THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AGRICULTURAL AGE AND THE INDUSTRIAL AGE

PEACE AND VIOLENCE ~ 28 ~ cannot do otherwise than kill a large number of non-combatants along with the combatants. In reality, therefore, it is well-nigh impossible to meet this condition. This shows that, in practice, man has only two options in present times: either he refrains from war on the grounds that the observance of humanitarian provisos is impracticable. Or else he commits the crime of hurling himself headlong into war, callously ignoring all humane considerations. When we delve deeper into the matter, we discover another important truth. We now find that in present times, on the one hand, circumstances are such as do not allow us to meet all the desirable conditions of waging war, while, on the other hand, such resources have been made available by the industrial revolution as permit us to achieve our goals by purely peaceful means. Indeed, we may expect to win far greater victories today by peaceful means than could have been done in ancient times by waging war. It must be conceded that war, as fought in former ages, has been rendered a futile exercise by the modern industrial revolution.