Ethical Realism and Contemporary Challenges

Abstract This article identifies Reinhold Niebuhr, Hans Morgenthau, and George Kennan as the intellectual fathers of ethical realism—an international strategy based on prudence; a concentration on achievable results rather than good intentions; a close study of the nature, views, and interests of other states and a willingness to accommodate them when possible; and a mixture of profound American patriotism with an equally profound awareness of the limits both of American power and American goodness. Although they derived their principles from different philosophical and religious roots, Niebuhr, Morgenthau, and Kennan shared a belief in the values of modesty, prudence, moderation, and tolerance, leading in practical terms to a preference for negotiation over violence whenever possible and a belief in peace as the necessary basis for human progress. The authors explain why the application of the tenets of ethical realism enabled them to support the war in Afghanistan and to oppose the war in Iraq. In essence, they argue that this philosophy provides the basis for a coherent and radical alternative to the questionable policies that have been pursued by the Bush administration in recent years and acquiesced in by the Democratic "opposition."