[LINK] Terrorisms, then and now

[rfmcdonald]

In its latest issue, The Economist has a worthwhile article, "For jihadist, read anarchist," examining the numerous similarities by anarchist and Islamist political violence and terrorism.

What prompts the leap from idealistic thought to violent action is largely a matter for conjecture. Every religion and almost every philosophy has drawn adherents ready to shed blood, their own included, and in the face of tyranny, poverty and exploitation, a willingness to resort to force is not hard to nderstand. Both anarchism and jihadism, though, have incorporated bloodshed into their ideologies, or at least some of their zealots have. And both have been ready to justify the killing not just of soldiers, policemen and other agents of the state, but also of civilians.

The comparison shouldn't be taken too seriously, of course; there obviously isn't an identity between the two political ideologies. There's enough held in common to be provocative, though.