Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

A very interesting and engaging perspective “The political thought of John Gray provides an unblinking vision of the world, a  perspective of unclouded realism which reveals the intractability of today’s most pressing problems. Both Christian and Enlightenment ideologies have perpetuated the myth that humanity’s problems can be overcome, that history is a narrative of man’s progression and perfectibility. According to Gray, such ideas, which were typified by the Positivist movement, have come to rest at the core of liberal political philosophies, and are exemplified by Fukuyaman assertion that the ideals of Western liberalism represent the historical end-point of man’s ideological evolution. For Gray, however, claims to this effect are grounded on a number of flawed assumptions. In the first instance, they reproduce a Christian anthropocentrism which elevates the ‘story of mankind’ to a position of unparalleled significance. Secondly, they assume that ‘humanity’ exists, that diverg...

“Western powers usually legitimize military interventions in terms of a proclaimed commitment to some universalist norm or to some goal embodying such a norm. These declared goals can oscillate, but they  are important because a central element of their foreign policy, particularly when it involves starting a war, is maintaining the support of their domestic population. In the Anglo-Saxon countries, people like to think of themselves as the guardians and promoters, through their states, of the most civilized, humane, liberal and democratic values in the world. It is true that they have short attention spans and are generally far more ignorant of the world outside their borders than the populations of many other countries,  but at least the elected leaders of their states can run into domestic trouble if the declared norms and goals are not implemented or if implementation is carried through with such barbarity that they contradict other, more basic, norms and goals .”  —P...