Mix it up

There is no way that any theory could specifically address how to react to every “empirical event and situation” because that is against their very nature; theories, as PTJ said, are meant to be simplified. I like the analogy he used of creating a life-size map in that this humungous, expansive map (or theory) would actually not be effective for many reasons… how to physically build such a thing? How to know it’s accurate? How to even look at or analyze it? And what good would it do anyways? If the map were too detailed then it would lose meaning, which goes the same with IR theories. Therefore, theories can never be completely correct and are influenced by many factors in order to interpret the particular situation with the outline ideas that a theory provides. If there were a handbook or a driver’s manual, oh life would be too easy and uninteresting!

I kinda like that feeling of grey… that wishy-washy color in between the very firm black and white hues (if I remember correctly, black and white aren’t colors? I don’t know if that’s right, it’s been a while since I’ve taken art class, but that’s beside the point). Black and white are too constricting, too controlling, too stubborn. But then there’s grey! To get grey, you get to mix the two colors together, a little more of black and a little less of white or vice versa… it’s all your preference, your choice what color you want to make. So what I’m trying to say is that theories are just dying to be mixed together to form a uniquely delicious shade of grey depending on the mood or the situation. Black and white will never give you the creativity and flexibility that grey will.

As we saw in class on Tuesday, there was simply no right answer to which IR theory was most applicable to the Bretton Woods system. What seemed most suitable for an answer was actually a blend of the theories we’ve learned so far. I’m not going to say that theories are strictly opinions or that “it depends on your point of view”, but rather that everyone has the right to mix their own shades of grey and analyze particular events using a varied pallet of theories. Through mixing it up, we can respond to the demands of different situations in different ways. That’s all!