Policies of expansion, conquest and occupation rely upon weaponry and
war-making as essential instruments. Historically their role has been
frankly recognized by builders of every empire and the leaders of every
civilization. All civilizations known to history prepared for war and
utilized war as the final arbiter in their pursuit of expansionist
policy. Empire builders and civilizers have taken it for granted that
might made right. The mighty, in terms of military striking power and
killing power, have fought over and inherited the earth.
The practices of every civilization have centered about exploitation--of
natural resources, of labor power, of rivals in the race for supremacy,
of weaker and less aggressive peoples. Expansion gives the ruling
oligarchy of the expanding nation, empire or civilization command of the
strategic vantage points from which the principle of exploitation can be
made continuously operative.
We have dealt with exploitation in connection with the economics of
civilization (Chapter 7). Its central concept is the "you work--I eat"
formula. In sociological terms it extends far beyond livelihood, into
the relations of man with the natural environment (ecology); the
management and direction of labor power and policy making; social
administration and policy implementation, including policing of the
territories lying within the frontiers of the nation, empire or
civilization, plus contacts and relationships with territories lying
outside the frontiers: in short, with the success or failure, the
domination or subordination of the territory under consideration.
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