--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Preventive war is a crime not easily…" description: "\"Preventive war is a crime not easily committed by a country that retains any traces of democracy.\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/george-orwell-57_committed_preventive-war-is-a-crime-not-easily-com_2935196.jpg" --- # Preventive war is a crime not easily committed by a… ![“Preventive war is a crime not easily committed by a country that retains any traces of democracy.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/george-orwell-57_committed_preventive-war-is-a-crime-not-easily-com_2935196.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/george-orwell-57_committed_preventive-war-is-a-crime-not-easily-com_2935196.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/george-orwell-57_committed_preventive-war-is-a-crime-not-easily-com_2935196.jpg) > “Preventive war is a crime not easily committed by a country that retains any traces of democracy.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preventive war conflicts with democratic values and is rarely justified **In simple terms:** War preemptively undermines democracy Key Takeaway Question the morality of preemptive conflict Themes politics ethics war Mood serious critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - military strategy - public debate Key Concepts democratic integrity international law Questions to Reflect On - When is preventive war morally defensible? - How can democracies address security without war? A Different Perspective May ignore real security threats ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Preventive war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preventive-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [War is a crime committed by men and, therefore, when enough people say it shall not be, it cannot be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/war-is-a-crime-committed-by-men-and-therefore-when-enough-people-say/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [No matter how many people you kill, using a machine gun in battle is not a war crime because it does not cause unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-junger/no-matter-how-many-people-you-kill-using-a-machine-gun-in-battle-is/) [Sebastian Junger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-junger/) > [War should be made a crime, and those who instigate it should be punished as criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-evans-hughes/war-should-be-made-a-crime-and-those-who-instigate-it-should-be/) [Charles Evans Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-evans-hughes/) > [The invasion of Iraq was simply a war crime. Straight-out war crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-invasion-of-iraq-was-simply-a-war-crime-straight-out-war-crime/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“It appears utterly impossible that the United States will start a “preventive war.” We will fight when attacked, either directly or in a territory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-usher/it-appears-utterly-impossible-that-the-united-states-will-start-a/) Shaun Usher > [Possibly my hatred of war blinds me so that I cannot comprehend the arguments they adduce. But, in my opinion, there is no such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/possibly-my-hatred-of-war-blinds-me-so-that-i-cannot-comprehend-the/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“Bismarck once said, ‘Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/bismarck-once-said-preventive-war-is-like-committing-suicide-out-of/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [The target of preventive war must have several characteristics. It must be virtually defenceless; it must be important enough to be worth the trouble;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-target-of-preventive-war-must-have-several-characteristics-it/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked about such a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/preventive-war-was-an-invention-of-hitler-i-would-not-even-listen-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no more dangerous thing for a democracy than a foreign policy based on presidential preventive war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/there-is-no-more-dangerous-thing-for-a-democracy-than-a-foreign/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [A preventive war, to my mind, is an impossibility today. How could you have one if one of its features would be several cities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/a-preventive-war-to-my-mind-is-an-impossibility-today-how-could-you/) [Dwight D. 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That doesn't mean launching an immediate preventive war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/i-d-like-to-see-a-more-aggressive-attitude-on-the-part-of-the-united/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [Another term for preventive war is aggressive war - starting wars because someday somebody might do something to us. That is not part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/another-term-for-preventive-war-is-aggressive-war-starting-wars/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. 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