Berlin
Essay by 24 • June 12, 2011 • 254 Words (2 Pages) • 988 Views
According to Berlin hatred and violence is driven by three major forces; prejudice, stereotypes and aggressive nationalism. Throughout history individuals have had their own beliefs. These beliefs made individuals prejudice towards one another simply because of the arrogance that they alone are right. As a result Berlin believes individuals have formed opinions on others based on insufficient knowledge which in turn has caused hatred. Individuals and war leaders have gone to extreme extents of suffering to obtain the end result that one's beliefs are right over anyone else's. In order to avoid this Berlin suggests compromising amongst each other so that we society can be open-mined. In his article Berlin also states that individuals who feel threatened by another tend to stereotype them as a way of rationalizing their fears. In doing this they are avoiding the actual facts causing disagreements amongst one another. According to Berlin aggressive nationalism is formed when people who belong to a nation feel threatened by another. People then tend to group together to achieve the independence at whatever costs necessary. This has brought on the rise of leaders throughout history who will go to any extent and sacrificing to prove that they alone are right which is where wars have been created. Berlin points out that with all these wars there is never any love formed from it but simply pools of blood. As mentioned above Berlin has concluded that mere knowledge is the key factor in having a civilized society where hatred and violence can be eliminated.
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