Get premium membership and access questions with answers, video lessons as well as revision papers.

Describe the ethics of war

Answers

There are two different aspects to ethics in war, according to the most prominent and influential thought on justice and war: The just war theory

a. Right to war (jus ad bellum): Which dictates which unfriendly acts and circumstances justify a proper authority in declaring war on another nation. There are six main criteria for the declaration of a just war:

i. Any just war must be declared by a lawful authority
ii. It must be a just and righteous cause, with sufficient gravity to merit large-scale violence
iii. The just belligerent must have rightful intentions – namely, that they seek to advance good and curtail evil
iv. A just belligerent must have a reasonable chance of success
v. The war must be a last resort
vi. The ends being sought must be proportional to means being used.

b. Right in war (jus in bello): Are the ethical rules of conduct when conducting war. The two main principles in jus in bello are:

• Proportionality Proportionality regards how much force is necessary and morally appropriate to the ends being sought and the injustice suffered.
• Discrimination. The principle of discrimination determines who are the legitimate targets in a war, and specifically makes a separation between combatants, who it is permissible to kill, and non- combatants, who it is not.

Failure to follow these rules can result in the loss of legitimacy for the just war belligerent, and so thereby forfeit the moral right and justice of their cause.

According to Marxism-Leninism theory, outright incitement to violence and war was necessary to topple capitalism and free the proletariat. In these theories, the question of ethics has no place, as the value of the war is entirely dependent on whether it advances the revolution or synthesis.

Fascism, and the ideals it encompasses, such as pragmatism, racism, and social Dawinianism, holds that violence is good. Pragmatism holds that war and violence can be good if it serves the ends of the people, without regard for universal morality. Racism holds that violence is good so that a master race can be established, or to purge an inferior race from the earth, or both. Social Darwinism thinks that violence is sometimes necessary to weed the unfit from society so that civilization can flourish. These are broad archetype for the general position that the end justifies the means.

Titany answered the question on December 7, 2021 at 10:40

Next: Theories for motivation for war
Previous: List the production stages that the European society has gone through according to Karl Max

View More Security Psychology and Strategic Studies Questions and Answers | Return to Questions Index

Learn High School English on YouTube

Describe the ethics of war

Answers

Related Questions