more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
The conqueror and conquered peoples always remain in a state of war with one another, unless the nation, returned to full liberty, were to choose voluntarily its conqueror as leader.
Gist of Idea
A state of war remains after a conquest, if the losers don't accept the winners
Source
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Discourse on the Origin of Inequality [1754], Part II)
Book Ref
Rousseau,Jean-Jacques: 'The Basic Political Writings', ed/tr. Cress,Donald A. [Hackett 1987], p.71
A Reaction
Tricky if part of the conquered nation accepts the conqueror, and the other part doesn't, as in France in 1940. In a permanent conquest the state of war seems to fade away, as in England in 1066.
| 23401 | A military victory is not a thing of beauty [Laozi (Lao Tzu)] |
| 8238 | Seeking peace through war is like looking for fish up a tree [Mengzi (Mencius)] |
| 19783 | A state of war remains after a conquest, if the losers don't accept the winners [Rousseau] |
| 21074 | Some trust in the enemy is needed during wartime, or peace would be impossible [Kant] |
| 24100 | If you don't want war, remove your borders; but you set up borders because you want war [Nietzsche] |
| 23858 | War is perpetuated by its continual preparations [Weil] |
| 23592 | We can only lead war towards peace if we firmly enforce the rules of war [Walzer] |
| 23618 | Unconditional surrender can't be demanded, since evil losers still have legitimate conditions [McMahan] |
| 20691 | Real peace is the implausibility of war (and not just its absence) [Harari] |