“An anarchic space” Archived Message
Posted by Shyaku on February 11, 2023, 8:27 pm, in reply to "Re: Hersh can't get published in the NY Times, but Thomas Friedman does every day."
Years ago, this phrase stuck with me after seeing a neocon (probably Bolton) describe international law as “an anarchic space”. If I saw it on TV it must’ve been at least 20 years ago. But I thought it was a revealing insight into how they think. Note: Not even a chessboard where strategy reigns at least on an equal level with rules, but an ‘anarchic space’, where there are no rules or where rules are regarded as essentially unenforceable. Note how it differs from the internal US which constitutional conservatives readily define as a “nation of laws, not men”. It differs naturally from the ostensible “rules based” utterances of late. It is very revealing how these people genuinely see themselves in moments of candor, as grand players in a void. Whether or not this language is an ancient relic from the trotskyite origins of the neocons that they carried forward for convenience - they are at least prepared to use the words. Naturally there is no apparent systemic risk or moral hazard from one’s own actions in this “anarchic space”, as in say the financial world. - Shyaku
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