[lit-ideas] Re: LAUGH OR CRY?
- From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:45:07 -0500
Thank you, Phil. Were I as smart as you, I'd have written the same.
Mike Geary
Memphis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 12:27 AM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: LAUGH OR CRY?
Lawrence Helm wrote:
"The U.N. cannot really resolve conflict between nations because it
has no 'power' to do so. That is it has no military force."
The U.N. represents an alternative to the idea that international
conflicts can only be resolved through the use of power. It
represents a projection onto the global stage of the democratic belief
that rules based relationships are a rational and pragmatic advance on
relations structured around the threat of violence. This is not to
deny that there is a role for the threat of violence, but rather to
deny that this threat is the best that human beings can do in
developing social and political relationships. The U.N. can resolve
conflict between nations by turning to a process that adjudicates
conflicting claims on the basis of globally accepted rules. Something
similar occurs at the level of trade with the WTO. By turning to a
legal process, rather than brute force, there is a greater probability
of outcomes being accepted as fair, even if these outcomes are not
always in one's own favour.
To paraphrase Habermas, the question is whether governments are
willing to constrain political goals with the law. Traditionally, the
U.S. has led the way in acknowledging the importance of developing the
rule of law. The administration of George W. Bush represents a
reversal on this, allowing politics to trump the rule of law both
within the U.S. and in its relationships with other countries. Many
people around the world hope that the next U.S. president will return
to a form of governance that continues to develop the rule of law.
Sincerely,
Phil Enns
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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