Randolph Bourne American essayist and critic is most remembered today for his opposition to U.S. military involvement in Europe which he vehemently opposed, bringing him into sharp conflict with the rising pro-war hysteria that preceded America's entry into World War One. His assertion that "war is the health of the state" is a good place to start. He died in 1918 at the age of 32 stricken with influenza during the worldwide epidemic following the war.