have seen the red flag
of revolution wave where they had expected nothing but the banner of
victory. They have seen whole populations, weary of the old order, throw
it aside with an impatient gesture and bring a new order into being.
They have good reasons to understand and fear the disturbing influences
of war. They have felt them even in the United States--three thousand
miles away from the European conflict. How much more pressing might this
unrest be if the United States had fought all through the war, instead
of coming in when it was practically at an end!

Then there is always the danger of losing the war--and such a loss would
mean for the United States what it has meant for Germany--economic
slavery.

Presented with an opportunity to choose between the hazards of war and
the certainties of peace most of the capitalist interests in the United
States would without question choose peace. There are exceptions. The
manufacturers of munitions and of some of the implements and supplies
that are needed only for war purposes, undoubtedly have more to gain
through war than through peace, but they are only a small element in a
capitalist world which has more to gain through peace than through war.

But the capitalists cannot choose. They are embedded in an economic
system which has driven them--whether they liked it or not--along a path
of imperialism. Once having entered upon this path, they are compelled
to follow it into the sodden mire of international strife.

6. _The Imperial Task_

The American ruling class--the plutocracy--must plan to dominate the
earth; to exploit it, to exact tribute from it. Rome did as much for the
basin of the Mediterranean. Great Britain has done it for Africa and
Australia, for half of Asia, for four million square miles in North
America. If the people of one small island, poorly equipped with
resources, can achieve such a result, what may not the people of the
United States hope to accomplish?

That is the imperial task.

1. American economic life must be unified. Already much of this
work has been done.

2. The agencies for shaping public opinion must be secured. Little
has been left for accomplishment in this direction.

3. A martial, confident, restless, ambitious spirit must be
generated among the people. Such a result is being achieved by the
combination of economic and social forces that inhere in the
present social system.