> So what's the reason for attributing so much power to these external "forces", none of which have ANY intrinsic power beyond what you give them? I don't unde

> So what's the reason for attributing so much power to these external "forces", none of which have ANY intrinsic power beyond what you give them? I don't understand what this is supposed to mean. Some of those "forces" which you condescendingly put in quotes have actual armed forces behind them. When your adversary is a foreign government, they have very real power that had absolutely nothing to do with your consent.