Suchergebnisse

In studying world affairs we are acutely conscious of the fact that many rivalries and conflicts are carried on with hostility on all sides, but within a framework of mutual respect. We have too many examples of honor among enemy soldiers to regard this as remarkable.At the same time we know that one of the most exacerbated forms of conflict occurs when incompatible respect demands are involved. The "ex-colonials" of the globe are asserting themselves with vindictive passion against "white imperialists." Most of these "ex-colonials" are colored, and they are reacting against the memory of years of humiliation, fancied or real, inflicted by the West. In some states of the "West," notably the Union of South Africa and the United States, internal politics are torn by ethnic hostilities. Many historical cases support the proposition that conflict is peculiarly atrocious when an established system of caste is challenged, or is believed to be challenged. We recall the outrages perpetrated by serfs in revolt against lords, or by masters against revolting (or allegedly revolting) slaves.

The vague conceptualization of basic social phenomena seriously obstructs a clear understanding of many of the causes underlying national and international tensions. Significant contributions to the solution of these problems can hardly be expected as long as social scientists continue to operate with common-sense notions and the idols of the market place whose connotations are ever shifting with the changing intellectual fashions and political aspirations. Frequently these public concepts themselves are potent tools with which special interest and power groups may create and perpetuate conflict situations. Among the most fundamental, and at the same time potentially most dangerous, ideas are those of the nation, the people, and the ethnic group. In the following essay an attempt is made to formulate scientifically more adequate concepts within the frame of reference of sociological theory in the hope that social scientists in various fields might find them useful in their analysis of the highly complex social systems characteristic of modern times, and in the solution of certain practical problems affecting the national and international order.