NEGATIVE/GENERAL

MILITARY SOLUTIONS ARE LESS LIKELY NOW THAN IN THE PAST

ARMED FORCE IS ALMOST NEVER AN EFFECTIVE INSTRUMENT OF NATIONAL POLICY

HOWARD BREMBECK, Fourth Freedom Foundation, 2000; IN

SEARCH OF THE FOURTH FREEDOM // VT2002 acs p. 13

Why is armed force seldom an effective instrument of national policy? For one thing, it cannot be used to resolve many of the complex political problems that are often the source of national concern and international tension. it is too costly, too inflexible and too risky to be employed to meet anything less than the most serious challenge to a nation's security. In addition, there is a tendency toward equilibrium on the battlefield. in Afghanistan, for example, the introduction of relatively inexpensive Stinger missiles gave a Mujahideen foot soldier the power to destroy a helicopter gunship worth millions of rubles.

COMMERCE AND ECONOMICS WILL DRIVE US TO GIVE UP MILITARY SOLUTIONS

DAVID CORTRIGHT, Fourth Freedom Foundation, 2000; IN

SEARCH OF THE FOURTH FREEDOM // VT2002 acs P. VIII

The dilemma is how to defend freedom without falling prey to military madness. The solution is close at hand, in the world of business and commerce. History teaches that trade and economic development play a dominant role in shaping the course of human events. Civilizations rise or fall according to their productive capacity and economic vitality. The greatest force in the world is not military might but commerce, the insatiable drive of people everywhere to improve their lives by trading. This power can be harnessed to help tame aggression and overcome the scourge of war. Two hundred years ago the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote: "It is the spirit of commerce which cannot coexist with war, and which sooner or later takes hold of every nation. " The nineteenth century British philosopher John Stuart Mill argued similarly that "the great extent and rapid increase of international trade [is] the principal guarantee of the peace of the world."