Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

The Art of Success:Shape or influence the moral-mental-physical atmosphere that we are part of, live in,and feed upon, so that we not only magnify our inner spirit and strength, but alsoinfluence potential adversaries and current adversaries as well as the uncommitted sothat they are drawn toward our philosophy and are empathetic toward our success;yet be able toMorally-mentally-physically isolate adversaries from their allies and outside support aswell as isolate them from one another, in order to: magnify their internal friction,produce paralysis, bring about their collapse; and/or bring about a change in theirpolitical/economic/social philosophy so that they can no longer inhibit our vitality andgrowth.Here too, comparison with an earlier description of the art of success (from Patterns ofConflict, p.178) will show the added value of the discussions in The Strategic Game of ? and ?.The Art of Success (PoC)Appear to be an unsolvable cryptogram whileoperating in a directed way to penetrate adversaryvulnerabilities and weaknesses in order to isolatehim from his allies, pull him apart, and collapsehis will to resist.yetShape or influence events so that we not onlymagnify our spirit and strength but also influencepotential adversaries as well as the uncommittedso that they are drawn toward our philosophy andare empathetic toward our success.The Art of Success (Strategic Game)Shape or influence the moral-mental-physicalatmosphere that we are part of, live in, and feedupon, so that we not only magnify our innerspirit and strength, but also influence potentialadversaries and current adversaries as well as theuncommitted so that they are drawn toward ourphilosophy and are empathetic toward oursuccess;yet be able toMorally-mentally-physically isolate adversariesfrom their allies and outside support as well asisolate them from one another, in order to:magnify their internal friction, produce paralysis,bring about their collapse; and/or bring about achange in their political/economic/socialphilosophy so that they can no longer inhibit ourvitality and growth.It is interesting to note that he expands on this theme of moral isolation in the last few slidesof the presentation. Here Boyd’s concern with the moral high ground of our actions againemerges clearly, as it did in Organic Design. There it pertained to the operational or militarystrategic level leadership. This time he addresses the moral dimension at the nation-state orsocietal level, and “the moral” should be read to signify national culture, ideology and/orpolitical aspirations, i.e., statecraft and grand strategy, much like Sun Tzu did. Boyd regardsthe moral from the perspective of a complex adaptive system. It is a dimension of anorganism that it needs to shape and evolve if it wants to survive and prosper. From adifferent perspective, one can comment that the way Boyd describes (or better prescribes)the moral, it becomes a very functional and instrumental property. This comment is givenweight by the following section in which Boyd implements his arguments in an example.256