ABSTRACT
Toynbee argues that the forces of industrialism should have prevented war in the nineteenth century (Toynbee 1939). Instead the universal forces of industrialism got poured into nationalistic bottles. Tariffs went up, imperial acquisition recommenced, and the stage was set for world war. Of course, Toynbee was not entirely correct about the analytical influence of industry. The Industrial Revolution made it possible to “make” things, rather than to “take” things. But if you take territory, you get a greater labor force and a greater ability to make things. You also get raw materials which industrialism needs. Finally, industrialism gives you weapons which, at least at first blush seem to make the waging of wars easier and more efficient, with quicker decision times. So machines alone do not prevent war. Industrialism does not in this sense increase interdependence between states, and it may even make states less dependent on one another.
