San Diego Objectivist Study Group

What is happening in Israel today–with the many denunciations worldwide over its government’s blockade against “supply” boats to the Gaza Strip–is the result of postmodern collectivism.

To be clear, I don’t like Israel as a country, because it was founded, not on liberty, but on grounds of racism and religion, and because it has a nearly-socialist, mixed economy. But having said that, I am on its side, against its neighboring and far-flung enemies. At the very least, it is a Western civilized country, which is enough for me to come to its defense.

Any country based on modern ideals of liberty has the right to defend itself. This right is derived from the individuals who comprise the society. And as a democracy paying a modicum of  deference to individual rights, the Israeli government definitely has the legitimate function of defending its geographical borders against invasion and attack.

This very function, however, has been undermined by the Israeli people’s cultural altruism. They have elected government politicians with the morality of making others happy. It has been the Israeli government’s foreign policy in the past two decades to be good, that is, to be moral, by appeasing others. It placated its international enemies in the United Nations; it placated its bordering enemies; it acceded to the irrational demands of both its allies and its foes to the point of near surrender.

Surrender, pretty much, is the state of the state of Israel today. Charles Krauthammer’s op-ed today shows how far along Israel has been in losing in this policy of appeasement.

A right to defend oneself is unequivocal and is not open to debate or to a vote. Yet, because of its altruist morality, Israel’s defense sets itself open to the popular consensus of the world. And today, the world has voted that Israel has no right to defend itself. It is now conceivable, as Dr. Krauthammer states, to question the “legitimacy” of self-defense. Sadder still is that the United States, a once-great defender of liberty, is siding with Israel’s enemies in condemning Israel for intercepting some Gaza-bound ships supplying arms to terrorists therein.

Dr. Krauthammer asks one terrifying question: “If none of these [defenses: forward, active, passive] is permissible, what’s left?” It would seem that the Israeli people would make other peoples of the world very happy indeed if they just stopped defending themselves and letting themselves be destroyed—-as befitting their morality.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 4th, 2010 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Objectivist Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.