Part 1. Exceptionalism.

When one group of people systematically kills another group of people, then some very powerful collective emotion and practical ambition is obviously driving this behaviour. Therefore, it is not very instructive to describe the phenomenon of mass killing as blindly destructive, collective madness or simply sub-conscious  racial hatred as some on the left have recently done. The lack of serious analysis of the underlying motives and the elite psychology of recent area bombing of other human communities is indicative of the intellectual weakness of the radical left in the 21st century.

Indeed, the use of such ill-defined terms actually serves to deflect or obscure the real human based rational calculations motivating the past and present perpetrators of mass crimes against humanity. Such use includes labelling the latest, most openly brazen crimes of collective punishment, inflicted upon the citizens of Gaza. It is not as if there is no alternative analysis either, for there are much clearer descriptions available. Since the early 20th century it has been usual to label such whole-sale destructive atrocities as acts of genocide, a term which includes a series of clearly defined horrific actions against peaceful populations, irrespective of their age, or gender. Moreover, it has long been known that;

“Conflict can become genocidal when powerful groups think that the most efficient means to get what they want is to eliminate those in the way.” and; “…genocidal mass murder is politically motivated violence that directly or indirectly kills a substantial proportion of a targeted population, combatants and non-combatants alike, regardless of age or gender. (‘Why not Kill Them All? D. Chirot, & C. McCauley. Introduction and chapter 1.)

However, whilst the above description covers a lot, it still does not really explain the full range of motives going on within the individual and collective mind-set of the perpetrators of systematic mass killing. Consequently, it is also useful to focus on what the collective perpetrators of genocide hope to gain from entirely destroying another section of humanity who in the perpetrators perspective just happen to be undesirable and ‘in the way’. Frequently, motives for commiting genocide, are to obtain exclusive access to land or other valuable resources, from populations who already exist and reside upon them.

Nevertheless, a rewards-based understanding of mass killing also does not complete the explanation as to why such resources could not be exchanged or shared by humanity and why total extermination is seen by the perpetrators of it as the final solution to their perceived problem with their victims existence. This is why I suggest identifying the phenomenon of exceptionalism and collective narcissitic ideologies of group (or nation) will add a further dimension to the understanding the phenomenon of genocide. In particular the anthropocentric exceptionalisms contained within the ideology of Judaic Zionism and the territorial ambitions of the nation of Israel, will reveal much about the conflict in Palestine.

“Human exceptionalism is the conviction that human beings are made in the image of god, as ensouled bodies, integrating intellectual, emotional, social, psychological and moral dimensions of human life into a flourishing whole, and are different in kind from nonhuman creatures.” (‘The Perils of Human Exceptionalism’. D.L Durst. Introduction.)

It is clear from any study of the relevant religious texts that the Abrahamic monotheistic religious versions of exceptionalism (all thinking themselves as God’s ‘favoured’ or ‘chosen’ people) already had a strong element of  exaggerated self-importance. Moreover, the histories of the practitioners of Judaism, Christianity and Islam reveals that the long running aptitude of fundamentalist Abrahamic ‘believers’ for mass  killing in the name of god or country, confirms an active immersion in the ideological expressions of exceptionalism.

Furthermore, the calls by Israeli officials to empty and level Gaza until it becomes like Nazi extermination camps such as Auschwitz, indicate how far belief in Jewish exceptionalism is prepared to go in elevating it’s own community and denying the humanity of another community standing in its way. Therefore, when additional elements of ideology, such as exceptionalism are incorporated into the collective institutions of ancient as well as modern states the phenomenon becomes exceptionally lethal as even a religiously inclined author admits.

“Violent tendencies, hatred, mistrust, arrogance and fear are always characteristic of nationalist exceptionalism.” (‘We are Great’. The Evils of Exceptionalism. G. Gowing.)

So far it is hard not to recognise that most of the characteristics outlined in the first three quotations above, closely match many past genocidal events as well as the recent Nakba 2 destruction perpetrated by the Apartheid state of Israel. Indeed, the existence of a Jews only state, (a state for a distinct ‘race‘ or ‘people‘ as advocated by T Herzl) was openly intended to be an institutional form of exceptionalism to the other multi-religious and multicultural groupings known as states and it has maintained that status ever since. Whilst the concept of exceptionalism is somewhat wider than the concept of Narcissism, there is nevertheless a continuum between the two which testifies to their common origin in the socio-economic structures of hierarchical mass societies. Thus;

“The narrowest form of exceptionalism is narcissism, the belief that “I am exceptional, I am superior, I deserve all of this, I’m owed all of this and I am going to take it or I’m going to hoard it.” The ‘I’ can be extended to ‘we’ and when it does, it becomes a more recognisable and more potent form of exceptionalism…. Exceptionalism almost always plays off fear. Yes we are are superior, but we must stick together and we must use our superiority to crush, to eliminate those lesser beings. (‘Ibid, ‘We are Great’: The Evils of Exceptionalism’.)

At this point two further aspects of hierarchical mass society exceptionalism need to be recognised. First, exceptionalism is systematically drilled into the military institutions of hierarchical mass societies, literally and metaphorically. Their esprit de cour in terms of organisation and sworn loyalty to their elite insists they are militarily superior to their own citizens and superior to the citizens and military of all other hierarchical mass societies. In the military wing of such societies narcissistic exceptionalism is consciously promoted and intensified by regulation, internal troop and battalion competition and their flag fetishisms.

Second, elite fear must always arise as a consequence of the arrogance and violence derived from the actions of self-elevated exceptionalist groups or nations, particularly when their ideologies are driven by an imaginary and exaggerated superiority. This is because in reality humanity is one species with a vast range of talents and abilities spread across all communities and nations and no one community actually has a monopoly of talent or ability in general.

Furthermore, having a particularly superior technological level of killing and using it, does not not indicate a general level of superiority at all. Far from it. Outside of any isolated institutional bubble, arrogance and superiority of state or military violence presents itself as an inferior level of social adjustment and loss of humanity. Practically everyone knows these two basic truths. Every community also knows that ‘might is not right’ and all communities know that the perpetrator of unnecessary official or unofficial violence must always – without exception – fear not only varying levels of distaste, dislike, disgust, and hatred, but even eventual revenge. 

Perpetrators of violent forms of group exceptionalism must therefore, constantly live in fear of eventual official or unofficial retaliation and this pattern of violent Israeli exceptionalism since 1948, has only increased the fear and insecurity for Israeli and non-Israeli Jews. So in late 2023, existential fear has not only increased for those Jews who live in Israel, but the lives of those living elsewhere have again become inceasingly endangered as a result of the genocide in Gaza. The ideas that violence can end violence or that wars can end wars, have long been exposed to be oxymoronic cliches, only maintained by those whose general humanity has been seriously impaired .

From the above extracts, from historical records and from our own current observations we can also conclude that the destructive results of current national and religious forms of exceptionalism are not unique to the religion of Judaism and the nation of Israel. The 1930’s Nazi Aryan aspiration of extending blood and soil agriculture eastward was motivated by a form of narcissistic exceptionalism based on the imaginary concept of a superior Germanic race entitled to expand its territorial boundaries by military conquest.

Similarly, the origin of American exceptionalism, was rooted in a mixture of exagerated religious and secular, non-aristocatic characteristics which were considered gloriously exceptional and this example also involved the genocidal elimination of indigenous north and south American tribal peoples. The latter too were considered inferior peoples and by their hunting and gathering mode of production in the plains and valleys, stood in the way of settled, small-holding agricultural communities and plantations  favoured by early European settlers in the so-called New World Americas.

Indeed, exceptionalist ideologies of superiority are manifested in practically all religions and nations to a greater or lesser degree, and the elites in nations such as Britain, America and France have on the alleged basis of past  cultural superiority not only been previous practitioners of colonialist mass genocides in Australia, Africa, India and North and South America, but are also present partners in supplying weapons and supporting the colonialist genocide of Zionist Israel in Palestine. Moreover these exceptionalist collective ideologies (and others not mentioned) have always functioned to the detriment of their own ordinary working people.

Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the elites of hierarchical mass societies occasionally call each other out for their respective atrocities but rarely (or never) own up to their own. (e.g. Routine oppressor of Kurds and others, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, recently told a packed hall in Istanbul: “Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres!!!). Similarly the elites of Iran, ISIS, the Taliban and Hamas, call out the attrocities perpetrated against them, but not the ones perpetrated by them. However, as noted earlier, since exceptionalism always contains or creates some element of narcissism, it is worth reminding ourselves of the symptom of individual narcissism before considering it further in its collectivist form.

(Part 2 Narcissism: Individual and Collective, will follow soon.)

Roy Ratcliffe (January 2024)