Disturbing the Universe - Freeman Dyson - Part 6

Disturbing the Universe - Freeman Dyson - Part 6 Chapters 12, 13, & 14 Page 151: Either we establish some kind of world government with a monopoly of military power. Or we achieve a stable division of the world into independent sovereign states, with the armed force of each state strictly confined to the mission of defending its own teritory. On humanistic and cultural as well as political grounds, I vastly prefer the second alternative. Fortunately, the majority of people seem to share my preference. From the beginnings of human history until today, great empires have tended to disintegrate and world-government movements have failed to attract wide public. If we consider world government either undesirable or unattainable, then the aim of our military and diplomatic efforts should be, not to abolish nationalism, but to guide the forces of nationalism into truly defensive channels. We should strive to build a peaceful and harmonious society of independent nations, in which each country maintains a citizen army as Switzerland does now, posing no threat to its neighbors but ready to fight like hell against anybody who comes with dreams of conquest.