“The great nations of Europe do not destroy the trade of the small nations for their own benefit, because they cannot; and the Dutch citizen, whose Government possesses no military power, is just as well off as the German citizen, whose government possesses an army of two million men, and a great deal better off than the Russian, whose Government possesses an army of something like four million. ... All of which carries with it the paradox that the more a nation’s wealth is militarily protected the less secure does it become.”

That is a key passage from The Great Illusion by Norman Angell (1872-1967), first published in 1909. Today, this book, which became very influential just before the outbreak of the Second World War, could serve as a mirror for all those saying that European rearmament is useless because Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot afford or will not be strong enough to attack a European country anyway.

“The great nations of Europe do not destroy the trade of the small nations for their own benefit, because they cannot; and the Dutch citizen, whose Government possesses no military power, is just as well off as the German citizen, whose government possesses an army of two million men, and a great deal better off than the Russian, whose Government possesses an army of something like four million. … All of which carries with it the paradox that the more a nation’s wealth is militarily protected the less secure does it become.”

That is a key passage from The Great Illusion by Norman Angell (1872-1967), first published in 1909. Today, this book, which became very influential just before the outbreak of the Second World War, could serve as a mirror for all those saying that European rearmament is useless because Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot afford or will not be strong enough to attack a European country anyway.

This so-called rational argument is made not only by some far-right and far-left parties in Europe—such as Germany’s Alternative for Germany or Left Party, or the Netherlands’ left-wing Party for the Animals, whose senators oppose increased defense spending because “there is no proof” of Russia’s intentions to attack a NATO country. It is also made by the exiled Russian economist Vladislav Inozemtsev, who recently

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