Accepted Quote by Jacques Barzun
“The nation in arms is virtually a communist state: the people must be paid wages and fed and protected and regimented behind the lines as much as on the front. Minds must be kept loyal and at the right pitch of hate, so that successive drafts of fighters are accepted without murmurings. Letters and newspapers must be censored while the propaganda mill grinds on. As for decisions of strategy and overall command, they must please many masters: dissenters in the cabinet, the heads of the allied states and public opinion. Hence failures must be disguised or concealed.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Totalitarian State, 1945
A war-driven society becomes militarized, controlling wages, information, and thought, turning citizens into a quasi‑communist apparatus.
In simple terms: War makes society like a controlled state.
Key Takeaway
Guard against loss of civil freedoms.
Themes
authoritarianism
war
propaganda
Mood
cautionary
reflective
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- wartime economies
- media regulation
- public morale
Key Concepts
state control
censorship
mass mobilization
Questions to Reflect On
- What freedoms are most at risk in crises?
- How can societies preserve dissent?
A Different Perspective
May oversimplify complex wartime dynamics.
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