News

Posted by Marc Hodak on June 8, 2007 under History | Comments are off for this article

Well, there is no news in Belgium, where I was this morning on my way to Switzerland. I don’t know if there is much news here, either, but I find Switzerland a much more fascinating place. While most people think of Switzerland as a peace-loving country, it’s history is among the most violent in Europe right up to about 150 years ago. In fact, it’s long history of being literally at the center of conflicts between ever-shifting Great Powers led them to eventually figure out that they could only be the bone between big dogs. But they also figured that if they stuck together, given their home field advantage in highly rugged terrain, they could impose a very high cost on invaders. The Swiss used this combination of circumstances to form a federation that could assert its neutrality. Once accepted as a neutral country, they were left alone to develop.

Anyone who doubts the costs that wars impose even on the victors need only look at Switzerland versus her neighbors today. Beyond its stunning topography, Switzerland has all the cultural, legal, and economic elements of a remarkably stable society. Integrity is very big here–being a person of your word. That is the ultmate source of credibility when violence has been taken away as an option. Though peace-loving, they retain their original success formula of defensive preparation. Every man has military training, sustaining the credo that preparation for war is the best insurance that you may never have to fight one. Today, being surrounded by the E.U., war is the furthest thing from the Swiss mind–a remarkable void in mindspace, given the arc of civilization in Central Europe. And they won’t fight other people’s wars either, given their less than proud past as a major supplier of mercenaries.

More later as we travel from the French west to the German east. I don’t mean for this to be a travelogue, so I’ll think some more about the lessons Switzerland has for incentives–perverse and otherwise.