第50页 2.A STATE ORGANIZED FOR WAR

Thus, the state organized for war, as analyzed in the Book of Lord Shang, requires not only that all the energies of the people be devoted to agriculture and war but that there must always be another war to fight, another enemy to defeat. Ultimately, war was fought not for gain but for loss, to expend energies and wealth that would otherwise accumulate in the hands of those who, by virtue of their growing prosperity, would come to serve theit own interests rather than those of the state.
约半年前读到这，后来秦汉史就没上下去了。回顾这段挺有意思，战争作为“maintain stability”的一种手段。当战争成本越来越高的时候，“敌人”的价值便引申出来。