RAH - Power politics and the slur of "racism" in defence of the "moral high ground"

The most effective, though hardly nice or democratic, way to deal with social rivals or political opponents is to brand them as something abhorrent.

In medieval Europe it was as "heretics" or "non-believers"; in McCarthy's America, as "communists"; in Soviet Russia, as "reactionaries"; in modern Western democracies it is "racists".

It is the power politics of the (self-righteously) assumed "moral high ground", based, opportunistically in this instance, on the extreme opposite of the Nazi's insane and abhorrent racial ideology (in which "race" was the single determinant of national identity and superiority), still so shockingly fresh in our collective memory.

This is why the Tory candidate, Nigel Hastilow, had to resign.

Where, I ask, are the social scientists (psychologists, sociologists, historians, etc.), as well as the evolutionary biologists and anthropologists, who should be casting a light into the darkness to reveal what "Homo sapiens"(!) is up to here?

http://www.spaceship-earth.org

To: Daily Telegraph Re: Power politics and the slur of "racism" in defence of the "moral high ground" Date: Monday 5 November 07
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In response to an article in the Daily Telegraph, "Tory candidate resigns over race row". Link to article and thread which follows it. The most effective, though hardly nice or democratic, way to deal with social rivals or political opponents is to brand them as something abhorrent. In medieval Europe it was as "heretics" or "non-believers"; in McCarthy's America, as "communists"; in Soviet Russia, as "reactionaries"; in modern Western democracies it is "racists". It is the power politics of the (self-righteously) assumed "moral high ground", based, opportunistically in this instance, on the extreme opposite of the Nazi's insane and abhorrent racial ideology (in which "race" was the single determinant of national identity and superiority), still so shockingly fresh in our collective memory. This is why the Tory candidate, Nigel Hastilow, had to resign. Where, I ask, are the social scientists (psychologists, sociologists, historians, etc.), as well as the evolutionary biologists and anthropologists, who should be casting a light into the darkness to reveal what "Homo sapiens"(!) is up to here? http://www.spaceship-earth.org