tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post5464229096858511036..comments2024-02-11T19:28:27.997+11:00Comments on Personal Reflections: Tuesday Note - eugenics, prejudice and national efficiencyJim Belshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-76805918821452112762009-03-04T21:12:00.000+11:002009-03-04T21:12:00.000+11:00That's an interesting comment, SA, one that caused...That's an interesting comment, SA, one that caused me to pause and think. <BR/><BR/>When I wrote I wasn't thinking about a causal connection between the end of the cold war and the rise of ethic tensions, simply a temporal one.<BR/><BR/>Because of my train reading, I was comparing in my mind two slices, the world 1900-1914 and the world today. So it was a comparative analysis.<BR/><BR/>Now that you raise the issue, you make me wonder.Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-90172510738532698932009-03-04T12:54:00.000+11:002009-03-04T12:54:00.000+11:00JimYou write: "Globally, the end of the Cold War h...Jim<BR/><BR/>You write: "Globally, the end of the Cold War has seen the re-appearance of ethnic and race based politics in a way not seen since the period just before the First World War."<BR/><BR/>This is a complex statement. I'm troubled by the potential for it to be misinterpreted. <BR/><BR/>I'd be OK about the statement if a contrast is being made between, in my terminology, an ideologically expressed Cold War (put bluntly capitalism vs communism or colonialism vs decolonisation) as against an ethnically/racially expressed set of current wars. <BR/><BR/>Perhaps another way to put the statement is that removal or reduction of the political, economic and military grip of the various previously mentioned "ism"s has allowed old ethnic/racial perspectives among the "little peoples" to be expressed politically.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand one can interpret the so-called ideological Cold War as also ethnic politics anyway, eg Americans vs Russian. Strange that, because on the so-called "Russian" side in fact there were 15 Soviet Republics, many with ethnic groups or even races quite unrelated to the category of "Russian".<BR/><BR/>I guess what troubles me is that big peoples and nations don't talk about themselves as "ethnic" or "race", yet very often their politics is ethnic/race in reality. For example English speaking countries, an a few others roped into waging violence in Iraq or Afghanistan when it suited them to do so.<BR/><BR/>Nuff said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-41789066408639465582009-03-03T19:51:00.000+11:002009-03-03T19:51:00.000+11:00I am sure that it was you, Neil. And I am sure tha...I am sure that it was you, Neil. And I am sure that pre-occupation was the answer. But you looked so fierce!Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-63926468603390929132009-03-03T09:57:00.000+11:002009-03-03T09:57:00.000+11:00I think it was me, and the results are now on the ...I think it was me, and the results are now <A HREF="http://neilphoto.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/at-central-monday-5pm/" REL="nofollow">on the photoblog</A>. It's hard getting a good shot in the midst of a constantly moving crowd, so I guess I was just concentrating, not being annoyed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com