The Anatomy of a Lost Cause
I would like to examine what it means for a cause to be “lost,” because the phrase is used so frequently in geopolitical discourse that its actual content has become invisible. When an analyst, a diplomat, or a journalist describes a situation as a lost cause, they are making a specific claim – and it is usually the wrong one.
The claim is that the situation cannot be resolved. That the forces in play are too entrenched, the actors too intractable, the history too bitter for any outcome other than continued suffering.