War and the Illusion of Power

Image by Brandon Mowinkel.

Economic decline. Weakening poll numbers. Political desperation. War has long been the answer. It provides an enemy to rally against, a spectacle of power, a demand for unquestioning obedience, and a ready distraction. Yet political calculation alone does not explain war’s persistence. The impulse runs deeper.

In Superpower Syndrome: America’s Apocalyptic Confrontation with the World, American psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton offers a psychological and historical analysis of modern power politics.