On "Just War" Theory

On "Just War" Theory: American Protestant theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr (pictured above), advocated a theory of "just war" that eventually morphed into the Christian Realist movement. Originating with Catholic theologians like Saint Augustine of Hippo and Saint Thomas Aquinas, a just war is fundamentally conducted from a defensive standpoint. Basic requirements (jus ad bellum) include just cause, comparative justice, and legitimate authority. Yet with the advent of the Cold War in 1945, Christian Realism brought a hawkish attitude to American foreign policy. As a religiously rooted ideology, it helped Americans cope with the prospects of imminent war. And Niebuhr recognized that attempting to meet every stipulation for a just war would hamper the ability of the defender to prepare an adequate defense. Therefore, sometimes the best way to defend a territory involves going on the offensive. Preemptive war signifies an off-shoot of this kind of thinking. For example, the Bush Doctrine in Afghanistan and Iraq applied the principle of preemption to combat global terrorism. But it is never enough to strike preemptively and then leave one's opponent wallowing in the wake. A comprehensive plan for recovery (nation building) must be implemented in order to mitigate the potential for future aggression.

Nikola Tesla's Alternating Current

Nikola Tesla's Alternating Current: Serbian inventor, Nikola Tesla, is often overlooked when examining the historical development of electrification. Having secured nearly 300 patents over the course of his life, it was clear that Tesla had a profound impact on the Second Industrial Revolution. Beginning in the 1880s, large-scale electrification efforts were underway in the United States. Thomas Edison supplied New York City with its first electric grid while George Westinghouse discovered the utility of copper as an electrical conductor. But it was Tesla who devised the theoretical basis for alternating current (AC), which made long-distance electrical transmission possible. Tesla's work, however, ignited an intellectual debate with Edison over what constituted the most efficient way to distribute electricity. Edison advocated a direct current (DC) system of electrical transmission, which called for a constant level of voltage throughout the grid. Tesla criticized Edison's DC system by citing the amount of electricity that went to waste while sustaining a constant level of voltage. In an AC system, transformers represented cost-effective devices for converting high transmission voltages into low utilization voltages. This idea, along with successful installations of AC power at Niagara Falls and Chicago, effectively ended the debate of AC versus DC systems.

Marcus Garvey Goes Back to Africa?

Marcus Garvey Goes Back to Africa?: In August 1914, when the guns of World War I erupted, Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Unlike the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which originated five years earlier and primarily addressed African-American issues, the UNIA sought to uplift African peoples from around the world. As time progressed, the association started a weekly newspaper called The Negro World and various black-owned corporations (e.g. - Black Star Line) that operated in the economic sectors of trade, transportation, and manufacturing. Even though the UNIA managed most of its businesses from the United States, Garvey pushed for an increased emphasis on Africa. By the mid-1920s, he attempted to organize a Pan-African movement for the repatriation of African-Americans in Liberia. Its ultimate objective was to develop basic infrastructure such as roads, schools, and factories in an effort to resettle the country. Ironically, Garvey never made it to Africa and the Liberia program had to be abandoned due to unforeseen conflicts with American capitalistic designs, such as the Firestone Company's interest in Liberian rubber plantations.

When the Guns Blared...

When the Guns Blared...: In late 1942, the German Army (Das Heer) introduced the Tiger I (Panzer VI) tank. It was the German Army's answer to the Red Army's infamous T-34, which roamed the Eastern Front during Operation Barbarossa. As a heavy tank, the Tiger's armor represented one of its most formidable aspects. Likewise, the tank's 88mm gun also instilled great fear in the Allies. Yet due to the Tiger's nearly impregnable armor, it was rather slow when compared to the U.S. Army's M4 Sherman. Another downside related to its heavy armor was the snail-like pace of the tank's production capacity. But the Tiger signified a quintessentially German tank. Its assembly process followed the business paradigm of quality over quantity; unlike the Americans who pursued the exact opposite paradigm. In its first years of operation, the Tiger scored big gains as it advanced across the Eastern Front deep into the Soviet Union. At the same time, the German Army created reserve (mechanized) divisions in France to help fortify the Western Front. Ultimately, the Allies overwhelmed the Germans with superior productive capabilities, and thus, ended the myth of invincibility that surrounded the Tiger.

Politicizing through Ridicule

Politicizing through Ridicule: In 1971, the godfather of community organizing, Saul Alinsky, published his Rules for Radicals. It primarily addressed the New Left movements of the 1960s, which sought to broaden the ideological stance of the Old Left - where traditional Marxism (class-based oppression) and trade unionism reigned supreme. Although he despised labels and never officially joined any political organization, Alinsky's words and actions surely placed him in the liberal camp. By its very nature, community organizing is a left-wing phenomenon, especially since it focuses heavily on shared interests instead of self-interests. In effect, Alinsky admonishes his readers to attain power is by ridiculing the politics of those who already have it. That is, make yourself a victim of the Establishment or the ruling political structure. Victims garner sympathy and sympathy provides victims with social mobility. The cycle builds upon itself until the victim eventually becomes the perpetrator. Much of what Alinsky professes leads the reader to believe in the old Nietzschean aphorism that "might makes right." In a way, therefore, Alinsky's ethics are purely subjective, which is why community organizing often lacks a clear sense of purpose.