Comment on The Belmont Club "East versus west"

Which of the two world views is based on reality? And which of the two world views, if in conflict, would prevail?

These are false choices. They presuppose that one of these views is based on reality. On the margin however the views of the pacifists of Rochedale are grounded in a deeper reality.

The basis of Communism is an uncompromising materialism that completely denies all of the accumulated wisdom of humanity in how to solve problems or how to create wealth. Communism, despite the pretensions of Marx's theory of Historical Dialectical Materialism, exist out of time. Problems are to be solved only in the here and now by command. The source of all creativity is the singular will of the Leader, who is divorced from individual choices and consequences.

The basis of Pacifism is a world view that is informed by a knowledge of the worth of each individual and the remarkable achievement and terrible violence that we are all capable of. The problem with the pacifists is not that they ignore all of the fundamentals but that they select the information that they process to a high degree, but still I would argue to a lesser degree than do the communists, to reach their desired results. Therefor there conclusions are wrong even if their intentions and awareness of history are to a considerable extent not.

In a short term conflict the forces of Korea could annihilate the forces of Rochedale. In the long term, when we are all dead, the Korean Communist model is a dead end that will collapse. The civilization that produced the pacifists is the stronger and will prevail. Consider the Pacifists as a natural by product of a healthy cultural body. They must be processed and not allowed to accumulate to the point where they poison the system but in moderation their presence need not be considered dangerous. The communists on the other hand are a pure bad. They represent a cancerous mutation that can only harm the host.

The values that built our strategic deterrent as portrayed in Crimson Tide are based in the values that motivate the people of Rochedale, whether those people in England know it or not. The Air Farce had it right, to give them their due, when they said "Peace Is Our Profession."

-------
Demosophist,
(who found my prose sickening)
Why the vertigo? If you love the people as your name claims then what you strive and build and fight for is their safety.
General Douglas MacArthur got this right. The military is devoted to "Duty, Honor, Country."

The soldier above all other people prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer ,,,