Are sanctions necessary?

[Willamena]

My assumption was and is that the OP sought to address the first question.

Yes. My issue with it was inflamed by a recent BBC "This World" episode that focused on Cuba and reading about the philosophy of globalization, but I'm no less appalled that such measures are still considered normal or acceptable. The world isn't what it was in the 1950's or even the 1980's.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

The world isn't what it was in the 1950's or even the 1980's.

In what way?

 

[Reptillian]

The bombing of places such as Dresden, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki was pretty archaic, barbaric, and icky as well. Perhaps early sanctions (or preemptive military action) against the Third Reich would have been the better approach.

Yeah, because sociopathic dictators really care about how much their people suffer. If the Third Reich had been sanctioned instead of obliterated by force, they would still be with us and executing "undesirables" albeit on a smaller scale. The only thing that sociopaths understand is force...consequence (how will this affect me; my power and my reach?)

All in all, violence is a last resort. Sanctions, which are meant to encourage revolution, only cause the people to suffer under their insane leaders. What's necessary isn't isolation (which is what the dictators want anyway, since most of them control the media and the information that their subjects are privy to) it's cultural exchange. Expose the people to a culture of freedom and new ideas and revolution is inevitable...look at how the internet has inspired movements in places like Egypt, Libya, and Syria. People see how good they could have it.

 

[Reptillian]

Yes. My issue with it was inflamed by a recent BBC "This World" episode that focused on Cuba and reading about the philosophy of globalization, but I'm no less appalled that such measures are still considered normal or acceptable. The world isn't what it was in the 1950's or even the 1980's.

No, but conservatism is still a strong philosophy...(if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It's the way we've always done things; sure it isn't working, but if it isn't hurting us then why try something new?)

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Yeah, because sociopathic dictators really care about how much their people suffer. If the Third Reich had been sanctioned instead of obliterated by force, they would still be with us and executing "undesirables" albeit on a smaller scale.

Your understanding of the rise of the Third Reich is woefully deficient. The principle aim of sanctions should be to disrupt and otherwise constrain the country's ability to secure and build its political and military infrastructure.

 

[Willamena]

In what way?

Philosopher Luc Ferry paints a picture of globalization as an outcome and natural successor of deconstruction and postmodernism, where the disintegration of traditional modes of thinking, authorities and social and cultural paradigms--at first deliberate, and then habitual, and now ingrained--has resulted in a world governed by uncontrolled "progress." We--humanity, as god's creation, and especially human ingenuity--used to be the engines of progress. From the time of the hippies in the 60's rejecting the social graces and sharing rebellion to the Internets of today rejecting formalities and sharing inaccuracies, deconstructing the world has become the new "machine of destiny." Progress has escaped us to the point where we have no choice but to participate in it. This ingrained deconstruction means we have come to rely on systems whose structure is not obvious, whose models and molds may be understood by mathematicians but few else, and, on a cultural level and often an individual level, that means uncertainty and we don't lack for fear of the whole thing falling apart. So we trust in the systems no less than we once trusted in god.

Deconstruction paved the way for democracy, for free market, and for Microsoft. We've opened up the world in terms of communications and sharing of information, ideas and identity. We've introduced democracy as the best means of (secular humanist) government, we've covered the world with satellites and cellular phones, and international trade defines us as sustainable economies. Our new global identity as citizens of the planet is yet to come, but it's not that far off, and we can see hints of it already in movements towards democracy and freedom from internet regulation.

(I hope I did him no injustice with my meager understanding.)