site banner
PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   1386 thread views

Transnational Thursday for August 29, 2024

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I think Canada should stay out of foreign wars? Sure -- I do also have opinions on what the US should do since we tend to get dragged along, I think that is legitimate?

Sure, that's a logical position that can be argued. I disagree with it but I have no a problem with people making such argument.

What I do have a problem with is when people talk about "the west" when they're really talking about "US and Canada" when it comes to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

So you are objecting specifically to people who think the European nations shouldn't meddle in each other's affairs? (Assuming 'West' means NA + EU/UK here?)

If so that also seems like a logical position that could be argued, given that the (early 20th century) Serbian unpleasantness was widely considered to have been kind of a bad idea?

No. I’m objecting to people who say ”the west” when they really mean ”USA” and who assume European countries have no agency and should blindly follow in doing what that person thinks is the best for USA.

I mean that has certainly been their tendency lately...

So your objection is that people who think it's OK for the EU to intervene but not the US shouldn't say "the 'West' should MYOB"? I think I am in the clear; not sure who is doing that, but I'll keep an eye out.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats