by Smitty
I just finished Chapter 9, ‘Not Such Strange Bedfellows’ in McCarthy’s book. The summary paragraph:
Revolutionaries of Islam and the Left make fast friends when there is a common enemy to besiege. Leftists, however are essentially nihilists who hazy vision prioritizes power over what is to be done with power. They are biddable. Islamists, who have very settled convictions about what is to be done with power, are much less so. Even their compromises keep their long-term goals in their sights. Thus do Leftists consistently overrate their ability to control Islamists. Factoring the common denominator, power, out of the equation, something always beats nothing.
Looking at these bedfellows, it’s been obvious for some time that each thinks the other a tool, and both are correct.
However, the notion of timeframe as a factor hadn’t occurred to me. This is a profound insight.
Also, I’m unsure that the corrosive nature of Lefty nihilism cannot, in the long run, have the same kind of destructive effect that it has had on Western civilization. I would expect that they depend on their seeming ability to bury almost anything in Critical Theory. Convincing the audience not to answer sophistries with the scimitar will be the challenge.
