It is hard for people not to see the world in polarizing terms ('them' and us') and these terms have in the past strengthened the isolationist theme in American foreign policy as much as they now strengthen the imperialist theme. Americans have got used to thinking of the world in terms of enemies. Enemies are somewhere else, as the fighting is almost always 'over there,' with Islamic fundamentalism now replacing Russian and Chinese communism as the implacable, furtive menace to 'our way of life.' And terrorist is a more flexible word than communist. It can unify a larger number of quite different struggles and interests.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- People tend to view the world in us versus them terms, which has shifted from supporting isolationism to justifying imperialism. Terrorist labels are more flexible than communist ones, allowing diverse struggles to be unified under a single enemy.
- In plain terms
- Humans often split the world into friends and foes, using labels like terrorist to justify military actions abroad.
- What can you take from it?
- Beware of binary thinking that justifies foreign intervention.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does labeling enemies shape policy?
- Is binary thinking inevitable?
Another view
Not all foreign policy decisions rely solely on us-versus-them framing.
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