The Origins of Modernity

In assessing modernity we would do well to remember that history is contingent and not obedient to iron laws. Victor Davis-Hanson posited that a Western way of war emerged in the ancient world. He suggested certain forms of organization and fighting were distinctive to Europeans thereafter. These included advanced technology, superior discipline, and ability to adapt through an intellectual tradition of innovation. Armed forces across the modern world were uncomfortable with the logic of democratised mass armies and sought to preserve the elite professional status of pre-modern era.