CHAPTER VI
OUR FOREIGN POLICY
Clausewitz, our great philosopher and historian of war has said: “The best strategy is to be strong always, not only generally, but particularly at the critical moment.” War, however, according to the correct definition of Clausewitz, is not a thing by itself but the continuation of a previous policy. War and policy are different expressions of the same principle. The principle is the material and moral self-preservation of a nation. It is, therefore, not only the best strategy but also the best policy to be strong always, not only generally, but particularly at the critical moment. Nobody, however, can be so strong that he is the equal of a combination of his opponents. It is, therefore, the great art of policy to search for all those relations to other people by whose cultivation we increase our own strength and decrease that of our opponents.
Modern history has produced two great masters in the art of policy, Bismarck and Edward VII of England. Bismarck knew how to make our position in Europe unassailable by means of the triple alliance and the partial treaty with Russia, as long as Germany re-
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