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 172 vigorously and widely); by the necessity of facilitating traffic in the interior or with foreign countries (for instance, by acquiring navigable rivers, sea ports, etc.), traffic being the means by which the metabolism of the economic body, trade, is carried on; by antagonisms arising from a difference in general civilization, particularly also differences in the stage of political development. But the most important political strains that can nowadays lead to warlike complications arise, as has been already stated above, through the competition of the various countries in the economic field, through the world trade, world politics with all its complications, especially colonization. The persons on whose account those strains chiefly arise are the powerful expansionist capitalists of industry and commerce, who may be said to have an interest in a successful war.

It must, however, be admitted that the existence of the standing armies, which represent militarism in its most pronounced form, is in itself a menace to international peace, an independent danger of war. That is true even if we leave out of account