If men do not now succeed in abolishing war, civilization and

Ludwig von Mises, the great thinker of liberty and human progress, once declared with grave clarity: “If men do not now succeed in abolishing war, civilization and mankind are doomed.” These are not the idle words of a dreamer, but the warning of a man who saw the fiery destruction of two world wars and the rise of weapons that could erase nations in an instant. In his words resounds both fear and hope: fear that humanity’s self-destructive path would continue, and hope that reason and peace might yet prevail.

To say that mankind is doomed is to recognize the scale of destruction that modern warfare brings. In ancient times, wars could raze cities and topple kingdoms, but in the twentieth century, the engines of death multiplied a thousandfold. The machine gun, the tank, the bomber, the nuclear weapon — these made slaughter swift and merciless, threatening not just armies but the survival of entire peoples. Von Mises, who lived through these transformations, understood that the stakes had changed: if humanity did not abolish war, it would abolish itself.

Consider the fate of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. In a flash of blinding light, entire cities vanished, tens of thousands perished instantly, and generations were scarred by radiation. Never before had man held in his hand the power to end not just a battle, but the future of civilization itself. The atomic age made von Mises’ warning urgent. No longer could nations think of war as a temporary evil; now it was an existential threat. The old ways of conquest and revenge could no longer guide humanity — for one misstep could end the story of mankind.

History after the Second World War proves his point. The Cold War was not fought with great armies clashing openly, but with the looming threat of nuclear annihilation hanging over all. For decades, humanity lived in fear that a single spark could ignite a firestorm to consume the earth. Treaties, diplomacy, and restraint held back disaster, but the danger remained. Here, von Mises’ words find flesh: mankind’s survival depends on whether we can rise above war, not merely manage it.

But his message is not only about nations and their weapons. The spirit of war begins in the human heart — in hatred, in envy, in greed, in the refusal to see others as brothers. To abolish war is not only to lay down arms, but to conquer these darker impulses within ourselves. Without that inner victory, even the best treaties are fragile, and even the wisest leaders may falter. Von Mises calls not only for political change, but for the transformation of human character.

The lesson is plain: if humanity is to endure, it must choose peace with urgency. Each generation inherits this sacred duty. We cannot leave it to others or to the future, for von Mises warns that delay is death. Abolish war does not mean abolish courage, or defense of justice — it means replacing destruction with dialogue, conquest with cooperation, vengeance with vision. Only then will civilization grow strong, and mankind step into a future not shadowed by its own hand.

Therefore, beloved, take these words to heart. In your own life, be a builder of peace, not a sower of strife. Guard your words, for they are weapons or healing balms. Raise children to see neighbors as allies, not enemies. Support leaders who value peace above pride, cooperation above conquest. For if men succeed in abolishing war, then civilization may yet flourish. But if they fail, von Mises’ warning will come true, and mankind itself will be doomed.