Sowell on the history of Ukraine and Russia
This is a reading from Thomas Sowell’s book Conquest and Cultures, that was witten in 1998. I’ve never read it but it sounds interesting – of course, virtually all his books sound interesting and probably are. This is a good summary of the interactions between Ukraine and Russia up to that point, and quite relevant today:
One of Sowell’s finest insights appeared four decades ago in his book Knowledge and Decisions, considered by some to be his magnum opus (my personal favorite is A Conflict of Visions). On page 326 he writes that “an enduring concentration of governmental power requires either that the public perception of crisis be deliberately prolonged or that the crisis be used to establish institutions which will outlast the crisis itself” and that “a deliberately prolonged crisis atmosphere can be managed indefinitely only by a totalitarian state, able to depict itself to its people as threatened on all sides by enemies.” These words can be seen as a shockingly prescient warning of what today’s malign and mendacious Democrats are unleashing upon our beleaguered republic.
Great great quote j e.
Conflict of Visions is perhaps the best but my first Thomas Sowell book was Conquest and Culture. It has a special place in my heart for that reason.
A truly great man. He was once asked in an interview, I believe in the WSJ, if he thought he’d made a difference. He said, “No. If anything, the state of economic understanding was worse than when he started.” Perhaps he’d succumbed to a moment of despair, but it was a very sad thing for me to read. One of my heroes.
I’ve read “Conquests and Cultures.” My major take-away from the book is that very few places between 60 degrees north and sixty degrees south have not been invaded and occupied by conquerors. In areas like the Balkans, central Europe, and the Middle East (all crossroad type areas) the invasions have been more frequent. But even an out of the way island like Britain has been invaded and occupied several times over the centuries.
It’s interesting that the Ukrainians have kept a language, culture, and fierce sense of nationalism after all the times they have been under Russian or Polish control. Though they are also Slavs, they seem to dislike their Russian cousins’ language and customs. Interesting, that. I’m impressed by the spirit they have exhibited in defending themselves from this invasion.
The age of empires is supposed to be over. In 1991 it appeared that the Anglosphere’s system of democracy and trade had become the default system. Putin did not get that message. In fact, he views it as a major tragedy. Even with the largest land mass in the world, natural resources aplenty, a stockpile of nukes, and no one actually threatening him (except in his paranoiac mind), he still invaded. Tragic!
The Ukraine and Poland’s cultural boundaries are subsets of the slavic peoples.
The Ukraine’s tragic history is the result of the disparity between cultural boundaries and a lack of geographic boundaries. Add in “man’s inhumanity to man” along with its geographic position between Russia and Western Europe and you have a formula for repeated invasion and conquest.
Cultural boundaries must comport with geographic boundaries for national boundaries to persist.
Switzerland is an example of cultural and geographic boundaries in congruence. Switzerland’s mountainous terrain presents difficulties to the conquerer. In addition, through strict neutrality and rigorous honesty, the Swiss were also smart enough to establish themselves as Europe’s financial clearing house.
If Australia and New Zealand were connected, their history would have had far more conflict. As with the US, Japan and other’s, ocean barriers present geographic boundaries congruent with cultural boundaries.
Larger societies possess the resources needed to dominate the smaller, when the megalomaniac rise to power within the larger society, the resources exist to satisfy their lust for dominance. Especially when geographic barriers are insufficient to permit the smaller to present effective resistance to the larger. Neither Poland nor the Ukraine possess such. They both are gateways to invasion from Western Europe to the Russian Steps and vice versa.
j e,
Bingo.
Mike Plaiss,
Agreed.
JJ,
“The age of empires is supposed to be over. In 1991 it appeared that the Anglosphere’s system of democracy and trade had become the default system.”
That was the meme, a de facto UniPolar World in which America would remake the world in its own image.
“Putin did not get that message. In fact, he views it as a major tragedy.”
Oh, he got the message all right. And he does view America’s ‘evolving’ cultural embrace of hedonism, rejection of Christian precepts and classical liberal principles with a foreign policy that exhibits passive/aggressive dismissal of other society’s nationalism, as a major tragedy for the world.
“Even with the largest land mass in the world, natural resources aplenty, a stockpile of nukes, and no one actually threatening him (except in his paranoiac mind), he still invaded.”
We shall have to agree to disagree upon the premise that a ‘defensive alliance’ surrounding Russia with the consistent intent to establish the capability of emplacing nuclear weapons so close to Moscow is simply… paranoia.
But we do agree that it is indeed “Tragic!”
Geoffrey is so close to Moscow it is indeed comic, not tragic; loves a despot more than his own civilization.
When country A says to Country B that your history causes us some concern, so we are going to prepare to defend ourselves against you, it might look to Country B as if A is getting ready to invade.
The problem is figuring out A’s intent when its actions can be read either way.
The other problem is figuring out how to convince Country A to go all peaceful and stuff to mollify Country B, simultaneously making themselves vulnerable and even attractive to invasion from Country B.
For Countries C through Z, is “encouraging” Country A to become weak the right path? Certainly it has the possibility–slight if history is to be believed but large if wishful thinking is abroad–that Country B’s concerns will be alleviated and all will be well.
And if Country B invades, the respoinsibility is whose and what should C-Z do about their sacrificial victim?
So far, the problem deals with capital letters.
But actual characteristics of actual countries can be pretty complex. Does/did Ukraine have a valid reason to prepare to resist Russian invasion given the latter’s history and nature of current administration?
Did Russia actually fear an invasion from Ukraine with or without NATO allies or is that their excuse? We may juggle a number of issues and come down on one side or the other but…we have no way of compelling Vlad to see it our way. Presuming he actually believes it and is not simply reaching for the most salable justification he can find. Marketable to whom? Who’s he most concerned about convincing? Ukraine? Russian population? NATO countries who might want a Stockholm Syndrome excuse for backing out with the face of justice?
I’ve made the case that invasion and its horrors have had plenty of time to be ingrained in Russian DNA (metaphor alert). This doesn’t affect the likelihood that NATO actually wants to invade but it may make a fertile field for Vlad’s propaganda. Thus, it need not make sense to us to be useful and effective.d Discussing the issue amongst ourselves would be useless.
If Ukraine prevails against all odds and Roosia is forced back into Crimea, will Geoffrey mourn for 40 days and wear sackcloth and ashes?
If incontrovertible evidence of Roosian war crimes is widely disseminated and accepted by all but Vlad, will Geoffrey claim that such things always happen and the dead were really just Nazis?
Imponderables, unknowables, like NATO’s goal being the conquest of Russia.
@ Geoffrey B > “In addition, through strict neutrality and rigorous honesty, the Swiss were also smart enough to establish themselves as Europe’s financial clearing house.”
Then again, maybe “strict” and “rigorous” are more nuanced than you suppose.
https://www.economist.com/europe/1997/07/31/no-end-in-sight
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold
And the Swiss have evidently decided that even faux neutrality isn’t in the cards this time around.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-28/swiss-break-with-historic-neutrality-to-enforce-russia-sanctions
PS The Swiss aren’t the only country sitting on German loot, mostly from Jewish victims but some expropriated from other countries’ assets. See the Wikipedia article for the story of the discovery of the Merkers hoard.
https://jweekly.com/1996/09/27/gold-stash-possibly-from-jews-teeth-unearthed/
Somehow I don’t think anyone has yet flown pallets of gold — or cash — over to Jerusalem.
“He [Putin] does view America’s … rejection of Christian precepts and classical liberal principles … as a major tragedy.”
Oh please, he was in the KGB for fifteen years.
FOAF:
Yes, that was one of Geoffrey’s better manifestations of satire.