Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Just a bunch of farmer talk*...

If one perspective is accurate, it does not necessarily mean that others are wrong. When analyzing Bretton Woods institutions from the perspectives of a realist, constructivist and liberal, almost all the points from all the perspectives were accurate, it was just another way of interpreting a situation.

Let me phrase it this way:

Why would teachers make us write papers analyzing books or defending or refuting a statement? If only one perspective is accurate, then the ENTIRE class would have to modify their thoughts and opinions to reflect the "correct perspective" instead of analyzing the material and displaying their analytical ability.

Why read other people's blogs? If there is only one right point of view, find it and stick to it. Live in a freakin' bubble, accepting that there is only one way to look and the world and life. If only one perspective was correct, then why does everyone in this class have to blog and publicize our opinions on the internet for our classmates and the rest of the world to read? What would be the point?

There is a reason why people's perspectives are valued. It opens our minds to unexplored thoughts and ideas. Things we hadn't even considered become evident by listening to other people's experiments. Putting these different perspectives in boxes labeled "realism," "constructivism," and "liberalism" is only beneficial when trying to explain the world to budding scholars.


The fact of the matter is that the egg came before the chicken and the theory of evolution explains why the egg came first. Similarly, the world's political climate and history came first, the IR theories are just a way for scholars to discuss and explain events that have already happened.





*I am not a farmer...I just like to garden :)

1 comment:

  1. I completely agree with you. To really analyze global politics, we have to keep all perspectives in mind because it really depends on the situation and the result that you want that determines the IR theory you use (or you could use a combination of all of the above). I think it is a very good point that you made about the IR theories being made to fit history, showing that the theories were first used to explain. It’s important to learn so we can create new theories and help set up a normative basis for analyzing global politics, but they must be kept in mind as what they are: theories. They are facts, but theories to be used to help explain and make decisions in politics.

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