Both sides agree, and we are doomed.
 

[Quote] On a superficial level, both parties have opposite points of view. But on a deeper level, these opposites are a mirror image of each other. This type of relationship is a classic case of what anthropology calls a situation of complementary antagonism, for each side:


... is convinced of the righteousness of its own point of view;

... projects absolute evil onto the other;

... believes the other side initiated the injustice;

... attempts to modify the behaviour of its opponent by any means necessary, including violence;

.. is inevitably frustrated when such attempts, in the long term, fail to produce the desired effect.


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The foundations of the war on terror, the palestinian conflict, the iraq conflict, Sudan, Indonesia, Tamil Tigers, Kosovo, the list is long and endless.

So are we headed for demise?

Consider the following quote:

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"The myth of power, is of course, a very powerful myth; and probably most people in this world more or less believe in it... But it is still epistemological lunacy and leads inevitably to all sorts of disaster... If we continue to operate in terms of a Cartesian dualism of mind versus matter, we shall probably also come to see the world in terms of God versus man; élite versus people; chosen race versus others; nation versus nation and man versus environment. It is doubtful whether a species having both an advanced technology and this strange way of looking at the world can endure...




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Now we have advance technology and this strange way of looking at the world.

Re: Both sides agree, and we are doomed.
 

[ QUOTE ]
On a superficial level, both parties have opposite points of view. But on a deeper level, these opposites are a mirror image of each other.

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I actually believe that this quotation has it totally backwards: On a superficial level, the two prominent american political parties have some major dofferences, but perceptions about the opposition's "pure evil", and their conviction that "the other side initiated the injustice" are also superficial.

I think that most americans have become so desensitized to inflamitory political diolouge that more and more extreme rhetoric has to be used to create the desired effect. When liberals compare Bush to Hitler, or when conservatives compare liberal policys to communisim, they are, to any intelligent american, obviously exaggerating. Nobody really thinks Bush is as bad as Hitler, or that liberals want to institute Marxist-leninist policies, but the comparison is the only thing that raises the ire of the party faithfil enough to run a campaign. Those that say these things and mean them are, IMO, nutcases, out of touch with the reality of the political process.


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If we continue to operate in terms of a Cartesian dualism of mind versus matter, we shall probably also come to see the world in terms of God versus man; élite versus people; chosen race versus others; nation versus nation and man versus environment.

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I think we've always seen things this way. The dangers of any kind of dualistic thinking become clearer and clearer to me as i age and mature. Mind v body, us v them, old v new, RIGHT v WRONG, all are usually simplifications of problems and questions that do not have simple awnsers, and they lead us to believe that there ARE simple answers. throw in some nukes and moder communication and biological technology, and it's a recipie for disaster.

nothing is black and white, it's all just shades of grey...
interesting post.

Re: Both sides agree, and we are doomed.
 

But there are two caveats to the "shades of grey" viewpoint.
A) There are such things as lighter and darker shades of grey. Shades of grey can be very distinct.
B) People act in their own best interest, no one else's. And that is what each one of us do, what we are all hardwired to do. In the real world, the ends almost always justify the means.

Re: Both sides agree, and we are doomed.
 

People act in their own best interest, no one else's. And that is what each one of us do, what we are all hardwired to do. In the real world, the ends almost always justify the means
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Hmm...If you believe this I guess you dont put much faith in liberal democracy coupled with a freemarket system....

BTW, this marriage has produced the worlds fastest growin most powerful and stable nation for the past 150 yrs so.......

Re: Both sides agree, and we are doomed.
 

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Hmm...If you believe this I guess you dont put much faith in liberal democracy coupled with a freemarket system....


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actually, i think that this is one of the core reasons that democracy+capitalism works so well. lots of people acting in their own self intrest through democratic processes means the greatedt good for the greatest number is what ends up being representes.

and capitalism works because nothing else ever has.


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A) There are such things as lighter and darker shades of grey. Shades of grey can be very distinct.


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I agree totally. when people lose sight of this idea, relitivism (the belief that all perspectives and motives have an equal inherant value) lies just around the corner, and that's a nihilistic and pointless philosophy.

Shades of grey
 

The problem in the various bipolar conflicts, specially with religious overtones, is that the two parties refuse to accept that there are shades of grey at all. This is what religion does when handed as a tool to the politician whether the religion is Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, or any other.