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War is harmful, not only to the conquered but to the conqueror. Society has arisen out of the works of peace; the essence of society is peacemaking. Peace and not war is the father of all things. Only economic action has created the wealth around us; labor, not the profession of arms, brings happiness. Peace builds, war destroys.
Ludwig Von Mises
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Interpretation

What this quote means

War brings destruction and suffering to all, while peace fosters growth and happiness.

This quote by Ludwig Von Mises emphasizes the detrimental effects of war not only on those who are defeated but also on the victors. He argues that true progress and wealth arise from peaceful actions and labor, suggesting that peace is foundational to a prosperous and harmonious society, in stark contrast to the destructive nature of war.

Themes

WarPeaceSocietyHappinessEconomicsLabor

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech advocating for diplomacy, one might quote Mises to highlight the importance of peacemaking.

More from Ludwig Von Mises

The idea that political freedom can be preserved in the absence of economic freedom, and vice versa, is an illusion. Political freedom is the corollary of economic freedom.
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Wars of aggression are popular nowadays with those nations convinced that only victory and conquest could improve their material well-being.
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Only stilted pedants can conceive the idea that there are absolute norms to tell what is beautiful and what is not. They try to derive from the works of the past a code of rules with which, as they fancy, the writers and artists of the future should comply. But the genius does not cooperate with the pundit.
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The most serious dangers for American freedom and the American way of life do not come from without.
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The public firm can nowhere maintain itself in free competition with the private firm; it is possible today only where it has a monopoly that excludes competition. Even that alone is evidence of its lesser economic productivity.
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Each epoch has found in the Gospels what it sought to find there, and has overlooked what it wished to overlook.
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