Saturday, August 9, 2008

Fear of Poor People

It's always been my view that poor people simply lack money; not brains, work ethic, etc as some imply. For example, being poor is often cited as a cause of terrorism. If this were true you'd expect to see a hell of a lot more terrorism given that much of the world is poor, don't 'cha think?


Arthur De Vany
The wealthier the country, the more likely is terrorism. The absence of democracy is also cited as a “root cause” by some commentators. Professor Weinberg says there is no evidence for that proposition either. Indeed, the more democratic a society, the more susceptible to terror.

In short, the Islamist movement is not primarily socioeconomically driven. That is a serious misunderstanding of the enemy. Its impulses are perversely ideological. The central stimulus to contemporary Islamist atrocities is to be found in the rejection of the values deriving from the 18th century liberal and sceptical enlightenment. Its epicentres were Scotland and England. The civic culture that arose from it is central to Western civilisation. It recognises the role of reason in social life, a liberal economy, democratic forms of governance, the rule of law, equality of women, individual liberty and pluralism in religion.

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