| First, there is no mechanism to adjudicate or enforce international law, or, if you prefer, they are very rudimentary. Thus, it is still the Wild West in international relations. Second, from your example, it is obvious you misunderstand me. I am talking up actual dilemmas where we have to embrace an alternative, and neither is good. We do that all the time. For example, rather than encourage hostage taking, we refuse to negotiate with hostages, knowing that some people will be killed. We go out of our way to protect even most offensive speech, because we consider censorship so baneful that it is worth risking the dissemination of harmful opinions. Even though we know that some number of people will be killed or injured in traffic accidents, we do not outlaw motor vehicles, considering the individual risk to be low, freedom of movement to be a great boon to mankind, and that no alternative is free of accidents or other problems. These are the kinds of things I mean when talking about lesser evils. |
