and promote its own ends and ideals.  If in doing so it comes into conflict with the ideals and views of other States, it must either submit and concede the precedence to the rival people or State, or appeal to force, and face the risk of the real struggle—­i.e., of war—­in order to make its own views prevail.  No power exists which can judge between States, and makes its judgments prevail.  Nothing, in fact, is left but war to secure to the true elements of progress the ascendancy over the spirits of corruption and decay.

It will, of course, happen that several weak nations unite and form a superior combination in order to defeat a nation which in itself is stronger.  This attempt will succeed for a time, but in the end the more intensive vitality will prevail.  The allied opponents have the seeds of corruption in them, while the powerful nation gains from a temporary reverse a new strength which procures for it an ultimate victory over numerical superiority.  The history of Germany is an eloquent example of this truth.

Struggle is, therefore, a universal law of Nature, and the instinct of self-preservation which leads to struggle is acknowledged to be a natural condition of existence.  “Man is a fighter.”  Self-sacrifice is a renunciation of life, whether in the existence of the individual or in the life of States, which are agglomerations of individuals.  The first and paramount law is the assertion of one’s own independent existence.  By self-assertion alone can the State maintain the conditions of life for its citizens, and insure them the legal protection which each man is entitled to claim from it.  This duty of self-assertion is by no means satisfied by the mere repulse of hostile attacks; it includes the obligation to assure the possibility of life and development to the whole body of the nation embraced by the State.

Strong, healthy, and flourishing nations increase in numbers.  From a given moment they require a continual expansion of their frontiers, they require new territory for the accommodation of their surplus population.  Since almost every part of the globe is inhabited, new territory must, as a rule, be obtained at the cost of its possessors—­that is to say, by conquest, which thus becomes a law of necessity.

The right of conquest is universally acknowledged.  At first the procedure is pacific.  Over-populated countries pour a stream of emigrants into other States and territories.  These submit to the legislature of the new country, but try to obtain favourable conditions of existence for themselves at the cost of the original inhabitants, with whom they compete.  This amounts to conquest.