Controversial Political Opinions

[David Horn]

(05-12-2022, 05:22 PM)JasonBlack Wrote: The burden is on you to prove that this is capable of being anything but a fantasy. The international sphere has been anarchistic since the dawn of civilization, and that shows no sides of abating any time soon. What people don't understand about this topic is that diversity can never create social bonds. Social bonds are formed by finding ways we are similar: similar beliefs, similar religion, similar history, similar experiences, etc. Unfortunately, this can take the form of...similar skin color, but while this particular avenue of kinship should not be encouraged, the fact remains that we have never successfully gotten all of humanity on the same side because humans will always form in groups and out groups and look out for their own more than they do outsiders.

In practice, the people who tend to push for this kind of universalism are generally also the people least likely to listen. More likely to demand that other accept their paradigm, rather than being respectful of the fact that countries all over the world don't all want liberal governments. The mindset behind this kind of universalism is little different than the idealistic warfare between Muslim and Christian crusaders, the benevolent mercantilism of the British Empire, the Manifest Destiny of the United States. Come to think of it, you would have been of draftable age during the Vietnam War. The mindset isn't all that different from that.

Sure, we haven't sent troops....yet, but trade wars are usually followed by actual wars, including the Opium Wars in China, the Meiji Revolution in Japan, countless tribal and dictatorial wars in Africa and, arguably, the American Revolution. The fact is: we have nothing to gain from aggravating Putin, and it's time for America to step down from its role as global policemen. No one wants us doing so, including most of our own citizens.

Simplistic at best.  Here's a reading assignment: The WEIRDest People in the World, How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich.  A lot of what you praise is not really praiseworthy.   This is not a trivial read, btw.