The Great Illusion

A Study of the Relation of Military Power to National Advantage

Norman Angell

Recommended By

Book Reviews

One of Peter Thiel's favorite books.

Book Synopsis

"The Great Illusion" by Norman Angell is a groundbreaking work that challenges the prevailing belief in the inevitability of war and questions the economic basis for military power.

Angell asserts that conflicts between modern nations have shifted from the pursuit of territorial gains to the protection of economic interests. He argues that war has become an uneconomic and irrational means to achieve these objectives and that nations are interconnected through trade and finance, making it futile and harmful to engage in armed conflicts.

By examining historical events and economic data, Angell highlights the interconnectedness of nations and emphasizes that aggression and conquest no longer yield economic benefits. He contends that military capabilities are increasingly becoming a financial burden, diverting resources from productive economic activities.

Angell further presents the idea that armed conflicts are detrimental to domestic prosperity, as they result in destruction and economic inefficiencies. He challenges the notion of military superiority as a reliable measure of power, asserting that economic strength and cultural influence are more significant determinants of a nation's standing in the international arena.

"The Great Illusion" provokes readers to rethink commonly-held beliefs about warfare and encourages peaceful alternatives for resolving disputes among nations. Angell's compelling arguments and evidence-based analysis make this book essential reading for those seeking a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between economics and war in the modern world.

Explore More Books

See All
Livewired
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
Raising Girls
Zen in the Art of Archery
The Inner Studio
Medieval Technology and Social Change
Thank You For Smoking
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Savage News
Liberty Under Seige
The Breakthrough
Alpha Girls
The Great Escape
Solution Selling
The Great Transformation
The World
Oranges
Travels with Charley
That Used To Be Us
Powerful
The Unsettling of America
White Fragility
Active Inference
I, Robot
Outliers
Transmetropolitan
The House of Rothschild
Metaphors We Live By
The Secret of Fatima
The Power Broker
The Hour Between Dog and Wolf
Lean Solutions
Digital Gold
Zero to One
Long Walk to Freedom
No Filter
History and Geography of Human Genes
Meaningful Work
AI Superpowers
Howard Hughes
Free Women, Free Men
Second Foundation
Tenth of December
This Is Your Brain on Music
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
The Back of the Napkin
Poor Numbers
Dominion
We Learn Nothing
Disruptor
Learning To Love Yourself
The Reasonableness of Christianity
The Works
Bull!
The Alchemy of Air
Hunger of Memory
Mind-Body Problem
The Pursuit of Wow!
The Strange Death Of Europe
Call Me Ted
The Middle Kingdoms
The Course of Love
The Future of Capitalism
Million Dollar Weekend
Lessons for the Living
The God That Failed
Walter Benjamin
Probability Theory
Pandaemonium
Watchmen
Finite and Infinite Games
Rick and Morty Book One
Your Dad Stole My Rake
Jack
When The Facts Change
The Prince
The Madness of Crowds
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Off The Record
The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get
The Magic of Thinking Big
Success
The Emotion Code
How Nature Works
What's Our Problem?
A Cultural History of Physics
The Black Dahlia
The Essays of Warren Buffett
The Great Mental Models
Eating The Big Fish
Fate Is The Hunter
San Fransicko
Skunk Works
Letters To A Young Athlete
Capital Ideas
Nexus
The Utopia of Rules
The Columbian Exchange
The Graveyard Book
The Price We Pay