War as politics, politics as war – and various other things “continued by other means”...

THE MISTRANSLATED MAXIM: “War is the continuation of politics by other means.”         Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831)        Prussian general and military theorist        On War (1832-1834), Bk. VIII, Ch. VI, Section B: “War is an Instrument of Policy”        This is the traditional English translation of a line from On War (Vom Kriege), a collection of writings by Clausewitz that was published posthumously by his wife in three volumes between 1832 and 1834. It encapsulates a point Clausewitz made, but it’s not an exact translation. One issue is that some words can be translated several ways. For example, the German word politik can mean either ‘politics’ or ‘policy.’ In German, the full sentence the maxim comes from says: “Wir behaupten dagegen, der Krieg ist nichts als eine Fortsetzung des politischen Verkehrs mit Einmischung anderer Mittel.” This can be and has been translated in several ways, but essentially says something like: “We maintain [or ‘assert’] however, that war is nothing but a continuation of politics [or ‘policy’] with the admixture [or ‘addition’] of other means [or ‘resources’].” In context, the point Clausewitz was making is that he disagreed with the idea that war amounted to an end of political ‘intercourse’ (Verkehr) or discourse. He asserted that war is merely another kind of political communication that has its own ‘grammar’ (Grammatik). In short, while the oft-quoted maxim does seem to reflect Clausewitz’s line of thought, the common English translation is not literally correct.

A MODERN POLITICAL VARIATION: “American politics is now the continuation of ‘war by other means.’...Government shutdowns, threatened debt default, racism, homophobia and Islamophobia can seem like discrete political struggles for democracy, good governance, and equal rights. Progressives and moderates make a huge mistake when they do not see the connections extremists make among them. It is crucial to see that to the extreme right-wing that is hijacking our political process right now, these are not discrete issues but part of a cosmic war on Satan played out in our American political life.”        Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite        Professor of Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary, author of #Occupy the Bible: What Jesus Really Said (and Did) About Money and Power          In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, October 15, 2013        (Cartoon by David Horsey)

AN ARMS SUPPLIER’S VERSION: “War is the improvement of investment climates by other means.”         Ben Kingsley as the character Walken, The Viceroy        In the satirical anti-war movie War, Inc. (2008)

A TECH VISIONARY’S VERSION: “Technology is the continuation of evolution by other means, and is itself an evolutionary process.”        Ray Kurzweil        American inventor, author and futurist        In his book The Age of Spiritual Machines (2000)

LEGAL VARIATION #1: “Law in a good society is first and foremost the continuation of morality by other means.”        Amitai Etzioni        German-born American sociologist        In his book The New Golden Rule (1998)

LEGAL VARIATION #2: “Litigation...the continuation of business by other means.”        Frederick L. Whitmer        Professional litigator and author        In his book Litigation Is War (2007)

THE STOOGES MEET THE EVIL DEAD VERSION: “Mr. Raimi [movie director Sam Raimi]...has cited the Three Stooges as his comic inspiration, and indeed, Evil Dead II is a sort of continuation of Stoogism by other means. Here, an eyeball isn’t just poked, but poked out and sent flying across the room, to be swallowed by an innocent bystander. Of such things, Moe Howard could only dream.”         Dave Kehr        American film critic        Referring to the famed “eyeball popping” scene in the horror film Evil Dead 2 (1987)        In a DVD review in the New York Times, October 18, 2005

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