THE NAZI DISTORTION - The Revenge of Geography - page 67

“the ambitions of one state come into sharp and irreconcilable collision with those of an-
other.” 10 In other words, Haushofer is not altogether wrong in his assumption of perpetual
conflict. Even after the war, there will be little respite from the tragedy of the human con-
dition. The very crowding of the planet in recent decades, coupled with the advance of mil-
itary technology, in which time and distance have been collapsed, means that there will be
a crisis of “room” on the map of the world. 11 This crisis of room follows from Mackinder's
idea of a “closed system.” For now let us note that it adds urgency to Strausz-Hupé's plea
that America, which for him represents the ultimate source of good in a world of great
powers, can never afford to withdraw from geopolitics. For geopolitics and the competition
for “space” is eternal. Liberal states will have to gird themselves for the task, lest they leave
the field to the likes of Haushofer.