There was no simple touchstone, no all-embracing word to sum up the world organization that emerged this week from San Francisco. Augustus had sought the security of his world through Roman "justice"; Gregory through Christian "brotherhood"; Napoleon through "law" and the Grand Army; Metternich through "legitimacy"; Wilson through "democracy." The San Francisco conference had no comparable key; it just said "security." By stressing the goal rather than the path, it opened the door to all opportunities—and to all contradictions.
Perhaps that was the only way. In spite of radio, cables, telephones and the airplane, the world of 1945 was a...
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