War Technology: The Cutting Edge of Economic Power
By Richard Sanders, Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade
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Machiavelli meets Da Vinci
"In 1499, a civil servant named Niccolò Machiavelli recruited a local
engineer named Leonardo da Vinci to devise a plan to change the course of the
Arno River. Diverting that river would deprive Florence's enemy, the
nearby city-state of Pisa, of a dependable water supply. It would also
make the Arno River navigable for ocean-going vessels from the inland city of
Florence. Machiavelli and da Vinci devised a hydrological plan that was
extraordinarily promising, at least on paper. The flood-prone Arno,
however, made the task an impossible challenge. Their failure brought
official disfavor on Machiavelli and da Vinci alike. Leonardo transferred
his studio to Milan and then Rome, where he produced remarkable work, while
Machiavelli retreated from public life and used his forced leisure to write The
Prince." (Review of Roger Masters' book Fortune is a River: Leonardo
Da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli's Magnificent Dream to Change the Course of
Florentine History, 1998.)
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The relationship between technology, politics, warfare and wealth hasn't changed
much over the centuries. The Machiavellis of the world have devised more
and more diabolical means to increase the power of their rulers. They've
used military assaults, political deception, economic warfare - even
hydrological projects - to strengthen themselves and vanquish their enemies.
Planning such vast crimes requires assistance from great minds, like Leonardo Da
Vinci - whose scientific imagination far surpassed his moral scruples.
Besides creating transcendent religious art to inspire reverence for the
"Prince of Peace," Da Vinci contracted out his services to build war
machines for "The Prince." Da Vinci's sketch of an armoured tank
is well-known. He also designed a bewildering array of deadly devices such
as building-sized crossbows and cannons, catapults and even a primitive machine
gun.
But the killing machines that best betray Da Vinci's evil genius and moral
depravity, are his "scythed assault chariots." His drawings show
large spinning blades cutting a swath through a crowd - mowing people down like
stalks in a field of ripe wheat - covering the ground with severed limbs and
heads. Gruesome indeed!
Although war machines these days are far more brutal, they are surprisingly
disassociated from blood and gore. Shiny new warplanes perform at
"air shows" as glorious objects of children's entertainment.
Space weapons, heralding a whole new era in global warfare and economic
domination are sold to the gullible public as a defensive shield against
"rogue states."
New innovations in war technology have always been at the cutting edge of
economic power. The powerful rulers of Babylon, Egypt, Rome, Greece and
other empires used military technology to enforce their economic dominion over
others. Just as these elites have funded advances in war technology, they
have also promoted developments in transportation, communication, mapping and
industrialization. These developments have allowed smaller and smaller cliques
to administer more and more sophisticated social systems, in order to exploit
labour and to extract resources from increasingly vast territories.
By the 18th century, European colonial powers had carved up much of the world
into "spheres of influence." They used their military superiority to
kidnap millions from Africa, transport them to the "New World" and
enslave them to produce raw materials for processing in Europe.
Revolutionary industrial techniques produced such vast amounts of finished
goods, that global markets were required.
As weapons become deadlier and economic injustice more pervasive, it becomes
increasingly difficult to justify the excesses of empire. So, to maintain
their grip on power, ruling elites continually develop more sophisticated
propaganda systems. They rely as heavily on deceiving their own
populations as they do on violently subjugating others. As such, good
public relations are as important as militarism in the task of propelling
forward the grinding wheels of "progress."
Financial incentives are also used to grease the wheels of militarism and
corporate globalization, but they are not enough. It is not always enough
to bribe scientists to design increasingly brutal instruments of death or to pay
off bureaucrats to devise economic programs that steal from the poor and give to
the rich. It is also essential to perpetuate cultural myths about
"humanitarian wars" and bogus economic "trickle down"
theories.
For as long as there have been technological and social engineers helping the
rich to get richer at the expense of the poor, there have been those who
struggle for peace and advocate justice for the downtrodden. Unable to
match the weapons or wealth of corporate elites, such advocates have
"spoken truth to power." By exposing the lies and hypocrisy of
those who control vast arsenals of violence and deception, seemingly powerless
individuals and organizations strive to undermine the elite's ability to recruit
public support and to build consent for wars that increase their wealth.
NOTE: The graphic that goes with this article is a drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci
of a "scythed assault chariot." Check it out at: <http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dba169x/assaultchariot.jpg>