Hi Simon, On Wed, Apr 7, 2021 at 4:15 PM Simon Richter <s...@debian.org> wrote: > > You are making two bold assumptions here: that the options are on a > single one-dimensional axis
I don't think I said that—nor do I believe it. My question was about the ballot, which more or less imposes a linear ranking. > and that middle ground positions are always > preferable. Yes, compromise and middle-ground positions are essential for peace, but unlike you said it is not an assumption. It is a realization borne by life experience. Perhaps it helps to be a party to civil proceedings (and maybe you have been, too). Judges are our experts of peace. They devote their lives to hearing and resolving other people's problems. And from what I have seen, neither party ever gets what they want. Anyone who says differently has a hidden agenda, or is maybe delusional. > These are correlated, but not the same, so it is difficult to position > all of the options on a single axis. It was easy for me to rank some contradictory non-center options next to each other. > Even if it were a one-dimensional axis, there are good chances that a > middle ground position would be worse than an extreme position, I reject such claims. They are dangerous to peace. Perhaps there is a chance, but unless you can identify details among the options on the ballot, it remains a theoretical argument. Any group must have a center of gravity that pulls its people together, otherwise it will split up. That is not what I hope for, in Debian or otherwise. > rank the favourability of these outcomes instead > of trying to rank them by closeness to a desired position statement People can approach the ballot any way they like. > There are more than two sides here, and multiple definitions of "peace". There are not. Many paths lead to war, but only one leads to peace. Something whole breaks into pieces. Please drop a glass if you have doubts. > One possible definition differentiates Thanks for the link! Lacking experience, I struggle to respond to an academic review paper, but I think you are possibly caught up in the abstract distinctions of an expert whose business it is to write such papers (Galtung). In my mind, the "negative peace"—the absence of overt violent conflict—is not a peace at all, but a truce, and therefore a misnomer insufficiently mitigated by the qualifying adjective. On that note, did you notice that the UN appropriated its wreathen symbols from the Roman legion? Kind regards Felix Lechner
