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That is a beautiful quote by Orwell, who had a knack for getting at the essence of things. But I would disagree with the notion that one society should only ad
by rsj_hn 5y ago
That is a beautiful quote by Orwell, who had a knack for getting at the essence of things.
But I would disagree with the notion that one society should only adopt a belief if it generalizes to the entire planet. That's not really a useful yardstick to judge feasibility in a world that requires heterogeneity and in which different groups have different pressures. Universalism is a bigger lie than pacifism.
So what role does pacifism play? Let's reinterpret the Orwell quote -- those who have money and guns can be Pacifists. I would say yes. If they were militarists, it would end badly as you would get powerful warmongering states. So a bias towards pacifism among those who strong and in no danger makes sense, just as a bias towards militarism among those who are weaker and in danger makes a lot of sense. Then we can look at the other aspect. If you are a radically different subgroup embedded in a larger population, you want to keep your head down. You don't want to be seen as a threat. So the Amish, famously apolitical and non-militaristic, are more tolerated by the rest of society.
- leephillips 5y agoI’m pretty sure Orwell was talking about other people’s guns.
- rsj_hn 5y agoOf course, other people's guns serving to protect you. So really your guns, from the point of view of the larger society as a single unit, but other people's guns, from the point of view of an individual person in that society.