8 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

have inflicted'terrible suffering on China, and even the welfare
of France has been thus endangered.

Objection may be made, on two grounds, to the use of force
at all. First, is not the purpose of community life to secure
peace, instead of the principle that Might is Right? If the State
depends on force, how is it better than uncivilised life? It can
be answered that the State uses force in accordance with law—
that is, the opinion of its people as to what is best; the uncivilised
man and the criminal use it for their private convenience. In the
same way, military action by an effective League of Nations
reflecting the judgment of mankind would differ from war
waged by a single State to gain its own eAds. This answer is sound
only in so far as the law, or the League decisions* are just.1

Secondly, does not force brutalise those who use it, so that
they become incapable of justice? The behaviour of the victorious
nations in 1918-19, at Versailles, and the conduct of dictators
to-day, gives much weight to this objection. The conclusion of
this line of argument is the political doctrine known as Anarchism,
the belief that all forms of compulsion do more harm than good.
The Anarchist does not desire "anarchy" as the word is generally
used, meaning disorder and lack of all organisation; he .believes
that organisation should result entirely from free consent, and
that authorities which try to use compulsion should be destroyed.
Anarchism has been most popular where Governments have
been laziest and most inclined to rely on compulsion rather than
on the goodwill which results from wise policy. Granted that
compulsion is evil and that the organisation of force to impose it
involves dangers to liberty, yet the majority of mankind take
the view that the dangers of disorder are greater. The argument
returns to the first of political questions, what would the life of
men be like without Government?

LAWS AND FACTS,

This examination of fundamental ideas has been necessary;
1 See Ch. XVI and Ch. XXIII.