II.

But the people who positively admire and advocate and want war for its
own sake are only a small, feverish minority of mankind. The greater
obstacle to the pacification of the world is not the war-seeker, but the
vast masses of people who for the most various motives support and
maintain all kinds of institutions and separations that make for war.
They do not want war, they do not like war, but they will not make
sacrifices, they will not exert themselves in any way to make war
difficult or impossible.

It is they who give the war maniac his opportunity. They will not lock
the gun away from him, they will not put a reasonable limit to the
disputes into which he can ultimately thrust his violent substitute for
a solution. They are like the people who dread and detest yellow fever,
but oppose that putting of petrol on the ponds which is necessary to
prevent it because of the injury to the water flowers.

Now, it is necessary, if we are to have an intelligently directed
anti-war campaign, that we should make a clear, sound classification of
these half-hearted people, these people who do not want war, but who
permit it. Their indecisions, their vagueness, these are the really
effective barriers to our desire to end war forever.

And first, there is one thing very obvious, and that is the necessity
for some controlling world authority if treaties are to be respected and
war abolished. While there are numerous sovereign States in the world
each absolutely free to do what it chooses, to arm its people or
repudiate engagements, there can be no sure peace. But great multitudes