War & Peace Quote by William Lyon Mackenzie King

King’s line is a small masterpiece of wartime moral management: it opens by pretending there’s no argument to have. “No one will deny” is less an invitation than a muzzle, a way of laundering a controversial policy preference into common sense. In the middle of a “total war” era - when governments were asking citizens to ration food, accept censorship, and send sons overseas - alcohol becomes a conveniently legible villain: a private indulgence that can be recast as public sabotage.

The specific intent is disciplinary. King isn’t merely warning about hangovers; he’s tying drinking to national failure, making temperance feel like enlistment by other means. “Excessive use” is a strategic hedge, allowing him to sound reasonable while still justifying broad restrictions. It’s the classic political move: condemn the extreme to police the ordinary.

The subtext is about productivity, masculinity, and social order. Alcohol threatens output in factories, reliability in uniform, and the image of a serious nation deserving victory. It also nods to Canada’s lingering temperance politics and the state’s growing confidence in regulating daily life. By naming alcohol as the “single factor,” King elevates a moral concern to the status of military necessity, a rhetorical upgrade that crowds out other inconvenient factors - labor conflict, inequality, political dissent - that could also “make impossible” a unified effort.

Contextually, it’s a reminder that total war isn’t only fought on battlefields; it’s fought in kitchens, bars, and pay packets, where the state tries to turn habits into patriotism.