Zionism and Anti-Zionism

[Michael McIntyre]

>>> delong at econ.Berkeley.EDU 05/13/02 02:05PM >>>
>On Mon, 13 May 2002, Brad DeLong wrote:
>
>>  So is the fact that Ariel Sharon is now speaking in support of the
>>  rights of Palestinians to a state of their own a positive sign or a
>>  negative sign?
>
>Sharon wants the same thing the Likud wants: that the Palestinians should
>accept permanent oppression.  He just wants to call the resulting set-up a
>state.  It's like saying it's still a car if you've removed the wheels and
>engine.  Very shrewd.

Or is it that critics of Sharon say that it isn't a car if you remove 
the air conditioner and the GPS system?

Brad DeLong

Okay, let's start with a minimal definition of a state, from Charles Tilly:

"A state's essential minimum activities form a trio:
-statemaking: attacking and checking competitors and challengers within the territory claimed by the state
-warmaking: attacking rivals outside the territory already claimed by the state;
-protection: attacking and checking rivals of the rulers' principal allies, whether inside our outside the state's claimed territory.
No state lasts long, however, that neglects a crucial fourth activity:
-extraction: drawing from its subject population the means of statemaking, warmaking, and protection." (Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1992, Blackwell 1992, p. 96)

Now, given that this is what states do, you might well adopt a (Carl) Schmittian approach and say, "These people are our foes.  No way do they get a state."  That's what the Knesset has done.  But none of this bullshit about air-conditioning and GPS until you've tried to live for a month on the water ration that a Palestinian would have under this "state".

MM