A man isn't really alive till he has something bigger than himself and his own little happiness, for which he'd gladly die. - Poul Anderson

Mortal combat corrupts, and war corrupts absolutely.

I was trying to avoid the cliché all too common in science fiction, even today, of a whole population feeling itself oppressed and waiting only for a leader to rise in a body against its overlords. No government for which that was actually the case could last a minute. There must always be a majority who have some stake in things as they are, whether that stake consist of wealth and power or simply of law, order, and predictability. Moreover, most people cannot really imagine any system working which is very different from the one they are used to. Hence they find rationalizations for it. Even slaves often do this.

I am a peaceful man, captain. I rely more on my cerebral cortex than my guns.