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1821. April 10. Financial
(3.)
Remains, that source or mode of wasteful expenditure
in the wholesale way which, howsoever congenial, is not essential,
to the form of Government. These are — 1. Unnecessary wars.
2. Distant, and thence preponderantly expensive dependencies.
In a Representative Democracy, unnecessary wars against foreign adversaries
can scarcely have existence. For the sake of profit to the supremely
ruling body — the people, in whom is the power of appointment and
removal with relation to the operatively ruling body — their representatives
— it is not possible: but what none of them can avoid
seeing, is — that, with reference to the utmost possible profit capable
of being reaped at the expence of the people of any other
state, the expenditure that must be made is not only merely immediate
and certain, but antecedent: as well as, in the ultimate
result, greater. Upon their Representatives it is indeed that, in an
immediate way, the engaging or not engaging in any such
war would depend. But that which, as above, would be manifest
to the least reflecting of the two portions of the community,
viz., constituents, would be still more manifested in the eyes of the most reflecting
of those same two bodies their Representatives: in their
eyes accordingly, of the engaging in any such unnecessary war,
non re-election, — that is, removal, and with disgrace, would
be the certain consequence.
Remains, as a Another conceivable cause of unnecessary
war against foreign adversaries, irritation. But, if not for the
commencement, for the continuance, of a war considered
as being thus produced, what is necessary, is that, in the breasts
of the majority of the people, hatred of others should be more
strong and efficient than love of self. For a small portion
of time, and on the part of a small proportion of the
people, such predominance is at any rate conceivable.
But, for any considerable portion of time, on the part of
the majority of such a people, the nature of man considered,
it does not seem possible.
Identifier: | JB/036/021/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 36.
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