Comments on: Clausewitz, On War, Book I: Art with Science http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/6622.html Some Chicago Boyz know each other from student days at the University of Chicago. Others are Chicago boys in spirit. The blog name is also intended as a good-humored gesture of admiration for distinguished Chicago boys including those pictured above. Fri, 25 May 2012 18:12:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Shane http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/6622.html/comment-page-1#comment-290712 Shane Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:12:51 +0000 http://chicagoboyz.net/?p=6622#comment-290712 Kotare, Thank you. Ironic that the left in many countries seems to dive right into the "morality" as their own justification for the use of force. Lex, Excellent assessment. We do indeed seem to devolve to the opponent's "absolutism" when we try to use the compass of moral outrage.... Kotare, Thank you. Ironic that the left in many countries seems to dive right into the “morality” as their own justification for the use of force.

Lex, Excellent assessment. We do indeed seem to devolve to the opponent’s “absolutism” when we try to use the compass of moral outrage….

]]> By: Lexington Green` http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/6622.html/comment-page-1#comment-290628 Lexington Green` Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:12:16 +0000 http://chicagoboyz.net/?p=6622#comment-290628 "...calls for military intervention are often couched in the language of moral outrage..." A further problem with this. If you can only go to war against someone who is morally outrageous, you can only do so on the basis of regime change or destroying the existing regime. So, you only get to fight wars that <i>for the other side</i> are absolute, where the attacker (USA and other developed countries as alllies) have much lower stakes, much less public motivation, etc. “…calls for military intervention are often couched in the language of moral outrage…”

A further problem with this. If you can only go to war against someone who is morally outrageous, you can only do so on the basis of regime change or destroying the existing regime. So, you only get to fight wars that for the other side are absolute, where the attacker (USA and other developed countries as alllies) have much lower stakes, much less public motivation, etc.

]]> By: Kotare http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/6622.html/comment-page-1#comment-290623 Kotare Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:40:05 +0000 http://chicagoboyz.net/?p=6622#comment-290623 This post really highlights the subtlety of Clausewitz's work. I agree with your observation, Shane, that the people that slam Clausewitz seem not to have read him carefully. "Implicit in Clausewitz’s work is that war is not a tool for expressing “moral outrage”, but rather a tool for achieving strategic objectives." This is an excellent observation - it's a criticism I would make of the left in my country and elsewhere - calls for military intervention are often couched in the language of moral outrage, without consideration of ends, ways and means. This post really highlights the subtlety of Clausewitz’s work. I agree with your observation, Shane, that the people that slam Clausewitz seem not to have read him carefully.

“Implicit in Clausewitz’s work is that war is not a tool for expressing “moral outrage”, but rather a tool for achieving strategic objectives.” This is an excellent observation – it’s a criticism I would make of the left in my country and elsewhere – calls for military intervention are often couched in the language of moral outrage, without consideration of ends, ways and means.

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