From Ideal to Ambiguity: Johannes von Muller, Clausewitz, and the People in Arms

In the debate at the end of the Enlightenment over the place of armed forces and war in society, Johannes [von] Müller's Histories of the Swiss attracted attention as a work of historical interpretation and as a political statement. Müller's idealization of the free "people in arms" is contrasted with Clausewitz's argument that ideals and self-interest contrary to the ideals may be expressed simultaneously by individuals and societies, both qualities made historically effective by people's innate willingness to use violence. Müller's and Clausewitz's positions are paradigmatic of views that continue to influence historical interpretations and political expectations to this day.