The League of Nations Idea
Abstract
The substitution of reason for force as the means of settling international disputes is not novel; the idea of a League of Nations and a Permanent Court of International Justice did not spring full grown from the brain of Contemporary Man. Prom the earliest times, mankind has longed for the reign of peace. Poets, dreamers, statesmen, philosophers, practical men of affairs, and seekers of Utopia have joined hands in an almost endless chorus of pleading for permanent peace* All down through the ages great leaders of thought have given to the world their plans for securing peace. Prom the faintest glimmerings of such a vision in ancient times to the well formulated plans of the Great War period, we can trace the groping, the faltering, and the progress of man towards his ideal of a world in which there will be no more wars.The purpose of these pages is to trace the historical background of the League of Nations and to make clear that such an idea is not new but rooted deep in the hopes of mankind. Since the present can only be understood in the light of the past, the League of Nations cannot be understood' apart from the projects of the past upon which it is based. The League of Nations cannot be static; it must be corrected, modified, and extended in harmony with the demands of changed conditions and the lessons taught by experience. Since we can build only on the groundwork of history, the political philosophy and the history of the idea underlying the League of Nations deserve the closest study.
Subject Area
Political science
Recommended Citation
Hemleben, Sylvester J, "The League of Nations Idea" (1931). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI10993199.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI10993199
