled in accordance with Aeduan laws. The Aeduan leader observed,

It is true that I am under some obligation to Caesar – though the justice of my case was so apparent that he could hardly help deciding in my favor. but the cause of national liberty outweighs any such consideration. Why should we call Caesar in to adjudicate questions involving our rights and the interpretation of our laws? We do not expect him to submit questions of Roman law to our arbitration? (Caesar, The Conquest of Gaul. London: Penguin Classics, pp.173-4.)

With that, the lackey declared his independence and led the Aeduans into revolt.

Peace, Freedom…& Responsibility

“Down to the destruction of Carthage, the people and Senate shared the government peaceably and with due restraint, and the citizens did not compete for glory or power; fear of its enemies preserved the good morals of the state. But when the people were relieved of this fear, the favourite vices of prosperity – licence and pride – appeared as a natural consequence. Thus the peace and quiet which they had longed for in time of adversity proved, when they obtained it, to be even more grievous and bitter than the adversity. For the nobles started to use their position, and the people their liberty, to gratify their selfish passions, every man snatching and seizing what he could for himself. So the whole community was split into parties, and the Republic, which hitherto had been the common interest of all, was torn asunder….The people were burdened with military service and poverty, while the spoils of war were snatched by the generals and shared with a handful of friends.” — Sallust, The Jugurthine War/The Conspiracy of Catiline, pp. 77-78 (Tr. S.A.Handford), Penguin Books, 1963.