Anti war Quote by Simone Weil
“The great error of nearly all studies of war, an error into which all socialists have fallen, has been to consider war as an episode in foreign politics when it is especially an act of internal politics and the most atrocious act of all . . . Since the directing apparatus has no other way of fighting the enemy than by sending its own soldiers, under compulsion, to their death-the war of one state against another state resolves itself into a war of the state and the military apparatus against its own people.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Iliad, or the Poem of Force” (1939)
War is portrayed as a tool of internal political control, where the state forces its own citizens to fight, turning conflict into oppression of its own people.
In simple terms: War is a state's oppression of its own citizens.
Key Takeaway
Recognize war's internal political motives.
Themes
politics
war
oppression
Mood
serious
critical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- national policy
- civil resistance
- ethical critique
Key Concepts
state power
military conscription
Questions to Reflect On
- Can internal politics ever justify war?
- How can societies resist militaristic oppression?
A Different Perspective
War may also be driven by external threats.
