Thanks, Minerva. I think the answer to the question is rooted in economic reasons as much as or more than ideological ones, but the Gramscian interplay of (collective) narrative and structure matters in state decisionmaking, too.
Here's a related question from my blog regarding the ethical dilemma in the question of Why We Fight:
An essential question about commitment, clarity, and the Why We Fight: If Western progressivism has been conclusively discredited for its forceful displacement of native cultures like the American Indian tribes, then what is the ethical difference, after removing the Lebensraum aspect of autarkic Western expansion, between that and championing a liberal world order today in a 'clash of civilizations' against autocratic Middle Eastern regimes like Syria, Iran, Saddam's Iraq, or the Taliban in Afghanistan and their fellow travelers like al Qaeda? Are we allowed to be progressive if we cannot, by self-imposed rule, classify our competitors as regressive? What effect if we restrict our engagement at the same time our competitors are totally committed to establishing a world or just regional order that is incompatible with and opposed to our preferred liberal world order?
1 comment:
Thanks, Minerva. I think the answer to the question is rooted in economic reasons as much as or more than ideological ones, but the Gramscian interplay of (collective) narrative and structure matters in state decisionmaking, too.
Here's a related question from my blog regarding the ethical dilemma in the question of Why We Fight:
An essential question about commitment, clarity, and the Why We Fight: If Western progressivism has been conclusively discredited for its forceful displacement of native cultures like the American Indian tribes, then what is the ethical difference, after removing the Lebensraum aspect of autarkic Western expansion, between that and championing a liberal world order today in a 'clash of civilizations' against autocratic Middle Eastern regimes like Syria, Iran, Saddam's Iraq, or the Taliban in Afghanistan and their fellow travelers like al Qaeda? Are we allowed to be progressive if we cannot, by self-imposed rule, classify our competitors as regressive? What effect if we restrict our engagement at the same time our competitors are totally committed to establishing a world or just regional order that is incompatible with and opposed to our preferred liberal world order?
Post a Comment