Xenophon tells the story of how Socrates gently questioned Glaucon, who’d decided a person with his talents should get into the management of public affairs.
Socrates asked him how he would rate the land and naval forces of Athens compared to those of its enemies.
Glaucon said he couldn’t say off the top of his head.
Socrates asked if he would like to consult his notes.
Glaucon didn’t have any.
The teacher was reminding his student that it’s hard to make good policy decisions when you don’t have a clue about the facts.
I thought of that story the day after I read Professor Milan Vego’s paper “On Naval Theory.” Vego teaches at the U.S. Naval War College. Among the things Vego tells his students:
The most important factor that affects the character of war at sea is the international balance of power.
And then:
Experience shows the great danger of underestimating or, even worse, ignoring other changes in the international security environment, demography, and law of the sea and their effect on the character of the future war at sea.
Those changes in the international security environment are serious business. Organizations like NATO depend on trust, like our banking system. And if you have people constantly undermining the public’s confidence in the banking system — or, say, in NATO — things can unravel.
That’s the kind of thing the experts tell naval officers who are selected to go to the War College, which is generally a requirement for higher command.
The day after I finished Professor Vego’s essay, a former president did his best to undermine confidence in NATO. That’s when I thought of poor Glaucon.
• Sources: Vego, Milan (2023) “On Naval Theory,” Naval War College Review: Vol. 76: No. 3, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol76/iss3/6
Xenophon’s story is in his Memorabilia.
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