Writing again for Liberal Currents, this time I talk about Clausewitz’s concept of moral courage and how it applies to the crisis in American politics.
The background for this piece is that a panel at LibCon dismissed the idea of court reform out of hand for fear that reciprocal violating of norms would lead to the end of the republic. In this dismissal, I saw a lack of moral courage—of the willingness to accept moral responsibility for a dangerous course. As I argue, Republican conduct has brought us to a point in which norms are no longer any defense and forgoing bold action for their sake is a self-defeating course.
From our current situation, there is no means of extricating ourselves that does not involve risking the end of the republic. In this environment of danger, intelligence is not sufficient to find a sensible route forwards. As Clausewitz argues, without moral courage the intellect becomes paralyzed by the myriad of possibilities and perils it faces. “The dangers of the moment always exert the most powerful influence on men, and therefore it often happens that an action seems audacious that in the end proves to be the only road to safety and which is therefore the most prudent course.”
In our perilous position, it is therefore utterly irresponsible to rule out audacious action in the name of something as insubstantial as norms.
1 Comment
Submission Statement:
Writing again for Liberal Currents, this time I talk about Clausewitz’s concept of moral courage and how it applies to the crisis in American politics.
The background for this piece is that a panel at LibCon dismissed the idea of court reform out of hand for fear that reciprocal violating of norms would lead to the end of the republic. In this dismissal, I saw a lack of moral courage—of the willingness to accept moral responsibility for a dangerous course. As I argue, Republican conduct has brought us to a point in which norms are no longer any defense and forgoing bold action for their sake is a self-defeating course.
From our current situation, there is no means of extricating ourselves that does not involve risking the end of the republic. In this environment of danger, intelligence is not sufficient to find a sensible route forwards. As Clausewitz argues, without moral courage the intellect becomes paralyzed by the myriad of possibilities and perils it faces. “The dangers of the moment always exert the most powerful influence on men, and therefore it often happens that an action seems audacious that in the end proves to be the only road to safety and which is therefore the most prudent course.”
In our perilous position, it is therefore utterly irresponsible to rule out audacious action in the name of something as insubstantial as norms.