God of War

Carl von Clausewitz: God of War

On 16 Nov 1831 one of the most influential, controversial and important thinkers on the subject of war was stricken down by cholera. Carl von Clausewitz has been quoted almost as much as he hasn’t been read. He eschewed the prescriptive theories of war of Jomini and von Bulow and broke with the 18th century tendency to idealize war as a geometrical puzzle, to be solved only by generals on the battlefield. He is most famous for his unfinished book On War which was published posthumously by his wife.

Experiencing numerous battles himself, Clausewitz wrote fervently, grappling with the realities of war not accounted for in the “scientific” theories of the times. Clausewitz thought that war was neither art nor science, but that it was a clash of interests, a part of human social intercourse. He stressed the importance of acknowledging friction in warfare, those unexpected factors that make the simplest thing on paper so difficult during a real battle. Clausewitz criticized the “old” European powers for not recognizing the character of contemporary warfare; for not recognizing that war had changed under Napoleon. He noted that this transformation resulted from a “transformation of politics.”

Clausewitz wrote of a great many things, but what he is most famous for was describing the entangled relationship of war and politics. In modern times he is endlessly quoted as saying that “War is merely a continuation of politics,” yet this statement is highly misunderstood and does not sum up Clausewitz by any means. His dialectical method has proven to be a source of confusion, and it is really worth sitting down and figuring out what he “really” meant though rigourous study (I am open to discussion in the comments).

An important thing to note about On War is that it is the first holistic “philosophy” of war, as opposed to a manual or a theory. Clausewitz explores so many different topics, from epistemology to night attacks, and on so many different levels it is mind-boggling. The book is very long, and sometimes difficult to read but it is truly an important contribution to a field too often ignored. A pity that he could not finish editing it.

So, today we mourn a great thinker on the 174th anniversary of his death. Auf Dich!