Zimbardo, Alienation, Choice and Mercenaries

Sorry for all the issues with the video. This is my video debut on the Tubes.

Videos I'm commenting on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SXtyEJm0-U&playnext_from=TL&videos=Q4...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9usuINENss&playnext_from=TL&videos=T7...

The net effect the Military system has on soldiers is Alienation that can be exemplified by Dr. Philp Zimbardo's experiment with Stanford students.

Soldiers enter into roles of sadists and murderers thanks to the separation of their conception of their enemy from reality. "The 'Enemy' is subhuman, they are not like us, they do not deserve respect. If I kill them I am not killing a fellow human being. Everyone who walks the streets is a 'Hadji', they are the enemy".

Zimbardo's experiment: http://www.prisonexp.org/

Marxist theory of alienation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation

A more broad theory of alienation encompassing the whole of capitalist society: http://www.logosjournal.com/capitalism-identity-and-social-rights.php

"Hadji" and the accounts of veterans:
(Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJbZ-SVqHA
(Part 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7IKgVl2Do4
(Part 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpdd0r2qeYQ&feature=related
(Part 4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPtJkZw_iPA&feature=related
(Part 5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhM1L212ck4&feature=related
(Part 6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWchCKhxPa8&feature=related
(End) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ACSRrV--q0&feature=related

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Zimbardo
• alienation
• Mitilary
• War
• Iraq
• davisfleetwood
• politics
• choice
• troops
• Marx

[DudeMeister44]

I agree with what you say about it being the system, not the individual. A soldier may join the US military as an attempt to do good. It's not necessarily his fault that he gets sent to Iraq... That said, the US military does tend to produce psychopathic killing machines somehow... Moreso than other militaries.. It's down to the training, I guess.