Reasons to Kill: Why Americans Choose War
by By Rubenstein, Richard E.
Category: Philosophy , Ethics & Moral Philosophy

While acknowledging his belief that there can indeed be just wars, Rubenstein (conflict resolution and public affairs, George Mason U.) argues that just wars are nevertheless very rare and hence wonders how it is possible that the American public is so often convinced of the rightness of the various wars embarked upon by the United States over the years. He examines both the argument that Americans are "innocent dupes" fooled by American leaders willing to lie about, for example, the sinking of the Maine, the Tonkin Gulf incident, and Iraq's nonexistent weapons of mass destruction and the argument that the American frontier experience pre-conditions Americans to pursue their interests violently and devalue the lives of others, finding both to have some, but not sufficient, explanatory power. He proposes that the most common characteristic in successful efforts to convince Americans to go to war is the way that moral arguments are rooted in the US civil religion of national exceptionalism and the associated belief in the unique, even divine, mandate for the US to promote liberty, justice, democracy, and associated values around the world. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)