War as the basic social system.

[Mihail]

Within the last few hours, I've been reading a book called Rule By Secrecy by Jim Marrs. It's a book about those people really in power, but that isn't the important thing here. He writes that in 1963 a special think-tank/study group was put together to study the problems of peace, and they mostly met in the "Iron Mountain", a large nuclear bunker/hideout/whatever. Anyway, a report was leaked anonymously by a man who said that he had been a member of the think tank at one point. The leak hasn't received much attention and probably won't, and it's claim to fact can be disputed, but the important thing is the idea it brings across:

John Doe said the "Iron Mountain Boys," as they called themselves,

conducted an informal, off-the-books secret study uninhibited by normal

government restraints. They submitted their report in March 1966.

According to the report, "War itself is the basic social system, within

which other secondary modes of social organization conflict or conspire.

It is the system which has governed most human societies of record, as it

is today." The report's authors saw war as both necessary and desirable as

"the principal organizing force" as well as "the essential economic stabilizer

of modern societies."

They expressed concern that through "ambiguous leadership" the

"ruling administrative class" might lose its ability to "rationalize a

desired war," leading to the "actual disestablishment of military institutions,"

an eventuality they viewed as "catastrophic."

Therefore the report writers concluded, "We must first reply, as

strongly as we can, that the war system cannot responsibly be allowed

to disappear until (1.) we know exactly what [forms of social control]

we plan to put in its place and (2.) we are certain, beyond reasonable

doubt, that these substitute institutions will serve their purposes. . . ."

Most significantly, the report states, "The elimination of war implies

the inevitable elimination of national sovereignty and the traditional

nation-state." It added, "The possibility of war provides the sense of

external necessity without which no government can long remain in

power. . . . The basic authority of a modern state over irs people resides in

its war powers."

The report goes on to say that war "has served as the last great safeguard

against the elimination of necessary social classes . . . hewers of

wood and drawers of water" and that war functions to control "essential

class relationships."

It is really thought-provoking stuff, and it makes me remember that I read that the Greek Heracleitus said that polemos pater panton, or war is the father of all things. Aaaand that sometime during the late 60's a study calculated/found out that there had only been 268 years without war for the last 3,421, and there haven't been any years free of war since, at least none that I can remember.

So what do you guys think about this?

[gunner154]

There are a lot of assumptions thrown about here. Like the social classes being necessary. And the need of the state to have authority over its people.