Ostracism and Boycott

Humans are naturally social creatures. They have a tremendous ability to influence each other. Sometimes it’s in their self-interest to do so, sometimes it’s in the interest of those they influence, and sometimes it’s both. But humans are highly vulnerable to persuasion by others.

People can influence others via reason, logic, discussion, and debate. And this is usually the ideal. But they can also impact others thru trickeration, psychological manipulation, emotional blackmail, and guilt. And thru personal insults and moral condemnation. Also thru public insults and public condemnation. And thru private and public respect, praise, admiration, and love – another ideal. And certainly people can persuade others via financial reward and punishment.

Still another method for human beings to influence their fellows, alas, is thru physical threats and harm. But this persuasive technique is criminal, tyrannical, and something good people should avoid.

If an individual or group wishes to change the mind and behavior of another individual or group, there are many ways to do so. Hence, slowing down or stopping social immorality, criminality, and tyranny is far from difficult. Humans are intricately and powerfully interlaced, if not interlocked. For all our natural individual freedom and autonomy, there’s a whole giant social fabric, if not web, in which we’re all enmeshed, or even trapped.

If a person is a lowlife or lawbreaker, he can be immensely influenced to behave and improve by the crude power of social ostracism and economic boycott. So can a whole nation or government.

Indeed, a tyranny can quickly be brought to its knees in this fashion. It can almost be destroyed. And all without firing a shot.

If, for example, America and the West wish to reform and uplift the slave nations of China, Russia, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, and many others, they can easily do so. They just need to use ostracism and boycott, mounted upon the foundation of intellectual refutation and moral damnation. They don’t have to use the military. Acting in accord with truth and justice is hugely powerful.

But if the semi-liberal, semi-civilized nations of America and the West somehow attempt to weaken or overthrow these evil, enemy dictatorships via social and economic engagement, they will fail, and they will deserve to. Such cooperation with, and appeasement of, human horror and depravity enables the slave-masters and the slave-nations. It results in moral endorsement, social approval, and economic enrichment. The dictators radically grow in their ability to enslave the nation with their police, and harm other nations with their military.

America and the West today need to almost completely change their policy toward these evil, enemy nations and tyrannies. They need to counter-attack by employing the hammer blows of social ostracism, economic boycott, intellectual refutation, and moral condemnation.