I am mystified by this phrase. _Realpolitik_, according to dictionaries, is supposed to refer to power politics, devoid of ethical or aesthetic considerations. Pacifism is usually supposed to be ethical, even hopelessly idealistic; and it certainly carries little weight with either the folk or the elites. So can anyone explain it? I was thinking it might be some kind of deliberate oxymoron or paradox used for poetic purposes, but I still don't get it.
-- Gordon