Ideological commitment requires willed moral blindness to human suffering

Evidence

It seems more likely, however, that even had the Spaniards snatched a victory at sea the final picture of Europe, when peace came, would not have been much different. … By its very nature the war between Spain and England was likely to be indecisive, and men being what they are even its object lesson proved to be in vain. Most of Europe had to fight another war, thirty years long, before deciding that crusades were a poor way of settling differences of opinion, and that two or more systems of ideas could live side by side without mortal danger to either. — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 896 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: The gods deliberately dimmed human vision to prevent equality with themselves — , A Year of World Stories, 10270; Martial virtues of courage and sacrifice functioned ideologically to justify butchery. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 345; Successful dehumanizing creates moral exclusion, placing targeted groups outside the scope of moral protection — Dehumanizing Always Starts With Language (+12 more)

Related

• Ideological crusades cannot decisively win because ideas resist extermination (similarity 0.86)
• Ideological struggle requires engaging one’s strongest adversaries, unlike warfare (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Ideological crusades cannot decisively win because ideas resist extermination #qualifies (0.50) — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 896
• Ethical-robot rhetoric is a Trojan horse that lowers moral barriers to killer robots #exemplifies (0.45) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 669