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Stratagem

Tom Robinson

Ive heard a few good answers to your question. One theory (credited to David Deutsch) is that, after the trauma of WWII and the blotting out of Naziism, people wanted to blot out violence in general by pretending it doesnt exist. For children, violence is forbidden as a topic of conversation at the dinner table, forbidden on the TV and is *never* discussed in school. In fact, violence of any kind is punished in school, *regardless of who is at fault*. The result is systematic ignorance about the proper use of force, that is, idiotarianism.

Another possibility is that idiotarianism arises out of resentiment of authority. If you grow up oppressed by your parents, you may end up seeing the world in terms of power relations, authorities trying to fuck you over. This could translate to a hatred of America, and of successful people and countries in general.

by Daniel Strimpel on Thu, 06/19/2003 - 04:09

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