Thomas Hobbes Quotes
It is necessarily requisite to the peoples defense, that they be fore-armed. Now to be fore-armed is to be furnished with Soldiers, Armies, Ships, Forts and Monies, before the danger be instant; for the listing of Soldiers, and taking up of Arms after a blow is given, is too late at least, if not impossible.
Thomas Hobbes, 1588-1679, English Political Philosopher, Philosophicall Elements of a true Citizen
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Plan Orange was the code name of the united states plan for possible war with Japan. In this ironic quotation, American military planners realized five years before Pearl Harbor that surprise attack was the major vulnerability. We were surprised and had no help from our intelligence service which despite the recommendations was almost nonexistent.
The founding fathers antipathy to standing armies had an historical basis, even in England.
This verse is quoted in the Constitution of Iran (Article 151) in the section regarding it's military establishment.
Rumsfeld wanted Defense Department people running and controlling the civilian government of Iraq after our invasion. General Garner, who was the American appointee to run the civilian government until the Iraqis could have elections wanted State Department, Justice Department and other non military personnel run Iraq.
This is a very important quotation in that there are some who believed—then and now—narrowly that self defense is limited to responding to only physical attacks on the United States per se. Kellogg made it clear that it includes attacks on the United States and any of its possessions. Most important it allows response to any “danger” to the United States. By this definition, for example, if Saddam had been developing weapons of mass destruction in the Iraq war, the pre-emptive attack would have been self-defense. Since the claim of weapons development was bogus, it was not self defense. The key variable a reasonable danger. Nations determine that by what others do and say. In 2011, if Iran were developing nuclear weapons the U. S. could attack as an act of self defense because the Iranian highest level officials have called for “death to the United States”. When they just had the intention to harm us, there was no danger. But when they add the means to harm us to the intention, that is a danger. Likewise other nations may act in self defense if a potential enemy threatens to endanger them and has the means to carry out the threats or desires.
If we replace the word “socialist” with “capitalist” this statement would be approved by almost every American Senior Military officer and Defense Official as well as most members of Congress. The reality was that the basic defense posture of the Soviet Union and the United States was essentially the same during the Cold War.
What is interesting about this quote is that it is very much like many American politicians who support a large and strong military.
“There” referred to the new American Colonies. He was advocating mobilizing the poor and destitute of England and sending them to America to provide manpower for a needed workforce and to be soldiers in the event of wars. The poor have historically been used indiscriminately for military manpower needs until Post WWII America where the military technology began to require minimum standards of intelligence and literacy. With the all volunteer military and higher standards, the majority of the military in America has been from the lower socioeconomic classes.
Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. In addition to political philosophy, Hobbes contributed to a diverse array of other fields, including history, jurisprudence, geometry, the physics of gases, theology, and ethics, as well as philosophy in general.
