World Politics

There are two basic schools of thought about international politics: the realist, based on self interest, and the moralist, based on pushing moral principles.

The trick is knowing when to apply either or both in reasoning about when to go to war. The other trick is not deluding oneself about what rationale is being applied.

Even the most powerful democratic countries have a finite amount of resources at their disposal. Before they embark on morally justified wars or interventions, the question about priorities needs to be discussed (there always being more than one country deserving consideration for attack). When the priorities are not considered, it often leads to cynicism about motives. This is one of the unfortunate characteristics of democracies.

The other thing, it never hurts to have the facts straight about who poses an imminent threat and to whom they pose that threat.