Month: January 2009

Clausewitz, On War, Book 2: Chapter 1 Comments

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The probing of the theorist of the moral pretension of the national interest puts him in an awkard position by making him suspect of being indifferent to all truth and morality.  This is why there are so many ideologies and so few theories.

Hans Joachim Morgenthau, 1962

The first chapter of Book 2 has some interesting points which lead to a fuller understanding of Clausewitz’s intent and the various falacies that he sees associated with theory.  I will comment on four points, but this is not meant to indicate that there are not others present in this chapter. 

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Change We Can Believe In (More of the Same)

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This is brutal:

As Weiss wrote, “The chances of Schapiro shaking things up in the securities industry — instituting real, meaningful, desperately desired change — are about the same as the chances you can make a black bear curtsy and serve tea. This is a terribly disappointing selection.”
 
This is not a pick that most people really care about and the media didn’t raise hell over it. 90% of voters still probably have no idea who she is, or what FINRA is. But the fact that the Senate rubber stamped such a dubious pick so quickly and without dissent could be a sign of much worse things to come.
 
Convicted felon Sam Antar, who was the CFO of the Crazy Eddie fraud and now speaks out against white collar crime told me that “If I was still the criminal CFO of Crazy Eddie, Mary Schapiro is not someone I would be afraid of.”

It is going to be a long four years (or 8) indeed. 

California’s Tipping Point

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I think a threshold or tipping point exists in the ratio between the political power of those who pay taxes and those who consume taxes directly. After that tipping point is reached, those who pay taxes become the economic slaves of those who consume taxes.

I think California has passed that point. [h/t Instapundit] Tax consumers now control the state government and can vote themselves almost any level of personal income and benefits they wish while taxpayers cannot muster the political capital to defend themselves. 

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George Orwell on Blog Comments, 1938

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When you meet anyone in the flesh you realize immediately that he is a human being & not a sort of caricature embodying certain ideas. It is partly for that reason that I don’t mix much in literary circles, because I know from experience that once I have met & spoken to anyone I shall never again be able to show any intellectual brutality towards him, even when I feel that I ought to.

“U.S. Army Lt. Col. Clausewitz”

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Many thanks to our esteemed colleague, Lord Curzon, who is not only the former Viceroy of India, but he apparently knows how to use Photoshop, too. He has put up a picture he made over at the terrific Coming Anarchy blog, which he says is his “one contribution to the Clausewitz Roundtable“:

Clausewitz, US Army

Clausewitz in camo, instead of sword, shako and epaulettes. If you squint a little, it works. The picture captures the spirit of our ongoing Clausewitz Roundtable, which is not meant to be an exercise in antiquarianism. What does Clausewitz have to say to us today? How do we better understand current issues, by looking at them through a “Clausewitzian lens”? What would it take to do a “critical analysis” of America’s defense challenges, along the lines Clausewitz suggests? The only way to get his perspective, without a ouija board or going to Heaven and asking him, is to read his book, as carefully as circumstances permit, and try to apply whatever remains of value in it to our current situation.