Ethical Realism

I am considering moving my blog from blogspot to myspace, where, as a prominent local musician with a prominent site, I may attract more readers. Because my political views are extremely moderate, I doubt it will harm the band - probably be helpful if what I have to say seems reasonable.

In my grazing through the various political chum for sale, I have come across another book that appears to cut through the debate to the core problems we are experiencing that are keeping us mired in a foreign policy of depraved morality and deprived of any sensible pragmatic foundation or direction.

The book is Ethical Realism by Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman. Here are the sentences that made me decide to purchase it for in depth study:

"Even after the debacle of Iraq, there is therefore at present no real opposition in America when it comes to foreign and security policy. The Democrats are bitterly, and rightly, critical of the monstrous incompetence displayed by the Bush administration. But they do not themselves have an alternative strategy or philosophy to offer, and too often content themselves with offering similar messianic platitudes about American greatness and the transformative power of democracy."

The authors, one a liberal British journalist and the other a former neo-con foreign policy wonk for the Heritage Foundation, claim to put forward a world view that would be more conducive to American national interests and at the same time have better ethical moorings - with the understanding that straying from our cultural moral underpinnings is ultimately destructive to our vital national interest.

After skimming through it (and I have now skimmed through dozens of political philosophical books) it looks like this will be as good if not a far better read than the Hart book - The Courage of Our Convictions. Interestingly enough, Gary Hart endorsed it quite strongly.I will post a book report soon enough.

rbs