To the point of an extreme

Definitions of the word “extreme” includes, “reaching a high or the highest degree”, “being furthest from the centre or a given point” and it’s also defined as “being two abstract things, that are as different from each other as possible”. 

Subjectivity refers to how someone’s judgement is shaped by personal opinions and feelings instead of outside influences, while objectivity is a definition which means a lack of bias, judgement, or prejudice. 

When we consider the word “extreme”, it’s easy to fall into the trap of the subjective, where actions and incidents are based on emotional reactions, over an objective analysis on the cause and affect of an entire situation. 

If we as a collective society experienced regime change, which saw the emergence of Utopia on one side and mass devastation on the other, inside of each society would exist similar extremes, that would directly relate to the circumstances of the environment. 

In both of these societies, the needs of the populations would essentially remain the same, as they did under the previous regimes, whilst the only thing that would change, would be the perspective and organisation of the given regime itself. 

The objective and subjective perspectives of any society, are overwhelmingly governed by the ideas of the dominant force which controls society, where each idea has it’s own function to serve the objective needs of the majority, while serving in the subjective interests of the governing body. 

Extreme’s within this, emerge on the basis of a reaction to the objective of the governing body, where “being furthest from the centre”, the abstract leads to a growth in the “personal”, as a means of understanding the given point. 

The further from the centre that people drift, the more subjective society is and in an effort of “reaching a high”, the more extreme behaviour becomes. One definition of obsessive is “thinking about something or someone, or doing something, too much or all the time”. 

Other definitions include, “being motivated by a persistent overriding idea or impulse”, while “being continually preoccupied with a particular activity, person, or thing”. 

Racism, Xenophobia, Sexism and Homophobia are each examples of an extreme form of subjective behaviour, which are shaped by personal opinions and feelings. The absence of objectivity within prejudice, is often illustrated through references to individual actions, where the absence of objectivity can sometimes lead to the subjective becoming obsessive. 

When subjectivity becomes obsessive, the loss of all objectivity results in the complete immersion into the obsession. 

Overriding both opinions and feelings, obsession becomes fixated on an activity, person, or thing, where having become completely detached from the objective centre, the motivation becomes further extreme, as the obsessive impulses engage in direct conflict with the objective surrounding it. 

by Hussein Al-alak, editor of Iraq Solidarity News (Al-Thawra). You can read more by Hussein over on his blog.


This Month

Twitter News


Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Submissions & Contact


Email *

Message *