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Third Chapter: The claims of the state, as a self‑sufficient whole, during its complete separation from the rest of the earth
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Third Chapter The claims of the state, as a self‑sufficient whole, during its complete separation from the rest of the earth Certain parts of the earth’s surface, together with their inhabitants, have been visibly determined by nature to form political wholes. They are isolated all around from the rest of the world by giant rivers, oceans, or inaccessible mountain ranges. The fertility of one tract of land within their circumference compensates for the infertility of another. The produce that is most naturally and advantageously extracted in one tract of land belongs together with the produce of another, indicating an exchange that nature itself demands. Rich pasturage is matched by cropland, woodland, and so forth. None of these tracts could exist for itself alone, and yet united they produce the highest state of prosperity for their inhabitants.—These hints given to us by nature of what should stay together and what should be sundered are what is meant when, in more recent political thought, one speaks of the natural boundaries of empires [Reiche], a consideration that should be treated as far more important and serious than it usually is. Here too one must not only consider the borders that are fortified and guarded by the military, but pay much more attention to productive independence and self-sufficiency. {481} Since the pieces into which the modern European republic has been divided have not been determined deliberately and in accordance with concepts, but through blind chance, then even if we had no historical knowledge about this, one may already suspect from the nature of the mat‑ ter that the states that arose were not able to obtain their natural borders, but that, instead, over here two ruling families are striving side by side to form their separate states within a circumference determined by nature to be a single state, while elsewhere a third family expands its holdings across disjoined and severed borders. 169 170 Third Book What will result from this can just as easily be foreseen. The govern‑ ments will dimly feel that they are missing something even if perhaps they don’t clearly see what this, properly understood, is. They will speak of the necessity of arrondissement.11 They will protest that for the sake of the rest of their lands they cannot do without this fertile province or these mineral and salt mines—always aiming obscurely at the acquisition of their natu‑ ral borders. All will be driven by the thirst for conquest—be it blind and indefinite, or indeed clear in vision and [118] very definite [in its aims]. And thus they will find themselves unceasingly in a state of war—be it direct or indirect, actually declared or merely in preparation. Those states that properly should be one, since they lie either wholly or partially within the same national borders, are in a natural state of war. The states, and not properly speaking their peoples, since, as long as the latter are united, it is a matter of complete indifference under what name and what ruling family. The states, and of course the ruling families themselves. These have completely opposed interests, which, if imparted to the people, become national hatred.iv In contrast, two states that between themselves {482} have no natural conflict over their borders, but that each from its side makes demands on one and the same third state, will be natural allies. And so a state of affairs will necessarily ensue in which peace is concluded only to prepare for a new war. It has forever been the privilege of philosophers to sigh about wars. The author loves them no more than anyone else, but he believes he sees that they are unavoidable in the present circumstances, and does not think it serves any purpose to complain about things that cannot be avoided. If war is to be eliminated, the reason for war must be eliminated. Each state must obtain what it aims to obtain through war, and which, reasonably, is the only thing it can aim at: its natural borders. When this is accomplished, it will have nothing more to seek from another state, since it possesses [119] what it wanted. Since it has not advanced beyond its natural borders into the borders of another state, no other state has anything to seek from it. A state that is about to close itself off as a commercial state must first assume its natural borders, advancing toward or restricting itself to these as...