Vegetius, 4th century AD.

Didn't work then either. The Roman Empire fell fairly soon after that. More recently, it was exactly that sort of thinking that led up to the First World War, and the general sequence of disasters arising out of that which dominated the last century.

The image that comes to mind at present is of two Sumo wrestlers pushing against each other - and suddenly one of them vanishes. The one that is left is desperately trying to find a replacement, because his way of staying upright involves having someone to push against.