Without that assured American largesse Israel would have been obliged to come to an accommodation with her neighbours.
Mormons... are so strong, they can handle wealth, they are confident. I think it is because they are not bogged down by rules for equality, but have a firmly defined system of relative status and responsible command.
Every year the progress of advanced capitalist society makes our population consist of more and more isolates. This is because of the infrastructure of the economy, especially electronic communications.
Inside a religious body you get sects and hierarchies, inside an information network you get bazaars and cathedrals, it is the same, call them what you like. They survive by pointing the finger of blame at each other.
If people want to compete for leadership of a religious group, they can compete in piety. A chilling thought. Or funny.
Inequality can have a bad downside, but equality, for its part, sure does get in the way of coordination.
The history of the Church of Rome is a constant leakage of members into such breakaway cults, which go on splitting.
Yes, disappointment over perceived unfairness, injustice, promises not kept, tends to go hand in hand with increasing prosperity. Expectations are dashed. What can I say!
Islam is in principle egalitarian, and has always had problems with power.
An escalating, violent tit-for-tat may lead to terrorism.
Enclave life becomes very tense, Even when they do elect a leader, the factions remain, with the threat of splitting off.
Since 1970, relationships can be more volatile, jobs more ephemeral, geographical mobility more intensified, stability of marriage weaker.
Any great organization can go through sectarian phases.
I am convinced that living in an enclave shapes the personality, and living alone shapes the personality too.
Behind a leader there must be followers, but they should always be on the lookout for the main chance and ready to change sides if the current leader doesn't deliver.
It is very reasonable to worry about the harm done by organized religion, and to prefer looser and more private arrangements.
Just in our lifetime our society has become looser and more private, it becomes extremely difficult to hold to any permanent commitment whatever, least of all to organized religion.
What did our nation ever do to provoke these madly vicious enemies? What is seen as injustice in one place is seen as just requital in the other.
Hierarchy is is much reviled in the present day.
Real equality is immensely difficult to achieve, it needs continual revision and monitoring of distributions. And it does not provide buffers between members, so they are continually colliding or frustrating each other.
