Whose Side is the New York Times On?

Here’s the thing. It’s a matter of both logic and historical fact that struggles between states (and empires) involve, as a matter of course, throwing lots of human lives on the pyre.

When you understand large-scale human sacrifice is an inevitable consequence of geopolitical rivalries, you lose any enthusiasm for supposedly great and good struggles against the “evils” of others who threaten your [insert thing you feel is threatened].

Policies that prolong and heighten rivalries tend to be a cure worse than the disease.

That message is the core of the book Mike Brenes and I are in the midst of revising. On some level, it’s a recurring theme of this newsletter.

And in that spirit, I wanted to share a breaking story that depicts all of this in microcosm. It ties together red-scare paranoia, “Hindu fascism,” anti-China politics, peace activism, the far right, and…you guessed it, the New York Times.