The most interesting part of this weeks reading for me is the idea of the ends justify the means. This quote sums up the idea prevalent in the text quite well.
“It was better that a little blood should be shed that much blood should be saved. The blood that was shed was bad blood; the blood that was saved was good blood. “Peace was necessary, even an enforced peace, that the nation might have time to think and work. Education and industry have carried on the task begun by the army.” These are the words of the Mexican president Porfirio Diaz as he conducts this interview. He speaks of the times before he is made president and the actions he and many others took to restore order in the "lawless" Mexico in the early 20th century. These tyrannical actions were conducted in order to establish a properly democratic order. Or so it is stated by President Diaz. Later in the text the interviewer states the various wonders of the Mexican Republic. Her industry, mines, railways, banks, harbours, drainage systems, electricity, trolleys. All these modern innovations brought to Mexico. The end that has resulted from the means. All this growth and wonder fueled by an export based economy. These exports were used to pay for manufacturing and other products desired by the latin american nations. Well Mexico may have had an export balance in its favor this came at what cost? According to the text many parts of the country were in abject poverty and close to rebellion. Political opposition in exile, a strange contradiction to the statement in the interview where Diaz states he would welcome a political opposition happily. This text is very important because it shows a very skewed and biased view of the events of the time. Only by reading both in concert do we get a sense of what is going on behind the scenes and propaganda.
I like how you referred to the article as propaganda. I also found it quite odd that Diaz said that he welcomed political opposition, because his actions certainly say something very different.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the text is very skewed and biased. For someone unfamiliar with Mexican history though, the text can be rather convincing. I bought it before I looked up Diaz on the Internet.
ReplyDeleteThe sentence "the ends justify the means", which is related to consequentialism, is more complicated to judge. It may be useful and advisable in some cases but not all.
It's interesting how the idea of the ends justifying the means stood out to you. While I used the pros and cons of Diaz's presidency to help me decide whether his leadership was overall good or bad for Mexico, you looked at the ends justifying the means. This is a much better way of looking at it, in my opinion, and I thank you for your intelligent insight!
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