I like the metaphor of the peacenik wanting to rid the world of violence by suggesting that police not use weapons. Let’s elaborate on the analogy between Dark Arts and violence.
Tit For Tat is a common policy for trying to control violence. One obvious and much lamented flaw in the strategy is that it tends to foster cycles of violence, with each side claiming that the other side started it and that “they” use more vicious tactics.
To get past the problems of biased measurement of proportional response and so on, and thereby break the cycle of violence, at least one side has to undertake to dramatically de-escalate—while still providing a deterrent to unrestricted use of force. The last point is essential. Absolute pacifism may well work brilliantly as a response to some provocateurs, but not all.
I like to summarize my views on violence by saying that the only thing worse than two armies fighting a war is one army fighting a war. If rationalists foreswear the Dark Arts, the result will be one army fighting a war. And we’ll be the targeted civilians. Well, not quite. Reason is roughly comparable to small arms; the Dark Arts are heavy artillery and airpower. Or so I fear. If anyone has links to research on the relative persuasive powers of reason and unreason, it would certainly help clarify the issue.
I like the metaphor of the peacenik wanting to rid the world of violence by suggesting that police not use weapons. Let’s elaborate on the analogy between Dark Arts and violence.
Tit For Tat is a common policy for trying to control violence. One obvious and much lamented flaw in the strategy is that it tends to foster cycles of violence, with each side claiming that the other side started it and that “they” use more vicious tactics.
To get past the problems of biased measurement of proportional response and so on, and thereby break the cycle of violence, at least one side has to undertake to dramatically de-escalate—while still providing a deterrent to unrestricted use of force. The last point is essential. Absolute pacifism may well work brilliantly as a response to some provocateurs, but not all.
I like to summarize my views on violence by saying that the only thing worse than two armies fighting a war is one army fighting a war. If rationalists foreswear the Dark Arts, the result will be one army fighting a war. And we’ll be the targeted civilians. Well, not quite. Reason is roughly comparable to small arms; the Dark Arts are heavy artillery and airpower. Or so I fear. If anyone has links to research on the relative persuasive powers of reason and unreason, it would certainly help clarify the issue.