I agree the idea that evil/irrationality go hand-in-hand is a commonly held, but silly idea. In a similar vein I see people thinking the line between good/evil is distinct and clear-cut throughout history. If we believe it was a clear distinction historically, it should follow the distinction would be clear today. And who is evil today? Our political opponents, of course (/s).
Not to suggest there weren’t better/worse sides in the past, however, I recently read this book ‘Human Smoke,’ which is a collection of news paper clippings from the 1920s-1940s. It’s incredible how a few years before WWII Churchill was gassing and decimating colonialist towns for disobeying imperial mandate. It is only one data point, of many, to show that this idea that good = rational, morally upstanding, our side. Bad = evil, irrational, crazy, their side. Is a vast oversimplification.
PS: Your post also reminds me of War and Peace, where Tolstoy makes the argument that attributing Russia’s defeat of Napoléon as due to some grand strategic brilliance is nonsensical, and the reality was more mundane (One example, a combination of bureaucratic slowness leading to retreat, luckily paired with a colder than usual winter).
Yeah, fair enough. Everything I know about that event comes from War and Peace and Wikipedia, so I won’t argue on any specific ground. Tolstoy’s bigger argument that there were lots of hidden, but crucial aspects, that determined the war, at the time, went against the traditional view of the time that it was all a function of Great Men. Or at least that’s the impression I have.
+1 for a novel/interesting original post.
I agree the idea that evil/irrationality go hand-in-hand is a commonly held, but silly idea. In a similar vein I see people thinking the line between good/evil is distinct and clear-cut throughout history. If we believe it was a clear distinction historically, it should follow the distinction would be clear today. And who is evil today? Our political opponents, of course (/s).
Not to suggest there weren’t better/worse sides in the past, however, I recently read this book ‘Human Smoke,’ which is a collection of news paper clippings from the 1920s-1940s. It’s incredible how a few years before WWII Churchill was gassing and decimating colonialist towns for disobeying imperial mandate. It is only one data point, of many, to show that this idea that good = rational, morally upstanding, our side. Bad = evil, irrational, crazy, their side. Is a vast oversimplification.
PS: Your post also reminds me of War and Peace, where Tolstoy makes the argument that attributing Russia’s defeat of Napoléon as due to some grand strategic brilliance is nonsensical, and the reality was more mundane (One example, a combination of bureaucratic slowness leading to retreat, luckily paired with a colder than usual winter).
Choosing to abandon and burn Moscow, while perhaps not strategic brilliance, seems like an impressive willingness to make sacrifices.
The Russians are absolutely outstanding at this :-/
Yeah, fair enough. Everything I know about that event comes from War and Peace and Wikipedia, so I won’t argue on any specific ground. Tolstoy’s bigger argument that there were lots of hidden, but crucial aspects, that determined the war, at the time, went against the traditional view of the time that it was all a function of Great Men. Or at least that’s the impression I have.
Username checks out.