The Great Illusion Essay

Norman Angell, in his famous book, The Great Illusion, claims that war is futile. This claim is sustained by two main arguments. The first hinges on the concept of “interdependence”; the second on “adaptation”. This essay seeks to critically analyse Angell’s arguments and show how he has come to the conclusion that war is becoming obsolete as well as identifying the weaknesses of his concepts. The first part of the book, entitled “The Economics of the case”, explains why war isn’t profitable anymore. ‘Commerce and industry of a people no longer depend upon the expansion of its political frontiers … that military power is socially and economically futile, and can have no relation to the property of the people exercising it (Angell, p.x, 1913)’.
He argues that human beings evolve and adapt to changing circumstances identifying lots of ways in which 'we have seen man progress', for example, such as the reduction of all kinds of forms of violence in society, the progress of religious toleration and the ending of slavery. (Angell, p. 199, 1913). Much of Angell’s work was based on Darwin’s finding’s which further adds strength to his arguments. ’It is not the strongest nor the most intelligent who survive but those who can best manage change.' According to Angell, this struggle that Darwin underlines does not take place within but across species instead, relationships within a species is defined instead by solidarity. This led Angell to conclude that war is obsolete for the human species as war is not in their best interest and doesn't promote survival like it used to before the industrial age. Furthermore, was is still prevalent even after the book was released, for example, World War One and Two because, statesmen such as Hitler and Vladimir Putin fail, to recognise the interdependence of industrial nations and understand Darwin, as a result, they continue to govern as they see