Bitterest conflict arises between those formerly most alike.
Evidence
In fact, the degeneration of a difference in convictions into hatred and fight ordinarily occurs only when there were essential, original similarities between the parties. The (sociologically very significant) “respect for the enemy” is usually absent where the hostility has arisen on the basis of previous solidarity. And where enough similarities continue to make confusions and blurred borderlines possible, points of difference need an emphasis not justified by the issue but only by that danger of confusion. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 320
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the essay’s theme of the flâneur’s detachment: the stranger who resembles us too closely becomes more threatening than the wholly foreign, paralleling civil inattention’s limits when borders blur. — connects to: The most unconditional conflicts rest on the strictest shared norms — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 304; Separation deliberately pursued produces the sharpest and bitterest conflicts. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 320; Sharing a beloved superordinate turns co-subjects into intensified mutual enemies via jealousy — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 337 (+2 more)
- DEFINE: Clarifies the mechanism by which the ‘blasé attitude’ and categorization of strangers break down — when similarity persists, differences must be overemphasized to preserve identity.
Related
Broader Connections
- Separation deliberately pursued produces the sharpest and bitterest conflicts.
#expands(0.85) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 320 - Sharing a beloved superordinate turns co-subjects into intensified mutual enemies via jealousy
#exemplifies(0.70) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 337