Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Samuel Amaral ·
April 4, 2012 at 2:53pm
I was at the UK Liberty Conference League conference this weekend, which featured among other things ''The Great Foreign Policy Debate. To Intervene or Not to Intervene.'' It was interesting, but left me with more questions, because the blanket pacifist rule of non-intervention ignores the fact that every situation is unique while excusing people from making morally difficult judgements, and the interventionist position kind of lacked a sort of ''Doctrine of Just War'' to decide when to intervene or not.
I vaguely recall the reading a quote from Saint Thomas of Aquinas with some criterion of such doctrine, but is there still a modern version, and which author can I read on the subject ?
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Dec '11
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
It's been a while since I've looked St. Thoma's criteria, but they are pretty restrictive: only lawful rulers may declare war, they must be clearly advancing the cause of good instead of merely their own interests, they must not harm more innocents than absolutely necessary, etc. It's difficult to defend civil wars if one uses Thomas's principles; it's even more difficult to justify the use of overwhelming force.
I think that conservatives have a hard time developing a "just war" policy for the very reasons you cited: leadership requires making hard moral judgments about unique situations. There is no war so just that it will not produce a great amount of evil, but that doesn't make the war unnecessary. Traditional conservatives are too wedded to the practical, the possible, and the particular to become to enthusiastic about just war theory.
Still, I suppose there are some examples. Perhaps the most recent articulation of a (neo) conservative doctrine of just war was Charles Krauthammer's "Democratic Realism," mostly an expansion of the Bush doctrine but interesting nonetheless, if only as a relic of its time (and it seems ages ago).
Dec '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Samuel,
Understanding Perpetual Peace my essay on Immanuel Kant's pure philosophical concept has within it the very idea I think you are searching for.
The third major quote is about the Right of Nations and prosecuting a war against an UnJust Enemy. See if this is what you are looking for. The quotes are from "The Metaphysics of Morals" by Kant. Let me know if I can be of any further help.
Regards,
Jim
Aug '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
In my college Ethics class I used the book The Just War: Force and Political Responsibility by Paul Ramsey for a paper on Just War vs. Pacifism. I believe it's a worthwhile resource. The book description mentions: "In defending just war against Christian pacifism and arguing against those who maintain that the end justifies the means in the conduct of a war, Ramsey joins a line of theological reasoning that traces its antecedents to Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas."
Jun '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
I don't know about conservatives in general, but the Catholic Church still teaches Aquinas' doctrine. From the Catechism:
Oct '11
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Thank you everyone, I will try to have a hold and read on the material mentioned.
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Joseph Stanko: I don't know about conservatives in general, but the Catholic Church still teaches Aquinas' doctrine. From the Catechism:
9 hours ago
Our Libya intervention appears to have failed on all counts.
Jan '11
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
I'm curious about what makes the theory conservative or liberal.
That brings up an interesting point: I take the contrast between conservative / liberal to be mostly an internal debate about how a nation governs itself. The defense of the country against outside threats is a separate understanding that really doesn't touch on the same ideological contrast.
Jan '11
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Our Libya intervention appears to have failed on all counts.
The Just War theory hinges on the notion of self-defense, and how to address a threat. It addresses when you might be allowed to kill others. No one argued that Libya was ever a threat to us.
It was promoted as a "humanitarian intervention," not as a war. It was (words and legalisms aside) a use of military force, but the force was passive. We prevented Qaddafi's forces from attacking, but we never attacked Qaddafi's forces. American force wasn't used to attack or kill anyone. So I'm not sure the Just War theory actually applies.
Instead, you can argue on practical grounds that the effort unleashed unintended consequences -- all of which we warned about, and that's why many of us wanted to simply stay out of it.
Sometimes you just leave the beehive alone.
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Great post, Samuel.
President Obama's Nobel prize acceptance speech was about waging just war, which seemed an odd topic for a peace prize winner.
Here is the text:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34360743/ns/politics-white_house/t/full-text-obamas-nobel-peace-prize-speech/
May '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Might makes Right?
Seriously, I think the whole concept is silly. Should the settlers have left the Indians alone? Was the pushing them back "just"?
Stronger civilizations spread and conquer, it is the nature of things. I don't know how much just/unjust enters into it.
If we had a growing Ice Age, I wager that we would find all sorts of justifications to get whatever resources we needed to survive, regardless of who had them. If we did not, then the future would belong to whomever did it.
"Just" = whatever is in the best interest of the continuation of The Republic that will be tolerated by the citizens of the Republic.
Mar '11
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
I'm not sure I can offer a satisfactory answer to the question posed in your title in a small space, largely because, while there are several forms of just war theory, not one is simply "the conservative answer". This is partly because there are at least two broad schools within contemporary conservative thinking--the realist or reason of state school, and the neoconservative school. In different senses both Machiavelli and Aquinas (as well as many others) can be considered "conservative" in some way on this question.
However, with regard to contemporary treatments of just war theory and the questions underlying and informing it, two books which immediately jumped into mind (though, again, not giving the a simply "conservative" perspective) are Michael Walzer's Just and Unjust Wars and Donald Kagan's On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace.
Nov '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
A slightly different but still pertinent question is whether, if a war can be proven just, some self-styled authority can unilaterally use me or my resources to fight that war, if I withhold consent.
I submit the answer is no, or nearly always no, for roughly the same reason that no self-styled authority can unilaterally use me or my resources to provide aid, even if it can be proven salutary, if I withhold my consent.
In short, social obligations rarely if ever override individual rights, whether the goal is to prevent harm or provide help to others.
Fight your own war and provide your own charity, if you feel minded to. However, do not enslave me to your cause, however just or salutary you prove it to be.
By doing so, you make the war or aid immoral, except in utter extremis.
Edited on April 4, 2012 at 5:30pmApr '11
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Well, morality aside, T.R. Fehrenbach's argument in This Kind of War is a solid one, not only for the creation of a professional Army (legionniares, for all intents and purposes) but mainly to stop things from getting as out of control as they did in the two World Wars which is, not to be gross, bad for business and all. If as a conservative you believe in Free Trade, that trade has to be protected somehow.
Mainly by defending your trading partners or by having some means of creditably threatening those who would interrupt those lines of commerce.
Edited on April 4, 2012 at 6:09pmJun '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
KC Mulville:
That brings up an interesting point: I take the contrast between conservative / liberal to be mostly aninternaldebate about how a nation governs itself. The defense of the country against outside threats is a separate understanding that really doesn't touch on the same ideological contrast.
I think many of the general principles of conservatism can apply to thinking about foreign policy.
If you take Thomas Sowell's concept of the constrained vs. unconstrained visions, just as liberal believe a new government problem can fix every domestic problem, some liberals believe intervention (as in Libya) can fix all the world's problems, too. Other liberals fall into the pacifist camp and believe if we'd just all hold hands and sing kumbaya we could do away with war forever. Both are utopian projects.
In contrast, conservatives tend to be realists. We recognize that war is part of fallen human nature, and accordingly we will always need a strong defense and must prepare to fight to defend our liberty. But we also recognize that wars never go as planned and produce all sorts of unforeseen consequences and so should be avoided except as a last resort.
Jun '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Bryan G. Stephens: Might makes Right?
Seriously, I think the whole concept is silly. Should the settlers have left the Indians alone? Was the pushing them back "just"?
Stronger civilizations spread and conquer, it is the nature of things. I don't know how much just/unjust enters into it.
If we had a growing Ice Age, I wager that we would find all sorts of justifications to get whatever resources we needed to survive, regardless of who had them. If we did not, then the future would belong to whomever did it.
"Just" = whatever is in the best interest of the continuation of The Republic that will be tolerated by the citizens of the Republic. · 2 hours ago
As a conservative, don't you believe in property rights? I do. Suppose the government decided to confiscate all the property owned by "the 1%" in order to redistribute it, wouldn't we both agree that's wrong?
Suppose instead the government decided to invade Canada, seize all their citizens' property, and redistribute it to Americans. Under your logic that would be fine and dandy since that's just "the nature of things." You don't see a contradiction there?
May '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Joseph,
In your first paragraph, you confuse actions between nations and actions between a people and a government. I was not talking about the latter.
You misunderstand my point about nations. I am not making a moral judgement of how nations interact, I am making a statement of fact. Floods happen too, that does not make them "find and dandy".
If the existence of this Republic were dependent on seizing the resources or wealth of another nation, then I suspect this Republic would act to take those. It would not be "fine and dandy". It would, however, insure the ongoing existence of America.
As a commercial republic, our nation tends to see things as a growing pie, not a zero-sum game. As such, peace and commerce are what we want. If the rules changed, or we thought they changed, we would act accordingly. Future generations, sitting in safety, would no doubt call those actions "unjust".
War is a tool, it is a means to an end. It is not good, or just, but a horrible thing that is sometimes necessary.
Jun '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Bryan G. Stephens:
I am not making a moral judgement of how nations interact, I am making a statement of fact. Floods happen too, that does not make them "find and dandy".
War is a tool, it is a means to an end. It is not good, or just, but a horrible thing that is sometimes necessary. · 2 hours ago
But I am making a moral judgement about how nations interact, and I understood you to say that any such judgement was "silly" because might makes right. Nations may go to war whenever they wish, because that's what nations do.
I don't see how comparing war to floods is instructive, because we (or at least our elected leaders) can choose when to go to war. After Pearl Harbor and 9/11 we had little choice but to respond, but what about Libya, Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, the Gulf War, or Vietnam? Should we invade Iran next?
Is there a conservative answer to these questions? How can we answer these questions if moral judgement about going to war is silly? Should we support all wars started by a Republican president and oppose all wars started by a Democrat?
Aug '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
KC Mulville
It was promoted as a "humanitarian intervention," not as a war. It was (words and legalisms aside) a use of military force, but the force was passive. We prevented Qaddafi's forces from attacking, but we never attacked Qaddafi's forces. American force wasn't used to attack or kill anyone.
I am sorry, KC, but we did attack Qadaffi's forces. The 'intervention' kicked off with OPERATION ODYSSEY DAWN which involved US forces attacking Qadaffi's integrated Air Defense System along with his Air Force. (BTW I am not shouting, operations are rightly depicted in all caps). USAF B-2s flew from Missouri to bomb targets in and around Tripoli while the US Navy shot nearly 80 Tomahawks on day one alone. OOD lasted about a week.
All of this without consulting Congress first or even at all. (Almost entirely eviscerating the War Powers Act in the process).
May '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
I would advocate sending B2-s to destroy whatever we have too to stop Iran getting nukes. Iran is at war with America. We did not ask for it, we did not choose it, but it is so. That is pretty much like a flood. The difference is, we are refusing to recognize the water at our feet.
My moral choice is as follows:
I don't think today we need to invade others, I think we need to render them incapable of being a threat. In the Cold War we needed to spend more time on the ground; now we can smash from the air.
Oct '10
Re: Is There a Conservative Doctrine of Just War ?
Samuel, I'll put in a plug here for a book, which I admit was written by a friend of mine: Iraq: The Moral Reckoning, by Craig White. (The price is steep, but maybe you can find a library copy.) The book applies Thomistic principles to the Iraq invasion. I haven't read it yet, but I've always enjoyed talking with this guy. He was formerly a US diplomat in Africa and in Mauritias.