The Age of Conquest is Over
The need for formal military establishments can also be over
I published a previous version of this article on April 3, 2022. Now, nearly a year later, it still seems valid to me.
I believe the age of conquest is over, and that with its passing the need for formal military establishments could also be brought to an end. Please consider…
- The U.S. could not subdue Vietnam
- The U.S. and Soviet Union could not subdue Afghanistan
- The U.S. had to buy peace in Iraq
- The Russians cannot subdue Ukraine
THE AGE OF CONQUEST IS OVER!
There are two reasons for this…
- Decentralized defense (guerilla warfare) is more powerful than formal military forces.
- It is now too easy to destroy expensive weapons with cheap weapons. Think of remote-controlled roadside explosives in Iraq and cheap missiles destroying expensive planes and tanks in the Ukraine war.
This means that it is very unlikely that any large country will ever again be able to invade, subdue, and absorb a smaller country. There will be no more empires.
But I think the real long-term consequences are even more profound than that. That’s because…
ARMIES ARE OBSOLETE!
It can be easy to miss this because we currently see two formal armies fighting each other in Ukraine. But what really matters are the tactics Ukraine has used, which would work just as well for decentralized forces.
Focus on the key point —Ukraine has primarily used cheap weapons to destroy expensive weapons. But even if the Russian army eventually destroyed the Ukrainian army, it would still have to cope with the kind of decentralized and often remote-controlled resistance that the U.S. encountered in Iraq. This means…
WAR IS OVER IF WE WANT IT!
There is no reason for large countries to have formal military establishments if they cannot use them to conquer other countries, nor are such establishments needed to defend and deter others. Decentralized defense would be cheaper and work better.
This means that formal military establishments are pure waste. They have no function and no value. They can be eliminated. And if large countries do not have them then small countries no longer have reason to fear. They can dispense with their armies too. War could be over, if we want it!
WE MUST DEMILITARIZE!
I think we should begin to disarm the politicians, everywhere on planet Earth. We can do this by taking away the military establishments they use to make mischief. Better yet, the U.S. can lead the way. We should do it first. If large armies could not subdue Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, then the U.S. is even more invulnerable, even if we have no military at all.
Do you have the foresight to champion this cause?
