The Arms Race of 1909–13

Abstract

THE interaction of fear with cost and with grievances was represented in a letter in NATURE (Dec. 25, 1935) by the equations in which t is time and α, β, k, l are positive constants, and g and h are positive or negative constant grievances. In that publication, x was described as the variable preparedness for war of the first group of nations, y that of the second. But on further consideration, it appears that the description of x given in 1935 needs to be modified by taking into account the co-operation between the groups of nations which goes on as trade, travel and correspondence concurrently with their mutual threatenings. The improved description of x is in general terms x = threats minus co-operation.