The Evil of Politics and the Ethics of Evil - 10364 Words

The Evil of Politics and the Ethics of Evil Author(s): Hans J. Morgenthau Source: Ethics, Vol. 56, No. 1 (Oct., 1945), pp. 1-18 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2988705 Accessed: 21/09/2010 06:43 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTORs Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTORs Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of†¦show more content†¦Yet either this allegiancehas becomea ritualistictribute to empty symbolswhich are no longerexpected to guidehumanaction or the practical results of utilitarian ethics and the postulates of traditional ethics are supposed to be identical, so that, by practicing the one and preachingthe other, the identity of the two ethical systems will actually be reaffirmedand the harmony betweenethical standardsand humanaction the more firmly established. The modern mind can, howev er, not be unaware of the existence of ethical conflicts which are solved in defiance of utilitarian standards. Great literature is a monumentto such solutions,and under extreme conditions even modern man with traditionalethics acts in accordance and against his own betterknowledge. Yet when he becomes aware of this discrepancy between the acknowledged standards of utilitarian ethics and his own ethical experience,he will resort to one of two extremes. He will either dismiss his ethical experienceas a psychological oddity, a queer deviation from the utilitarian norm, or he will forswear the utilitarianShow MoreRelatedThe Prince Was Written During A Time Of Political Turmoil And Instability843 Words   |  4 Pagesset of rules or guidelines in government Machiavelli suggests that politics and ethics can be separated and focuses on how ethics, freewill, perception, and human nature all play a major role in governing an entity. Throughout The Prince, the line between ethics and accomplishment in politics is discussed. In politics and government there is a question of when to separate morality from what needs to be done, and how much â€Å"evil† is acceptable when trying to achieve a certain outcome. 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