From: Keith Henson (hkhenson@rogers.com)
Date: Mon 21 Apr 2003 - 23:02:42 GMT
At 08:56 AM 21/04/03 +1000, Jeremy wrote:
snip
>Wherever colonisers have re-drawn boundaries to serve their greedy purposes
>the results have been mayhem and disaster no matter how long has ensued.
>This is because the memes of hatred, caused by the cheating or forcing
>sovereign Peoples out of their birthrights, do not pass away with the
>transit of a few generations.
These are the kinds of statements that can be disproved with a single
example. Try the Norman invasion/takeover of England in 1066. There are
other examples, such as the southern states of the United States. And it
would be really interesting to see if the economic situation played a
hidden role in the falling support for the IRA in northern Ireland. As a
bet, the most likely thing you would see is falling birthrate over the past
20-30 years. At near zero growth, even modest economic growth is felt in
per capita income. And with economic pressure off, memes about revolting
to make things better loose appeal.
My point, which you don't seem to be arguing against, is that economics
plays a far more important part than historical gripes. Chances are fair
the US could stay in Iraq forever if they pumped up the economy rapidly at
first and then slowly over a long haul.
Keith Henson
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