The State

by Randolph Bourne

“War is the health of the State” —Randolph Bourne, in The State , 1918 The State was an unfinished, unpaginated draft left by Randolph Bourne when he died during the flu pandemic of 1918. This draft, also known as War is the Health of the State , was published posthumously in a collection of essays Untimely Papers (1919). The State offers a powerful analysis of the link between state and war, and about the exploitation of war by the state in order to bring to the fore the herd instinct of the people. In times of peace, people pursue their own self-interest, identify with society, interact with government, and only occasionally encounter the state institutions. In times of war, the government and state become virtually identical, so that to oppose the government becomes an act of disloyalty to the state. Bourne’s positions in The State are as thought-provoking and relevant as ever for students of history, political scientists and others interested in the role of war for the modern state.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Cultural

98 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1916

About the author

Randolph Silliman Bourne was a progressive writer and "leftist intellectual", and a graduate of Columbia University. Bourne is best known for his essays, especially his unfinished work "The State," discovered after his death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolp...

Reviews

[منوچهر محور]

افاضات کوبنده و جالبی دارد:

جنگ سلامت دولت است
War is the health of the State.

جنگ را می‌توان ورزش طبقات مرفه دانست
... war can be called almost an upper-class sport.

جنگ رابطه معمول بین دولت‌هاست
... the normal relations of States is war.

و البته بین دولت و حکومت و ملت فرق قائل است. به نظرش گروهی از افراد جامعه به افراط وطن‌پرست هستند و جنگ به دلیل قدرت اینها در دولت شکل می‌گیرد. (البته من فکر می‌کنم دلیل شروع جنگها این است که برای یک عده نفع اقتصادی دارند؛ اگر نه آشکار و مستقیم، حداقل به صورت منافعی که از تبعات آن به طبقه حاکم می‌رسد.) سرانجام بحث جالبی درباره شکل‌گیری حکومت جمهوری در امریکا دارد.
خیلی خوشم آمد!۰

[Daniel R · Rating 5 out of 5]

به شکل خیلی ترسناکی حرف های بورن توصیف کننده همین روز ها است. در پیشگفتار کتاب که دهه ۹۰ میلادی نوشته شده هم به این نکته اشاره کرده و گفته کاش تا صد سال آینده شبیه چیز های پیشاتمدنی باشه. غریب این که هنوز اینطوریه. توی جنگ ۱۲ روزه دقیق می‌شد حرف های بورن رو پیدا کرد.

[Benjamin Uke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more modern look at the benefits of democracy than I'm used to. Very radical, but inspiring.

[Manuel Martínez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo que vió Bourne a principios del siglo XX es de especial actualidad, totalmente inspirador