Thomas on Farcaster

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https://warpcast.com/~/channel/thomas

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@aviationdoctor.eth

Something I have noticed in the current political climate is how casually commentators and pundits frame the current direction of travel as if it was logical, natural, and ineluctable for the world in the 21st century. Under their new narrative, it becomes self-evident that policies of "might is right" (power and strength over ethics as the ultimate arbiter of morality); "the ends justify the means" (utilitarianism over deontology); authoritarianism (executive supremacy over rule of law and checks & balances); jingoism (tribalism over good-faith diplomacy and value-driven alliances); and isolationism (transactional, bilateral deals over global collaboration and open trade) — are inevitable. 1/2

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@aviationdoctor.eth

I observe this in Mearsheimer blaming NATO, in Thiel bankrolling Yarvinism, and —most consequentially— in the dominant Thucydides-reminiscent collective resignation to the idea that a US-China conflict is inescapable. Nobody seems to be asking *why* such a conflict, but rather *when*, as if it was some great truth of the universe that every hegemon threatened by a rising power had to fight rather than coexist. I also notice the giddy excitement and confidence with which certain commentators peddle those views. They use haughty conversation enders such as "realpolitics" and "statecraft" to dismiss as naive the humanist view that the world needs more, not less, international cooperation in the face of common threats to humanity (climate change, biodiversity collapse, pandemics, debt/financial instability, AI risks, nuclear proliferation, etc). This, to me, is pure Moloch in action. 2/2

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I am someone who believes might is right is the timeless and dominant relationship, and every other dynamic comes down to might being abstracted enough people lose sight of it. What is your argument against my view?

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It's easy to fall back on fundamentalism in chaotic situations, because the belief system has a simple answer for everything

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so true. The narrative of 'inevitable' power shift have taken so much attention that it is being taken as some natural law rather than a historical pattern which needs to be studied, quetioned and work through.

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If you come at me with a gun, and I come at you with nothing, you win. But if we both come with guns, we’ve got ourselves a war “ Double standards “

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