The gradual decline of a society is often a self-induced process of trying to meet ever-expanding appetites, rather than a physical inability to produce past levels of food and fuel, or to maintain adequate defense.
Victor Davis HansonRead
Any time the Western way of war can be unleashed on an enemy stupid enough to enter its arena, victory is assured.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that when the Western military approach is applied against an unwise opponent, success is guaranteed.
Victor Davis Hanson highlights the effectiveness of the Western military strategy, implying that it thrives on certain advantages. By describing the enemy as 'stupid' for engaging in this 'arena', he posits that a lack of understanding or preparation on the part of the opponent leads to inevitable defeat, thus reinforcing the idea that intelligence and strategy are key ingredients for success in warfare.
Themes
WarVictoryStrategyWesternEnemy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about military strategy in a classroom setting.
More from Victor Davis Hanson
All quotes βStates are like people. They do not question the awful status quo until some dramatic event overturns the conventional and lax way of thinking.
Victor Davis HansonRead
Behind every American soldier, dozens of their countrymen tonight sleep soundly β and hundreds more in their shadow abroad will wake up alive and safe.
Victor Davis HansonRead
This bloody past suggests to us that enemies cease hostilities only when they are battered enough to acknowledge that there is no hope in victory - and thus that further resistance means only useless sacrifice.
Victor Davis HansonRead
Similar quotes
My personal feeling, if I can interject a political note, is that I don't think it is right that basic health care is a privilege. It shouldn't be. It should be a right of all human beings. And certainly in the richest country in the world.
Bryan CranstonRead
People forget that when you're 16, you're probably more serious than you'll ever be again. You think seriously about the big questions.
John HughesRead
Coincidences are the scars of fate.
Carlos Ruiz ZafonRead
The problem in the world is the oppression of man by man; it this which threatens existence.
Lorraine HansberryRead
From principles is derived probability, but truth or certainty is obtained only from facts.
Tom StoppardRead
Men imagine that they communicate their virtue or vice only by overt actions, and do not see that virtue or vice emit a breath every moment.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead