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PaperclipPerfector  13d ago (text post)   985 thread views

Transnational Thursday for December 5, 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.

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Why were the Greens wiped out?

The Guardian argues that voters blamed them for controversial environmental legislation:

Among the issues that created problems for the Greens was a carbon tax on petrol, aimed at discouraging people from consuming carbon-emitting fuel, which was introduced by the previous government but blamed on the Greens. There were also rows about Ireland’s derogation from an EU directive on nitrates, commonly used in fertiliser seeping into rivers: Fianna Fáil committed to retaining it while the Greens wanted to phase it out and prioritise river quality.

In the gender-critical circles in which I move, they've also attracted controversy for their socially progressive agenda, with party leader and Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman being a consistently outspoken advocate for trans issues being taught in primary schools.

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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.


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