--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The nation in arms is virtually a…" description: "\"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 th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7e/jacques-barzun-3251_accepted_the-nation-in-arms-is-virtually-a-commun_2440457.jpg" --- # The nation in arms is virtually a communist state: the… ![“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…” quote by Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7e/jacques-barzun-3251_accepted_the-nation-in-arms-is-virtually-a-commun_2440457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7e/jacques-barzun-3251_accepted_the-nation-in-arms-is-virtually-a-commun_2440457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7e/jacques-barzun-3251_accepted_the-nation-in-arms-is-virtually-a-commun_2440457.jpg) > “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.” [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepted/) [Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Cabinets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cabinets/) [Censored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censored/) [Censored Propaganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censored-propaganda-483302/) [Command](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command/) [Communist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communist/) [Communist State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communist-state-483303/) [Concealed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concealed/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Feds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feds/) [Fighter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighter/) [Fronts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fronts/) [Grind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grind/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Loyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyal/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mills/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Murmuring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murmuring/) [Nation Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-arms-483304/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Please](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/please/) [Propaganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda/) [Propaganda Grinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda-grinds-483305/) [Protected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protected/) [Public opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-opinion/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) [Wages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wages/) ## Related quotes > [Of course, I know everything that happens in Russia. 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