The Moral Equivalent of War

This essay is based upon a speech given at Stanford University in 1906, William James' last public utterance and is the original expression of the idea of non-military national service. While acknowledging the horrors of war and its motives, he also acknowledges the benefits that accrue when groups of people address themselves to a common purpose evident in military behavior. The modern reader will no doubt find certain attitudes regarding sex, race, and conquest of nature outdated. Nonethe...