David Epstein wrote:
Again, the above material is quoted, not mine. I wouldn't say that
Nazism, Stalinism, and Maoism were religions, precisely, but I would
say that they occupied religion's psychological niche (a niche that
freethinkers either don't have or don't fill). For example, each
incorporated the idea of a future paradise (an earthly one, but a
paradise nonetheless) that justified interim inequities or atrocities.
Eric Weitz has written a very good book that examines ideas related to
race, nation, and utopian ideology and the role these ideas play in the
creation of genocidal intent and policies. The book highlights the
polarization created by leaders into an "us" and "them" based on
artificial categorizations of race/nation and then traces the path of
this idea to the "necessary" elimination of "them" for survival. It
includes four case studies (Soviet Union; Nazi German; Cambodia under
the Khmer Rouge; and Serbia and the Bosnian war) as well as a brief
analysis of the genocide of the Armenians. This book is very accessible
to individuals without a background in the field of genocide studies.
While the ideas of race and nation or even utopian ideals are not new in
the study of genocide, Weitz does an excellent job of comparative
analysis utilizing these concepts.
Weitz, E. (2003). A century of genocide: Utopias of race and nation.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Best,
Linda
--
Linda M. Woolf, Ph.D.
Past-President, Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, & Violence
(Div. 48, APA)
Professor of Psychology and International Human Rights
Coordinator - Holocaust & Genocide Studies,
Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights
Webster University
470 East Lockwood
St. Louis, MO 63119
Main Webpage: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's (and woman's) best friend. . . .
Inside a dog, it's too dark to read."
- Groucho Marx
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