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
For I do not exist: there exist but the thousands of mirrors that reflect me. With every acquaintance I make, the population of phantoms resembling me increases. Somewhere they live, somewhere they multiply. I alone do not exist.
Vladimir NabokovRead
If what I say resonates with you, it's merely because we're branches of the same tree.
William Butler YeatsRead
Money motivates neither the best people, nor the best in people. It can move the body and influence the mind, but it cannot touch the heart or move the spirit; that is reserved for belief, principle, and morality.
Dee HockRead
I say let me never be complete, I say may I never be content,I say deliver me from Swedish furniture, I say deliver me from clever arts, I say deliver me from clear skin and perfect teeth,I say you have to give up! I say evolve, and let the chips fall where they may!
Chuck PalahniukRead
America is the world's engine but also its conscience. We are the petri dish of diversity and inclusiveness.
Martin DempseyRead
The true nature of anything is what it becomes at its highest.
AristotleRead