Excellent essay. Growing up in USSR Kiev, I remember a whispered anecdote - ‘my neighbor would wake up an hour earlier and worked an hour later, each day. His harvests were bigger than mine. Eventually, he bought an extra cow. I killed it, and now, we are, again, equal’
You nailed it. I have for many years reckoned that envy has been the driving force in most Jew hatred down through the ages. It certainly figures into the equation as far as Israel goes. Look at the glaring differences in productivity, innovation and prosperity between Israel and most of the adjacent Arab countries. You would think that their leaders could take an inspirational cue from the dynamism of their Israeli neighbors and employ some of their proven practices, but no, the only responses are hatred and destruction.
But lots of smart, educated, successful people, including both mainstream Dems and hard lefties, are on the Hamas bandwagon. For the casual anti-Semite, I think a lot of this is the vast appeal of a crude oppressor vs. oppressed narrative (and any black or brown person by definition is oppressed) plus a sort of left-wing noblesse oblige: "Look at these poor persecuted brown people. What a perfect opportunity to show how good I am by demonizing their oppressors."
Ethnic hatred comes from the heart - which is where it resides among “innocent” Palestinians who teach it their children - and it is revealed by actions. Peacefulness also comes from the heart, not just a case of not taking up arms, and is revealed by actions. So the so-called ‘vastmajorityofmuslims’ whom we are told are peaceful, certainly do not reveal that is in their heart by their actions. Over the last five decades of bombings, machine-gun attacks, kidnappings, hijackings and general murder and mayhem carried out by a tiny minority of Muslims who are not representative of the rest - we are told, where were the condemnations of the famous ‘vastmajority’, where the condolences to the victims, where the mass demonstrations expressing opposition and disgust at this supposed unrepresentative, extremism behaviour by a tiny few? By deeds, not words, shall we know others. So by their deeds, what do the ‘vastmajorityofmuslims’ reveal about what is in their heart?
But Jewish victims of Muslims *also* use the language of oppression and point constantly to historical grievance. I've been watching the protests and it's just a constant volley of "No, you're the real genocider!"
The Nazis, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and most antisemitism in Europe from the Late Middle Ages onwards do fit the theory. Jews were killed for many reasons, that ultimately all stem from them being more intelligent and hardworking than most of the Gentile population.
However, the whole story of European hatred of Jews must at least partly be attributed not to egalitarianism, but to the (real or fictional, doesn't matter) role of Jewish institutions in the story of Christ.
Similarly, the Middle Eastern Muslim antisemitism, which predates the modern Israeli state, must at least partly be attributed to Muhammad's own thinking. Now you might argue *that* was egalitarianism all along, but with current historical research technology, that's unfalsifiable.
Great post: an example of more people saying the quiet parts out loud. The axiom of the Blank Slate is so deep in the West's unwritten religion it can't be reversed, since invalidating it invalidates liberalism. But it is a luxury belief that can only survive in times of growth and abundance which have both slowed.
The Blank Slate's corollary is that if we aren't converging on equal outcomes for all, something must be broken that requires ever increasing pressure. This leads to evil and suffering as soon as scarcity is involved and I wish more people saw this as clearly as in this post.
I think the most frustrating thing is that even as things break further and further, the social Overton guardrails are still very intact, against the non-fanatics talking about root causes from first principles. So almost all we ever see in public is a pretend debate which has to proceed on assumptions which have been completely mugged by reality.
In India, the high castes persecute the low castes, with plenty of pogroms. The low castes are not in any statistical metric successful. It’s very similar to KKK. It is not a situation where the less successful terrorize the more successful.
Which is why envy is one of the 7 deadly sins and why there are 2 commandments against coveting.
Excellent essay. Growing up in USSR Kiev, I remember a whispered anecdote - ‘my neighbor would wake up an hour earlier and worked an hour later, each day. His harvests were bigger than mine. Eventually, he bought an extra cow. I killed it, and now, we are, again, equal’
Appreciate the effort on putting forth more concise pieces. Lessons learned from chatting with Steinman? Keep it up!
You nailed it. I have for many years reckoned that envy has been the driving force in most Jew hatred down through the ages. It certainly figures into the equation as far as Israel goes. Look at the glaring differences in productivity, innovation and prosperity between Israel and most of the adjacent Arab countries. You would think that their leaders could take an inspirational cue from the dynamism of their Israeli neighbors and employ some of their proven practices, but no, the only responses are hatred and destruction.
Articulate, logical and to the point. Good synopsis of the problem. 👍🏻
But lots of smart, educated, successful people, including both mainstream Dems and hard lefties, are on the Hamas bandwagon. For the casual anti-Semite, I think a lot of this is the vast appeal of a crude oppressor vs. oppressed narrative (and any black or brown person by definition is oppressed) plus a sort of left-wing noblesse oblige: "Look at these poor persecuted brown people. What a perfect opportunity to show how good I am by demonizing their oppressors."
Ethnic hatred comes from the heart - which is where it resides among “innocent” Palestinians who teach it their children - and it is revealed by actions. Peacefulness also comes from the heart, not just a case of not taking up arms, and is revealed by actions. So the so-called ‘vastmajorityofmuslims’ whom we are told are peaceful, certainly do not reveal that is in their heart by their actions. Over the last five decades of bombings, machine-gun attacks, kidnappings, hijackings and general murder and mayhem carried out by a tiny minority of Muslims who are not representative of the rest - we are told, where were the condemnations of the famous ‘vastmajority’, where the condolences to the victims, where the mass demonstrations expressing opposition and disgust at this supposed unrepresentative, extremism behaviour by a tiny few? By deeds, not words, shall we know others. So by their deeds, what do the ‘vastmajorityofmuslims’ reveal about what is in their heart?
But Jewish victims of Muslims *also* use the language of oppression and point constantly to historical grievance. I've been watching the protests and it's just a constant volley of "No, you're the real genocider!"
The Nazis, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and most antisemitism in Europe from the Late Middle Ages onwards do fit the theory. Jews were killed for many reasons, that ultimately all stem from them being more intelligent and hardworking than most of the Gentile population.
However, the whole story of European hatred of Jews must at least partly be attributed not to egalitarianism, but to the (real or fictional, doesn't matter) role of Jewish institutions in the story of Christ.
Similarly, the Middle Eastern Muslim antisemitism, which predates the modern Israeli state, must at least partly be attributed to Muhammad's own thinking. Now you might argue *that* was egalitarianism all along, but with current historical research technology, that's unfalsifiable.
Great post: an example of more people saying the quiet parts out loud. The axiom of the Blank Slate is so deep in the West's unwritten religion it can't be reversed, since invalidating it invalidates liberalism. But it is a luxury belief that can only survive in times of growth and abundance which have both slowed.
The Blank Slate's corollary is that if we aren't converging on equal outcomes for all, something must be broken that requires ever increasing pressure. This leads to evil and suffering as soon as scarcity is involved and I wish more people saw this as clearly as in this post.
I think the most frustrating thing is that even as things break further and further, the social Overton guardrails are still very intact, against the non-fanatics talking about root causes from first principles. So almost all we ever see in public is a pretend debate which has to proceed on assumptions which have been completely mugged by reality.
Didn't agree with you take of things.
Can we agree on a cease fire and maybe a one or two state solution.
Peace
This is well put
In India, the high castes persecute the low castes, with plenty of pogroms. The low castes are not in any statistical metric successful. It’s very similar to KKK. It is not a situation where the less successful terrorize the more successful.
Boy are you a sicko
Peace from egalitarian me
*where are the peace makers*