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The problem is realism in foreign policy. Even the nicest kid entering Harvard for a polisci degree is going to have to reconcile information asymmetry / anarch

The problem is realism in foreign policy. Even the nicest kid entering Harvard for a polisci degree is going to have to reconcile information asymmetry / anarchy in international relations with democracy and civil society. It's harder than you think. I once asked a foreign policy friend of mine if ethics entered foreign policy decisions. He sat and thought for about 2 or 3 mins before saying "sometimes, sure, if the stakes aren't too high". On his own this guy wouldn't hurt a fly, and in general he accepts that liberalism and US soft power is sometimes effective, but at his core he's a realist, and realists tap the internet and throw revolutions in the Ukraine.

harkyns_castle 11y ago
I'm thinking nonsense. We have to descend to the lowest common denominator to make things work? That seems lazy to me. The system we have at the moment is geared towards a few, extremely wealthy individuals and companies, and they basically created the system and need to see it continue. And its from the US it came and gets enforced. There is absolutely no need to have a system we have in the US where the corporations basically call the shots, via campaign funding and revolving door bribery, or for the warmongering. Its like someone holding a gun to your face complaining that the other person "just won't see sense, they refuse to put their gun down". Small wonder, when they're being threatened. What would make sense for me is for a few people in powerful positions to grow a backbone and start to demand changes; but I think the apparatus is so strong now, that those that do, meet an untimely fate, and the remaining few have courage in the face of certain death/social destruction. I think we've been had, basically, in a really large way, and I don't see a way out of it. Its a successful, long game play that has won out. Nice if you're part of it, sucks if you're not.

harkyns_castle 11y ago

I'm thinking nonsense. We have to descend to the lowest common denominator to make things work? That seems lazy to me. The system we have at the moment is geared towards a few, extremely wealthy individuals and companies, and they basically created the system and need to see it continue. And its from the US it came and gets enforced. There is absolutely no need to have a system we have in the US where the corporations basically call the shots, via campaign funding and revolving door bribery, or for the warmongering. Its like someone holding a gun to your face complaining that the other person "just won't see sense, they refuse to put their gun down". Small wonder, when they're being threatened. What would make sense for me is for a few people in powerful positions to grow a backbone and start to demand changes; but I think the apparatus is so strong now, that those that do, meet an untimely fate, and the remaining few have courage in the face of certain death/social destruction. I think we've been had, basically, in a really large way, and I don't see a way out of it. Its a successful, long game play that has won out. Nice if you're part of it, sucks if you're not.