An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove: the Principles that Defined the American Age
... Wilson’s doctrine fell into the trap of man’s dual nature proposed by Augustine of Hippo. Man’s divine nature was more than offset by its devious nature, with its irresistible passion for destruction. Reinhold Niebuhr, one of the greatest critics of liberalism in international relations, would subsequently strengthen this thesis, pointing out that the depravity of the human nature was multiplied out of proportion in organized communities such as states. Therefore, only the fear of mutual destruction ...