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PaperclipPerfector  8mo ago (text post)   28898 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 11, 2024

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So I'm less passionate about the idea of the average military personnel pouring over the book than I am about the very idea of establishing On War's prestige in the eyes of the laymen. Sun Tzu has some name recognition and some people have even pretended to read his book. But Clausewitz is pretty much forgotten by the non-engaged public unless you are some kinda warnerd.

A fun fact about "Art of War" is that it's just one of many ancient Chinese military strategy books. Possibly the first, but far from the best or the most famous inside China. See for example: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Military-Classics-Ancient-China/dp/1784289116 with stuff written by generals who were much more advanced and more successful. "Art of War" seems to have mostly become famous as part of the general burst of Orientalism along with Kung Fu and California Buddhism. It's sort of like if the only martial art that most people knew was "Billy Blank's Tai Bo workout."

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