Book Review: The Lesser Evil by Michael Ignatieff

4/30/2009Michael Ignatieff?s The Lesser Evil investigates the fundamental unlikeness between the principles of human rights and democracy, and the practical necessities of upholding them in the civilized world. The interchange issue Ignatieff grapples with is the place of human rights in the face of guinea pig emergency. He asserts his purpose in the prologue: ?I try to map a middle course between a everlasting(a) civil libertarian position which maintains that no violations of rights can ever be justified and a purely pragmatic position that decide antiterrorist measures solely by their effectiveness.? (Ignatieff viii). Clearly, this book is a response to the discernible flagellum terrorism holds over the United States, and the belief that this threat is likely to only increase with time. Consequently, Ignatieff aims to offer a general argument detailing the ethics, justifications, successes, failures, and recommendations for instances in which the ideals of democracy must be partially surrendered in order to save any semblance of them.

Overall, Ignatieff asserts that, occasionally, circumstances arrive in which a nation is strained to choose between two undesirable options. He ?maintains that destiny may require us to take actions in defense reaction of democracy which will stray from democracy?s aver foundational commitments to dignity.? (Ignatieff 8). The manner by which he builds this argument is notably all-inclusive in scope and thorough in nature.



Ignatieff draws upon examples form history, literature, philosophy, and legal philosophy to attack the issue from an extraordinarily abstract perspective. Nevertheless, the targetis never wooly; namely, the fact that his argument pertains to present-day events?the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the accompanying invasion of Iraq?is at no point misplaced during his lordly dialogue. The purpose of the book, therefore, is ?to help citizens and leaders make the hazardous choices that a successful struggle against terrorism requires.? (Ignatieff vii). So, the audience...

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