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  • Walt says liberalism and Zionism are difficult to reconcile
    • newposter July 2, 2012 at 3:53 pm with 10 replies

      Quite incredible how a belief in human equality could be described as self-hatred.

    • newposter July 2, 2012 at 2:59 am

      I think I see what you are saying. I would just say a couple of things as a response.

      First, my comment referred specifically to Zionism. I didn't have a broader idea of "nationalism" or "ethnocracy" in mind, so I must concede that I hadn't thought through the relationship between liberalism and these other preferential ideologies. To me Zionism and the story of Zionism are pretty unique.

      Second, I'm quite ignorant on the topic and would be curious about these modern European ethnocracies you mention. Do they compare well to Israel? Are they settler states that grant citizenship based on blood?

      I do not doubt that there are people who call themselves liberal ethnocrats or liberal zionists and who believe simultaneously in two irreconcilable ideologies. (For example, American history is full of people who had liberal ideas but were also white supremacists.) Nor do I doubt that such people are of immense value in restraining their more violent and extreme brethren. But their belief systems remain irreconcilable, if we take those beliefs seriously.

    • newposter July 1, 2012 at 2:13 pm

      Oxymoron is right! Walt is great, but this is an enormous understatement. "Tension"??? How about totally irreconcilable.

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