A group must be formed and maintained at a certain cost. A group excludes some and includes others. The primary form of a larger group is the linguistic community; the communities range from clans (extended family) to tribes and, eventually, to nations. A nation is originally a linguistic community. In the wake of the French Revolution and the ensuing democratization of war (with the introduction of general conscription in 1793— one of the evils bequeathed to us by the French Revolution), “nation” got its political connotation. And with it, the ideologization of war followed, which culminated in the twentieth century, when “democracy” became the new state religion, and the enemy was eo ipso declared to be “undemocratic,” i.e., an unbeliever. Wars became holy missions, crusades. Think of Wilson’s slogan: “To make the world safe for democracy.” In the totalitarian state, whether Soviet socialist, national-socialist, or a totalitarian democracy, war becomes total.

Gerard Radnitzky, Is Democracy More Peaceful than Other Forms of Government?