One of the most infuriating things about American foreign policy debates is the politically motivated way everyone seems to deploy concern for human life. Hawks only talk about anti-American leaders killing civilians, doves only seem to mention when the US and its allies do it.
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Zack Beauchamp Retweeted Jeet Heer
This is a cramped notion of moral responsibility that few accept in other cases. If the government has the power to stop deaths from poverty, and chooses not to distribute cash, it's responsible for those deaths.https://twitter.com/HeerJeet/status/1486012632402436096 …
Zack Beauchamp added,
10 replies 3 retweets 46 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @zackbeauchamp
??? Governments being responsible for the well-being of their citizens is perfectly compatible with the principle I outlined. We are less responsible for actions outside our sphere of power and influence.
1 reply 1 retweet 28 likes -
Replying to @HeerJeet
But there are cases where American *inaction* in the face of malign behavior by foreign actors is directly responsible for mass civilian death. Morally speaking, no real difference between action and inaction in this context unless you discount value of non-citizen life.
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Replying to @zackbeauchamp @HeerJeet
If we live in a world of sovereign states, there's a very important distinction. We may choose to violate sovereignty in extreme cases, but starting with an analogy to a state providing welfare to its citizens is a huge move.
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Replying to @JustinTLogan @HeerJeet
I've always found the sovereigntist rebuttal to the R2P challenge incredibly weak on a *philosophical* level. It's just that, in practice, a whole lot of interventions seem to be ineffective or even counter-productive.
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I'm in favor of R2P but I'll note that one justified case -- Vietnam deposing Khmer Rouge -- was opposed by USA. So it's hard not to be skeptical of USA invocation.
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Replying to @HeerJeet @zackbeauchamp
If you believe we live in a world of egoistic, sovereign states, the skepticism would be no surprise.
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