Embed Notice

In his essay “Anarchy is What States Make of It,” political scientist Alexander Wendt rejects this notion for states, in the absence of some over-arching global governance, in a way that makes as much sense for people and communities in the absence of the state:

“If collective security identity is high, however, the emergence of a predator may do much less damage. If the predator attacks any member of the collective, the latter will come to the victim's defense on the principle of "all for one, one for all," even if the predator is not presently a threat to other members of the collective. If the predator is not strong enough to withstand the collective, it will be defeated and collective security will obtain.”

In other words, people in a highly atomized society are more likely to respond to a threat by viewing *everyone* as a potential threat, and readying themselves for conflict all the time. But in a society that views itself as a community, with strong ties and sense of mutual identity, threats are more likely to be deterred or defeated by cooperative self-defense.

10/