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Does that take into account that terrorist actions will cause a(n influential) subset of humans to determinedly oppose your goals, even if they would support th
by BobaFloutist 3y ago
Does that take into account that terrorist actions will cause a(n influential) subset of humans to determinedly oppose your goals, even if they would support them otherwise? The problem with terrorism with a utilitarian lens is that humans aren't strictly rational actors, and are smart enough to deliberately disincentivize things they hated such as terrorism.
The only world in which utilitarian terrorism makes sense is the one in which all actors are fundamentally rational, in which the assumed possibility of terrorism would motivate people to behave in a manner sufficient to render it unnecessary.
- s1artibartfast 3y agoI don't think it is a great strategy, and I think there is a reason it is used by desperate groups. It has a low chance of direct success, but that doesn't mean it is hopeless. Futhermore, there other lots of other utilitarian uses, besides actually "winning a conflict", eg attention, sympathy, reactionism. Not to dive too deep into current events, but support for Palestinians, Gaza, and Hamas is probably at historic all time high right now. opposition is also at an all time time, but sometimes you might care more about one factor than the net balance.