“War and the Rise of the State”

Throughout the history of the United States, war has been the primary impetus behind the growth and development of the central state.  It has been the lever by which presidents and other national officials have bolstered the power of the state in the face of tenacious popular resistance.

Bruce D. Porter (1952-2016)

Shortly before his call to the Seventy in 1995, Professor Bruce Porter published a book entitled War and the Rise of the State.

The passage above conveys something of its thesis.

It seems to me an argument to which political conservatives ought to pay particular attention.  We’re supportive of a strong defense and of military preparedness, as well as of limited constitutional government.  So we need to be acutely aware of the inherent tension that exists between those two principles.