Doublethink is a very handy concept, invented by George Orwell in his novel 1984. It involves the ability to hold two conflicting ideas at one time.
Politics today is soaked in it, but if you asked me to point to one example, I’d probably pick Palestine and Ukraine.
Of course we’re all supporters of Ukrainian independence. Russia may not want a state on its border which aligns with the West in terms of NATO and EU membership. But the West is unconcerned by Russia’s discomfort, and it feeds weapons to Ukraine that helps that country resist. So far it’s doing a reasonable job of that, although we suspect that some kind of middle ground will have to be found if Ukraine is to stop being the target of Russian missiles and drones.
As a second and contrasting example, I’d point to Israel. Having suffered the breach of its defences and the killing and kidnapping of October 7, 2023, Israel has responded by killing over 70,000 Palestinians, has taken over half of Gaza, which means dividing in two the world’s most densely open air prison. It’s worth getting a totally clear picture of what has happened there. Palestiniaans lived cheek by jowl in Gaza for decades,allowed to come and go only when Israel said it was OK. Over the past two years, Israel has taken over half of Gaza, leaving Palestinians living in twice as appalling as before.
Israel has also invaded Lebanon, creating a ‘yellow’ area which it announces as a buffer region to protect itself against invasion. Over a million people have lost their homes. Meanwhile, Israel is seizing Palestinian land and killing the owners on the West Bank.
Israel slaughters defenceless people in their tens of thousands and calls it self-defence. Ukraine struggles to keep Russians out of their country and we call it self-defence.
How can two conflicts, so totally different, be called self-defence? Double-think is the name of the war-game.
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