green numbers give full details.     |    back to list of philosophers     |     expand these ideas

Ideas of Michael Walzer, by Text

[American, b.1935, At Harvard, and then the Institute of Advance Studies at Princeton.]

1977 Just and Unjust Wars
Pref p.-5 23564 Deep ethical theory is very controversial, but we have to live with higher ethical practice
02 p.21 23593 Jus ad bellum and Jus in bello are independent; unjust wars can be fought in a just way
04 p.52 23567 Even non-violent intrusive acts between states count as aggression, if they justify resistance
04 p.58 23568 If whole states possess rights, there can be social relations between states
04 p.72 23570 The only good reason for fighting is in defence of rights
05 p.85 23571 States can rightly pre-empt real and serious threats
06 p.90 23572 Just wars are self-defence, or a rightful intercession in another's troubles
07 p.122 23573 For moral reasons, a just war must be a limited war
08 p.127 23574 The duties and moral status of loyal and obedient soldiers is the same in defence and aggression
08 p.129 23575 We can't blame soldiers for anything they do which clearly promotes victory
08 p.136 23577 Napoleon said 'I don't care about the deaths of a million men'
08 p.136 23614 Even aggressor soldiers are not criminals, so they have equal rights with their opponents
09 p.155 23578 Double Effect needs a double intention - to achieve the good, and minimise the evil
11 p.182 23579 Soldiers will only protect civilians if they feel safe from them
13 p.212 23581 The aim of reprisals is to enforce the rules of war
13 p.218 23582 Reprisal is defensible, as an alternative to war
13 p.221 23580 States need not endure attacks passively, and successful reprisals are legitimate
14 p.229 23584 Rejecting Combatant Equality allows just soldiers to be harsher, even to the extreme
17 p.274 23588 With nuclear weapons we have a permanent supreme emergency (which is unstable)
17 p.276 23586 What matters in war is unacceptable targets, not unacceptable weapons
17 p.281 23587 Nuclear bombs are not for normal war; they undermine the 'just war', with a new morality
19 p.305 23589 Kidnapped sailors and volunteers have different obligations to the passengers
19 p.309 23590 Criminal responsibility can be fully assigned to each member of a group
Afterword p.333 23591 If the oppressor is cruel, nonviolence is either surrender, or a mere gesture
Afterword p.335 23592 We can only lead war towards peace if we firmly enforce the rules of war
1983 Spheres of Justice
p.74 20592 Complex equality restricts equalities from spilling over, like money influencing politics and law [Tuckness/Wolf]
p.97 20595 You can't distribute goods from behind a veil, because their social meaning is unclear [Tuckness/Wolf]
p.101 20549 Equality is complex, with different spheres of equality where different principles apply [Swift]