Neoconservatives: the power of myth

In a few weeks, the Neoconservative administration will end, leaving behind a chaotic domestic and foreign state of affairs. In particular, its economic and foreign policy has wrecked havoc on millions of lives. I won't discuss the economic side (which the NeoCon philosophy and solution to all problems are free markets, free markets, and more free markets), but a good introduction to NeoCon going-ons and how it lead to the current financial meltdown can be found here.

In foreign affairs, what has been the single most dangerous characteristic of NeoCon thought is the ends justify almost any means. That is, they are so sure that their agenda and goals are on the side of righteousness, that the most any means are justified. Sounds a bit of the ole Al Qaeda.

Specifically, both have wielded a powerful, but dangerous combination of fear and religion to gain influence through narratives which exaggerate or contradict the truth in order to progress their respective agendas. The importance of these ancient and fundamental components of human psychology (fear and religion), is explained in A History of Civilizations:

Dictating a society's attitudes, guiding its choice, confirming it prejudices and directing its actions, this very much a fact of civilization. Far more than the accidents or the historical and social circumstance of a period, it derives from the distant past, from ancient beliefs, fears and anxieties which are almost unconscious—an immense contamination whose germs are lost to memory but transmitted from generation to generation. A society’s reaction to the events of the day, to the pressures upon it, to the decisions it must face, are less a matter of logic or even self-interests than the response to an unexpressed and often inexpressible compulsion arising from the collective unconscious.

I submit the NeoCons and Al Qaeda have been two of the most effective groups directing the collective unconscious of their respective societies. In the age of instantaneous, omnipresent media, moreover, reactions to the events of the day can be shaped and formed, even superseding the immense contamination of germs lost to memory if desired.

In 3 one-hour segments, Adam Curtis’ The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear explores the history of both the NeoCons and Al Qaeda. His insight show how both groups parallel each other in fundamental ways.

In watching The Power of Nightmares, I was astonished at my ignorance of the history of radical Islam. Why is this history ignored in the constant babble of news media? To progress on "the war on terror" sans brute force it is a history we must be familiar with. Without it, it will be impossible to make policy decisions based on sound facts, rather than provocative narratives.

The Power of Nightmares can be seen on Google Video.