Quote:
Originally Posted by WayoftheWolf
Agreed. But, how do I use orientalism without being labeled as culturally imperialistic?
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As orientialism is a tool and byproduct of cultural imperialism, can it be used to undermine a system of beliefs and practices that it ultimately serves?
IMO, the task is to figure out ways to describe the world of others in a way that they'd look at you and say "Yes, you get me. That is who I am."
From there, one's analysis should center primarily around how members of this cohort might better achieve the goals they've set for themselves in a manner that is consistent with their core beliefs.
That is, enable people to live the life they want to live, not the one you think they should live. If that method of living works for them but not for you, that's your problem, not theirs. (In regards to radical Islamicists, their way does not work for them because their underlying value systems pit them in a contest of civilizations that they cannot ever win, undermine fatally their ability to establish sustainable independent political economies, and prevent the formulation of a grand strategy that does not end up with them being politically irrelevant or annihilated in a general war.)
My $0.02.
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