Book Description
Michael Walzer is one of the world’s most eminent philosophers on the subject of war and ethics. Now, for the first time since his classic Just and Unjust Wars was published almost three decades ago, this volume brings together his most provocative arguments about contemporary military conflicts and the ethical issues they raise.
The essays in the book are divided into three sections. The first deals with issues such as humanitarian intervention, emergency ethics, and terrorism. The second consists of Walzer’s responses to particular wars, including the first Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. And the third presents an essay in which Walzer imagines a future in which war might play a less significant part in our lives. In his introduction, Walzer reveals how his thinking has changed over time.
Written during a period of intense debate over the proper use of armed force, this book gets to the heart of difficult problems and argues persuasively for a moral perspective on war.
Customer Reviews:
THE BEST THE LEFT HAS.......2005-11-19
A funny thing happened to Michael Walzer on his way to opposing the Vietnam War. Recognizing the hollowness of the arguments being made by the post-modern Left he sought serious moral ground and found it in traditional Just War Theory. But morality is a tricky thing, for just when we think it's conveyed a cloak for the selfish actions we wish to take, or not take as the case may be, we discover that it has simultaneously imposed certain responsibilities upon us, often unwanted ones, always selfless ones. Thus, while Mr. Walzer grabbed onto Just War Theory as a way to oppose a given war, he discovered that: "[J]ust war theory, even when it demands a strong critique of particular acts of war, is the doctrine of people who expect to use power and exercise force." The theory, obviously, assumes that war can be just. Indeed, Mr. Walzer has developed the notion that war is justified in instances of "supreme emergency," occasions where "our deepest values and our collective survival are in imminent danger." Moreover, while recognizes the importance of self-determination as a principle for relations among nations, he adds a liberal democratic component to the standard. Accepting the biblical injunction "Do not stand idly by the blood of they neighbor" he accepts the justness of humanitarian intervention in cases where a nation's people are "victims of tyranny, ideological zeal, [and/or] ethnic hatred" and who "urgently need help from outside."
Though Mr. Walzer remains very much a man of the Left in general, this recognition that humanitarian intervention may be morally justified/obligated against regimes that do not meet standards of liberal democratic legitimacy has put him so much at odds with the rest of the Left that they accuse him of being a crypto-conservative and he has been forced to ask whether there can even be a Decent Left, a question which he largely answers in the negative. The essays in this book are drawn from the past twenty-five years, with an emphasis on our recent interventions in Iraq (twice), Kosovo, Afghanistan, Haiti, etc. and our tragic non-intervention in Rwanda. Because he straddles the line between Left and Right he's unlikely to satisfy anyone completely. But you can't help but admire the utter gravity with which he reckons with every issue and, even where you disagree, the depth of his arguments forces you to reckon with them yourself. The Decent Left may be a deuced small collection of folk, but counting Mr. Walzer among their number is no small boast.
Thoughtful.......2004-12-17
This is a collection of essays and articles focused on the theme of when war is acceptable. In several ways, this book is a followup to Walzer's well known book, Just and Unjust Wars, which explored the same theme. As a collection of previously published pieces, this collection lacks the integrity of a monograph but it is better than most such collections because of the strong theme. It also has the advantage of being quite topical with some essays related to the ongoing war in Iraq. Walzer is critical and consistent thinker. He is opposed to pacifism but has clear and well considered standards for when war making is acceptable. He is generally in favor of well considered interventions to prevent genocide and to abolish odious regimes. He also treats some interesting topics and related topics such as the limits of the standards he develops and the concrete responsibilities of military personnel.
Much of this book is reprinted articles on events like the Bosnian war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the war in Iraq. Walzer does a good job of applying his theoretical constructs in a rigorous and fair way. He is critical, for example, of the Bush administration's preventive war in Iraq but has no patience with any efforts to justify terrorist activities. He is quite critical as well of European and Russian, as well as the Clinton administration's, policies towards Iraq.
Comparing Walzer's analysis of moral choices in policies towards Iraq with the statements of Bush administration spokesmen and apologists is interesting. Many of the same arguments appear, only Walzer applies them in a rigorous and consistent manner, often leading to very different conclusions. Walzer exhibits the moral clarity that the Bush administration would like to believe it possesses.
Walzer also makes the very good point that in a truly just war, moral intentions and behavior in the aftermath of a war are just as important as the decision to enter war and the conduct of war. Neglect of the aftermath is a weakness of traditional just war theory derived from the Catholic tradition. If you don't do a competent and principled job of occupation and reconstruction, your war is not moral. In contemporary Iraq, we're witnessing a counter-example of competent and principled occupation that serves as a vivid demonstration of Walzer's argument.
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Arguing about War.(Book Review) : An article from: Ethics & International Affairs
David Rodin
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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ASIN: B000CQN8CY
Release Date: 2005-12-05 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Ethics & International Affairs, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1158 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Arguing about War.(Book Review)
Author: David Rodin
Publication:
Ethics & International Affairs (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 19
Issue: 2
Page: 117(3)
Article Type: Book Review
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Arguing about War.(Book review): An article from: Journal of Church and State
Eric Patterson
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ASIN: B000FNVWYA
Release Date: 2007-07-11 |
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This digital document is an article from Journal of Church and State, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 664 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Arguing about War.(Book review)
Author: Eric Patterson
Publication:
Journal of Church and State (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 48
Issue: 1
Page: 201(3)
Article Type: Book review
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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Theological Studies, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1025 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Just War Revisited.(Arguing About War)(Book Review)
Author: David E. DeCosse
Publication:
Theological Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 66
Issue: 3
Page: 691(2)
Article Type: Book Review
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Michael Walzer on Just War Theory's "critical edge": more like a spoon than a knife.: An article from: Independent Review
Laurie Calhoun
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ASIN: B000FOQ6X6
Release Date: 2006-05-12 |
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This digital document is an article from Independent Review, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 2802 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Michael Walzer on Just War Theory's "critical edge": more like a spoon than a knife.
Author: Laurie Calhoun
Publication:
Independent Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 10
Issue: 3
Page: 419(6)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This is a collection of 75 selections, organized in 21 chapters, 3 chronological periods. The selections are accompanied by introductions to each period, chapter overviews, and selection introductions.
Customer Reviews:
A dilettante's delight!.......2007-06-30
These three volumes in one are an easy-reading, chatty introduction to the world of physics. Asimov's inclusion of the historical background along with the development of specific concepts contributes to its readability. Asimov also keeps scientific jargon and mathematical equations to a minimum. I can't speculate on the value of "Understanding Physics" to the serious student of physics, but for a dabbler who wants to know more about how things work, or to have a handy reference, it is ideal.
Fully Explains Fundamental Relationships.......2006-06-23
Once you learn how to read deeply (and maybe a few years after freshman physics), this is THE book to read. Asimov has a science-type Ph.D. from Columbia (the Ivy league one) and he is a wonderful story teller. Still, I tried to read this book in high school and it meant nearly nothing to me then. But I tried again in graduate school (after completing ABET ECE degree) and was rewarded. Each and every page gave me just what my mind and heart desired. It was a heavenly experience to have even a synthetic relationship/conversation with Asimov and his mid-20th century Columbia Univeristy physics department. By the way, I'm pretty sure L. Ron Hubard's cult and its followers ripped off MEST (Mass, Energy, Time, and Space) from this book.
The best place to begin the study of physics.......2004-07-18
Although I took a full year of physics in college, I learned most of my physics from the three books in the Understanding Physics series by Isaac Asimov. As proof, I offer the fact that I scored a respectable 8 on the physics section of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) that I took before starting the college physics class. My study of physics in preparation for the test began when I purchased and read the three books in the series. When I was in the physics class, I understood all of the ideas; the only part that presented any difficulty was applying calculus to the problems.
Asimov has a knack for writing about science in a way that allows for the rapid and complete learning of the concepts. This book covers the basics of the fundamental particles that make up atoms, how they interact with each other and their basic properties. Unlike many other authors, Asimov does not hesitate to use equations in his explanations. I commend him for this, as you cannot learn physics without equations and the temptation to avoid them was no doubt strong. If you want to learn the fundamentals of physics, the three-volume Understanding Physics series by Asimov is the best place to start.
The best place to begin the study of physics.......2004-07-18
Although I took a full year of physics in college, I learned most of my physics from the three books in the Understanding Physics series by Isaac Asimov. As proof, I offer the fact that I scored a respectable 8 on the physics section of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) that I took before starting the college physics class. My study of physics in preparation for the test began when I purchased and read the three books in the series. When I was in the physics class, I understood all of the ideas; the only part that presented any difficulty was applying calculus to the problems.
Asimov has a knack for writing about science in a way that allows for the rapid and complete learning of the concepts. This book covers the basics of classical physics, as relativity is only mentioned in footnotes. Unlike many other authors, Asimov does not hesitate to use equations in his explanations. I commend him for this, as you cannot learn physics without equations and the temptation to avoid them was no doubt strong. If you want to learn the fundamentals of physics, the three-volume Understanding Physics series by Asimov is the best place to start.
Very good.......2004-04-03
Asimov actually explains and makes sense out of physics. I am Physics major, and Asimov explains about as well as anyone. This is way better and more accessible than that dumb Feinman lectures series. Asimov is a very gifted writer and thinker. Although I differ with him on alot of his conclusions about life and existence, pretty much anything he writes is good. A another Good Physics book is Einstein's "Evolution of Physics".
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Olive green cloth over boards cover with gold lettering, approx. 6 3/8" x 9 1/2"
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Understanding Physics: (Motion, Sound, and Heat)
Manufacturer: Signet
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ASIN: B000E9JK8K |
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Prohibitive Policy: Implementing the Federal Endangered Species Act (Mit Studies in American Politics and Public Policy)
Steven Lewis Yaffee
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
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Book Description
In 1978 the Supreme Court ruled that the Endangered Species Act barred the Tennessee Valley Authority from completing its almost-built, $120 million Tellico project because the project would destroy the habitat of the snail darter, a 3-inch long fish. Project supporters were outraged and claimed that the act was inflexible, prohibiting any balancing of the benefits of protection with the costs of compliance.
In this book, Steven Yaffee examines the Endangered Species Act as an example of prohibitive policy, an extreme form of government regulation that has been used increasingly in recent years, especially in the environmental area. Critics have argued that such policy is inefficient because it appears to outlaw negotiation between conflicting social objectives.
By reviewing both the legislative history of the act and five years of its implementation, from 1973 to its amendment in 1978, Yaffee sets out to test its critics' contentions. In a narrative replete with stories about the Furbish lousewort, the Houston toad, the Mississippi sandhill crane, and other threatened species, he argues that the process of implementation provides for balancing and negotiation even though they appear to be outlawed by statute.
By examining science-based policy, Prohibitive Policy comments on the effects of technical expertise and professionalism on policymaking and implementation.
Prohibitive Policy also reports on the record of the federal government in preserving species and the outlook for the success of future interventions. Since the global problem of extinction is getting worse, the lessons of this book can aid legislators and interest groups in framing new policy.
Steven Lewis Yaffee is Assistant Professor of Planning at Harvard. His book is included in the series American Politics and Public Policy.
Books:
- Atlas: The Ultimate Weapon by Those Who Built It (Apogee Books Space Series)
- Attacks: ROMMEL
- Aviation's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Winged Wonders, Lucky Landings, and Other Aerial Oddities (Most Wanted)
- Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
- Battleship Musashi: The Making and Sinking of the Worlds Biggest Battleship
- Beyond Baghdad: Postmodern War and Peace
- Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power
- Carrying the Flag: The Story of Private Charles Whilden, the Confederacy's Most Unlikely Hero
- Cataclysm: The First World War As Political Tragedy
- Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II
Books Index
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