The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Ultima ratio regum: "The Last Argument of Kings"
English Summary
The article argues that while state power can only change behavior through persuasion or coercion, relying on force is inherently corrupting and destructive to liberal principles. It draws on historical examples—including slavery, the actions of liberal figures during the Civil War, and 20th-century political regimes—to demonstrate that physical mastery inevitably leads to hypocrisy and moral decay. The piece asserts that the ease of coercion undermines the foundational requirement of a free society: open dialogue. Consequently, the stability of a liberal society depends not on the state's capacity for force, but on the preservation of reasoned debate and discussion.
中文摘要
本文論述，儘管國家權力只能透過說服或強制手段來改變行為，但依賴武力本質上具有腐蝕性，並對自由主義原則造成破壞。文章援引了歷史事例——包括奴隸制度、內戰期間自由派人物的行為，以及二十世紀的政治政權——來證明，實力支配最終必然導致虛偽和道德淪喪。此文主張，強制手段的輕易性削弱了自由社會的基礎要求：開放的對話。因此，一個自由社會的穩定性，並非取決於國家施加武力的能力，而是取決於維護理性辯論和討論的程度。
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