Comments on: Blame http://www.explananda.com/2006/11/29/blame/ Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:53:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Chris http://www.explananda.com/2006/11/29/blame/comment-page-1/#comment-2297 Chris Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:56:44 +0000 http://www.explananda.com/?p=1609#comment-2297 Steve, I agree. Kaplanesque "primal seething ethnic hatreds unleashed" theories simply seem to me to misunderstand the structure and logic of collective action. I've written about this much more clearly <a href="http://www.explananda.com/archives/000025.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>, <a href="http://www.explananda.com/archives/000024.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.explananda.com/archives/001533.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Russell Hardin's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-All-Logic-Group-Conflict/dp/0691048258/sr=8-1/qid=1164819275/ref=sr_1_1/103-4418494-5883046?ie=UTF8&s=books" rel="nofollow">book</a> on the logic of group conflict was helpful for me on this subject, as were many, many hours spent discussing the breakup of Yugoslavia with a (liberal) Serb roommate. Steve,
I agree. Kaplanesque “primal seething ethnic hatreds unleashed” theories simply seem to me to misunderstand the structure and logic of collective action. I’ve written about this much more clearly here, here, and here.

Russell Hardin’s book on the logic of group conflict was helpful for me on this subject, as were many, many hours spent discussing the breakup of Yugoslavia with a (liberal) Serb roommate.

]]> By: Steve Laniel http://www.explananda.com/2006/11/29/blame/comment-page-1/#comment-2296 Steve Laniel Wed, 29 Nov 2006 16:05:14 +0000 http://www.explananda.com/?p=1609#comment-2296 I've talked with a lot of people about Iraq, and back in the day about Yugoslavia, and the fairly frequent response I get is, "Residents of Country X are naturally predisposed to sectarian violence, and their problems probably won't stop until they all kill each other." Which, if I'm not mistaken, ignores all the post-colonial/post-WW2 historical events that had a large hand in causing the sectarian violence that we see today. Reminds me of Darwin's quote (cited in Gould's <em>The Mismeasure of Man</em>: "If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin." I’ve talked with a lot of people about Iraq, and back in the day about Yugoslavia, and the fairly frequent response I get is, “Residents of Country X are naturally predisposed to sectarian violence, and their problems probably won’t stop until they all kill each other.” Which, if I’m not mistaken, ignores all the post-colonial/post-WW2 historical events that had a large hand in causing the sectarian violence that we see today.

Reminds me of Darwin’s quote (cited in Gould’s The Mismeasure of Man: “If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.”

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