Under no stretch of imagination can war be regarded as an ethical process; yet war, force, terror, and propaganda were the evolutionary means employed to weld the German people into a tribal whole.

The quote, "Under no stretch of imagination can war be regarded as an ethical process; yet war, force, terror, and propaganda were the evolutionary means employed to weld the German people into a tribal whole," is from Arthur Keith, a Scottish anthropologist and evolutionary theorist. Keith is known for his work on the relationship between human evolution and social structures. In this statement, Keith critiques the use of war and other forms of violence as tools for unifying a society, specifically referring to the rise of Nazi Germany and the methods used by the regime to consolidate power.

Keith begins by acknowledging that war, with its inherent violence and destruction, can never be seen as ethical. It is a process that inherently involves suffering and moral compromise, making it incompatible with ethical principles. However, he goes on to argue that in the case of Nazi Germany, war and related tactics such as force, terror, and propaganda were deliberately used as tools to bring the German people together. These methods, although brutal and unethical, were seen by the regime as necessary for creating a unified, nationalist state.

The reference to "evolutionary means" suggests that Keith viewed the unification of Germany not just as a political or military outcome but as a societal transformation. He implies that through these violent and manipulative tactics, the German people were molded into a "tribal whole", a cohesive and obedient group that aligned with the ideology of the Nazi regime. In this sense, he critiques the use of violence as a means of social engineering, highlighting the dangerous and destructive power it had in shaping the nation’s identity.

Ultimately, Keith’s quote serves as a stark commentary on the lengths to which regimes can go to shape a society, even when those methods are fundamentally immoral. It emphasizes the role of war and propaganda in shaping the collective consciousness of a nation, illustrating how destructive forces can be used for political gain, often at the cost of human ethics and moral integrity.