The Free Man And The Soldier: Essays On The Reconciliation Of Liberty And Discipline

"First, how shall one be secure and yet peaceful? Second, how shall we act in concert and yet remain free individuals? In each case the solution of the problem requires the reconciliation of two indispensable values. And yet men divide themselves into parties and become blind to one of these values through excess of zeal for the other. Thus militarists for security's sake abandon the ideal of peace, and pacifists for the sake of peace shut their eyes to violence and danger. Or individualists in the name of freedom protest against organization and authority; while nationalists from love of country forget that no country is worthy of being loved that is not the home of independent and happy individuals. ... Whatever be sound policy in the present crisis it must provide a way by which liberty and peace shall be consistent with solidarity and strength; by which a man may take his place as a soldier in the ranks, and yet remain free."This work was originally published in 1916.Ralph Barton Perry (1876-1957) was a philosopher, educator (professor of philosophy at Harvard University), and author. He was a Pulitzer prize winner in 1936 for his biography of his former teacher, William James.