ECONOMIC sanctions of the type imposed last week against Rhodesia are a relatively new weapon in the ancient art of international coercion. Not until 1935, when the League of Nations declared an international boycott against Mussolini, was the concept of full-scale economic warfare put to test. Then and since, economic sanctions have proved political duds.
The League of Nations' action against Mussolini was ignored from the beginning by half a dozen non-fascist nations—including the U.S. After eight fruitless months, the whole project was abandoned, leaving the Italian regime the stronger, and destroying the last shred of effectiveness of the League itself.
Even on...
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