Politics is violence. Worse, politics is usually aggression.
A blanket condemnation of political violence while still doing politics is a denial of reality. It's like calling for people to reject round circles or wet water. I understand why they have to say it, but really...
Politics is violence!
Its violence is usually camouflaged behind other words. Words like "democracy" or "laws". The threats are called something else, too. But politics is violence.
Yes, reject political violence by rejecting politics! Otherwise, you're just making ridiculous noise with your face or laying out a string of absurd words with your fingers.
Politics doesn't improve anyone's character. It doesn't make society better. It's a cancer.
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Thank you for reading.
Karl Von Clausewitz: 'War is the continuation of politics by other means.'
ReplyDeletePrecisely. An escalation of political violence, not a genesis of political violence.
DeletePolitics is supposed to be a means of settling differences without violence. I'm not saying it always works, but that's the idea.
ReplyDeleteThat is the story we are told... by people who resort to politics when they can't get their way by giving a convincing argument.
DeletePolitics is how people cheat. "The political means" is theft, coercion, aggression, etc. It is employed by muggers, rapists, government employees, etc. It is the opposite of "the economic means", where people trade, make good faith arguments, and do things voluntarily-- and leave people alone when they can't be convinced. (Which doesn't mean they can't defend themselves and their property from people who don't cooperate and insist on using the political means anyway.)
https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/150