Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Shifting of Styles of Weapons and Styles of Government

I finally decided to tackle Carroll Quigley's magnum opus "Tragedy and Hope". I'm currently in Chapter 4 and will probably be reading this off and on for a long time to come.

He raises an interesting point early in the book as he talks about civilizations, particularly western civilization.

When weapons are cheap and plentiful and the standard of living such that the average man can easily afford them, armies tend to be made up more of amateur volunteers. The government shifts to a democratic form.

When weapons shift to being very expensive and complicated, such that they require highly trained specialists to operate and use them, the government becomes more authoritarian.

Coincidence? (Hint: no)

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