General Uhm's Five Star Lecture on Development

The one area in which I concede to state involvement is the provision of security within institution run by constitution. I have noted with amazement the fact that in the US in particular, military leaders often find lucrative positions in directorships in corporations ostensibly to provide strategic views and insights. Today, I have just watched the clip by Peter Von Uhm, the Chief of Defense of The Netherlands and confirmed my view that some military leaders are indeed deep thinkers with an understanding of what their contribution to stability and peace is.

In the very incisive presentation, he alludes to his family's history as the motivation for his choice for military life and how the gun, while seen as a simple instrument of violence and conflict, qualifies as a peace builder when used in a controlled and legally regulated manner. He walks his listeners through historical data on conflicts and human suffering and how the world has become increasingly safe over the last few centuries and attributes this to democratic control of military and violence through states. As if that were not enough, he ties the story together with growth and development by stating the empirical fact that stability and trade beget further peace because trade and exchange make conflict unduly expensive. In this way, trade and peace are self-reinforcing. This would be fantastic teaching aid for a class on economics and development. 

Five star presentation from a five star general.