文质彬彬·每日好词语 | 兵之胜败，本在于政

　　兵之胜败，本在于政

　　战争胜负的根本在于政治。这是西汉淮南王刘安在其主持撰写的《淮南子》中提出的命题。中华先哲早有军政一体的大军事观，不以单纯、片面的军事观点看待战争问题。依其逻辑，政治、军事是一个整体，战争是政治的一部分；战争不能脱离政治而独立存在，而政治最终决定战争的走向和胜败。这与克劳塞维茨《战争论》中“战争是政治的继续”这一命题有异曲同工之妙。

　　Victory or Defeat in War Is Dictated by State Policy

　　This proposition is made in Huainanzi compiled under the sponsorship of Liu An, King of Huainan, in the Western Han Dynasty. Earlier Chinese scholars had proposed that war should be seen in a wider context of state policy, not just as military actions. According to this thinking, war is a part of state policy, not independent of it, and it is state policy that eventually dictates the direction of war and whether it ends in victory or defeat. This is quite similar to Clausewitz's statement in his work On War that "War is the continuation of policy by other means".

　　引例

　　兵之胜败，本在于政。政胜其民，下附其上，则兵强矣。民胜其政，下畔其上，则兵弱矣。（《淮南子·兵略训》）（战争的胜负，根本在于政治。政治能够驾驭民众，臣下能够亲附国君，那么军队必然会强盛。反之，民众反对其政治，臣下又背叛国君，那么军队的战斗力就会衰弱。）

　　State policy dictates victory or defeat in war. If such policy enjoys popularity and officials remain loyal to the ruler, the army will be strong. However, if the population opposes the state policy and officials betray the ruler, the army will be weak. (Huainanzi)