RadioRaheem84
5th September 2010, 18:20
I've noticed that neo-conservatism, Cold War Liberalism, seems to be a pretty hot issue in the UK and there is a lot of apologizing for the West in terms of denying it's imperial ambitions among some intellectuals.
What particularly happened in UK politics that made a lot of "leftists" like Nick Cohen, Johann Harri, Norman Geras, Oliver Kamm and Nial Ferguson turn sharply to the right when it came to foreign affairs?
A lot of them seem more adamant about the venture than many Americans on the "left". At least the American liberals maintain some sort of realism in their beliefs, but the British intellectuals are very idealist about "humanitarian" ventures.
I read stuff like this from Nial Ferguson and I cringe:
Logan Circle, Washington, D.C.: Do you believe that the West must defeat, or at least contain, radical Islam to ensure a relatively peaceful 21st Century? Or can radical Islam be successfully and safely ignored?
Niall Ferguson: Radical Islam(ism) is a revolutionary ideology like extreme Marxism a century ago, but with the Koran rather than Das Kapital as its holy text. We can't underestimate it - and certainly not ignore it. They need to hate the West (and particularly the US and Israel) to maintain their fragile unity.
It's almost as if the intellectuals in the UK sort of buy wholesale the clash of civilizations mantra and the neo-con, Wilsonian babble about speading democracy. Neo-Cons at least maintain a degree of realism that has them understanding that resources and the creation of new markets must be extracted from what ever country they choose to liberate, but the UK intellectuals are in it for the white man's burden.
What particularly happened in UK politics that made a lot of "leftists" like Nick Cohen, Johann Harri, Norman Geras, Oliver Kamm and Nial Ferguson turn sharply to the right when it came to foreign affairs?
A lot of them seem more adamant about the venture than many Americans on the "left". At least the American liberals maintain some sort of realism in their beliefs, but the British intellectuals are very idealist about "humanitarian" ventures.
I read stuff like this from Nial Ferguson and I cringe:
Logan Circle, Washington, D.C.: Do you believe that the West must defeat, or at least contain, radical Islam to ensure a relatively peaceful 21st Century? Or can radical Islam be successfully and safely ignored?
Niall Ferguson: Radical Islam(ism) is a revolutionary ideology like extreme Marxism a century ago, but with the Koran rather than Das Kapital as its holy text. We can't underestimate it - and certainly not ignore it. They need to hate the West (and particularly the US and Israel) to maintain their fragile unity.
It's almost as if the intellectuals in the UK sort of buy wholesale the clash of civilizations mantra and the neo-con, Wilsonian babble about speading democracy. Neo-Cons at least maintain a degree of realism that has them understanding that resources and the creation of new markets must be extracted from what ever country they choose to liberate, but the UK intellectuals are in it for the white man's burden.