It was nice to have known America. It might have been better not to have.
Some power does, indeed, come out of the barrel of a gun.
Although, that is certainly one way to silence someone s vocal chords. The ancient Chinese mandarins understood the importance of Legitimacy to the whole idea of the State. Thus, when the Ch in Emperor, Shih Huang-ti, died in 210 BC after only 11 years in control of the new Empire, the story is told how his body was tied into a chariot and paraded around as if he were still alive. The Legitimacy question hovered around the edges of the discussions, and I was as guilty as anyone, perhaps more so, for not bringing it into greater clarity. I certainly agree with Creveld that there are some cracks appearing today in the facade of the State.