30 THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE CH.

but generally to be obtained at your neighbour'sexpense. The politics of power are inevitable, andthere is nothing very new to learn about this war orthe end it was fought for; England had destroyed,as in each preceding century, a trade rival; a mightychapter had been closed in the secular strugglebetween the glories of Germany and of France .Prudence required some measure of lip service tothe "ideals" of foolish Americans and hypocriticalEnglishmen ; but it would be stupid to believe thatthere is much room in the world, as it really is, forsuch affairs as the League of Nations , or any sensein the principle of self-determination except as aningenious formula for rearranging the balance ofpower in one's own interests.

These, however, are generalities. In tracing thepractical details of the Peace which he thoughtnecessary for the power and the security of France ,we must go back to the historical causes which hadoperated during his lifetime. Before the Franco-German war the populations of France and Germany were approximately equal; but the coal and ironand shipping of Germany were in their infancy, andthe wealth of France was greatly superior. Evenafter the loss of Alsace-Lorraine there was no greatdiscrepancy between the real resources of the twocountries. But in the intervening period the relativeposition had changed completely. By 1914 thepopulation of Germany was nearly seventy per cent