[lbo-talk] Berlusconi next? and John Kerry's options

Ted Winslow egwinslow at rogers.com
Thu May 13 05:28:57 PDT 2004


John Lacny wrote:


> The current talking points of the squatters in the White House claim
> that Kerry is a "flip-flopper," and that he most certainly is -- which
> makes him, as a banal and opportunistic politician, infinitely
> preferable to the gang of fanatics around Bush whose entire purpose in
> life is to cut our throats.

A rationally ethical person would also flip-flop, wouldn't she? Given that we face dilemmas whose nature alters with time, the least worst alternative is always changing. Our own decisions and actions have to change with it. I don't know how much, if any, of Kerry's opportunism can be explained in this way, but I don't think moral absolutism provides a rational basis for judgments of unethical opportunism.

Splitting the social world into a set of equally demonic "enemies" (e.g. the only difference between Kerry and Bush is that Kerry is a more clever and, therefore, worse demon) and a set of equally angelic "victims" is another expression of unmastered sadism.

Ted



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