Proudhon - A Biography

THE EXILE
twists o f argument that reassure the perceptive reader. For the
war Proudhon praises is only that idealised and chivalrous con­
flict in which men o f equal strength meet in combat with equal
weapons. But since such war has taken place only in myth,
Proudhon is forced to admit that from the beginning armed
conflict has been rendered impure and ignoble by the ferocity,
rapine and perfidy that have accompanied it. And thus the anti­
militarist who has not grown so impatient as to put aside the
book finds the author swinging suddenly to his side. For, despite
the noble qualities inherent in the idea of war as an aspect o f the
eternal conflict, its corrupt elements negate its possible benefits.
The cause of the depravity o f war is economic; it is the pheno­
menon o f pauperism. And here Proudhon makes an important
distinction between pauperism and poverty. Poverty, the state in
which man gains by his work enough for his needs, is the ideal
human condition, in which we are most free, in which, being
masters o f our senses and appetites, we are best able to spiritualise
our existence. But the only way to bring this ideal condition to all
men is by assuring within the community an equal share in pro­
ducts and services. Equality and sufficiency are inseparable. But
this law has been consistently violated, and the lust for wealth
has destroyed the equilibrium of freedom. The greed o f the
powerful has produced pauperism as the accompaniment o f their
own wealth, and it is to avoid the consequences o f this internal
disequilibrium without depriving the rich that states indulge in
merciless war. Thus, in modern times, war is the consequence o f
the capitalist regime, which produces economic chaos.
The way to remedy this situation is to renew the economic
equilibrium between the members o f society. When that has been
achieved, there will no longer be need for wars o f conquest. But
the peace that ensues will not mean the end o f antagonism and
conflict; it will mean their transformation into forces operating
constructively in economic and social development instead o f in
war. ‘Henceforward heroism must give place to industry,’ and
mankind must embark on an age o f indefinite pacification. The
paladins may keep their honoured place in legend, but ‘I want a
plebeian Hercules no more than a governmental Hercules.’
War and Peace was a book made to arouse controversy, and the
apparent contradictoriness o f its theme was given an almost
grotesque emphasis by the way in which it was presented. None