regarding the involvement of foreign nations in another Nations affairs. With regard to this statement each school of thought has distinctly different opinions.
The idealist school has several basic assumptions that shape its general views on international relations. Idealists assume that human nature is basically good and man has natural tendencies to assist, cooperate, and care about his fellow beings. Thus men are not created evil, rather it is their environment which influences them to act in evil ways and that social progress is possible and inevitable and these values reflect their "ideal" vision of international relations. Their vision is that the international community must make their aim to prevent future wars and this can be accomplished by eliminating the environment that makes people evil, namely their institutions, government and basic structures. In another, less militaristic view, they conceive international relations behaving in a harmonious, "invisible hand" like fashion. Thus they see a need for an international community and international laws to promote peace and discourage war.
The realist school of thought takes a much different point of view based on its assumption that human nature is essentially evil. With this outlook, realists view the acquisition of power as the main goal of individuals, and in parallel the state as well, and that power relations govern individual and state policies and directly influence their behavior. International relations between states is seen as an anarchic environment where a nation's primary concerns are of self-preservation which can only be ensured through military power. Thus international alliances are rigid and cannot be trusted and that a balance of power is the only way to ensure international stability, agreeing with the statement in question. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a prominent 'natural' philosopher who influenced realist theory, proposed a description o
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