the.com/militarism
when the army stops defending the state and starts being the state's personality.
means the belief that military strength and readiness should be a nation's top priority, shaping its politics, economy, and culture, not just its defense.
from coined mid-1800s in france and prussia to describe states where the military caste dominated civilian life; the word itself is younger than the phenomenon it names, which stretches back to sparta.
sparta exampleevery male citizen trained for war from age seven
prussian modelarmy built the state, not the reverse
ww1 triggerarms races and alliances made war feel inevitable
modern formdefense budgets outpacing education or health spending