Tuesday, February 22, 2005
I hear a lot about North Korea's nuclear weapons in the American mass media, possibly even more (ironically enough) than in the South Korean mass media. Whenever I read such articles, I am reminded of the Principle of Universality:
"There is an elementary moral principle which is called the principle of universality. The principle says that if something's right for us, it's right for others, if it's wrong for others, it's wrong for us. If you can't accept that principle, you should have the decency to shut up. So either you accept that principle or you say, 'OK, I'm a Nazi, I'll do anything I like. No more discussion of right and wrong.' Those are the choices in effect."
Basically, this principle means that you ought to hold yourself up to at least as high moral standards as you impose upon others... either that or you're a hypocrite. In light of this moral axiom, and considering that the US has stockpiles of nuclear weapons several thousand times larger than that of the North, I really think Americans "should have the decency to shut up" about North Korean nuclear weapons.
Having said that, I would note that since I come from a country that does not have nuclear weapons, there is no need for me to shut up about this issue. I think that the North Koreans have just as much right as the Americans to possess nuclear weapons: that is to say, they have no right at all. But since the North Koreans do claim to possess nuclear weapons, I would add further that I trust the North Koreans to possess nuclear weapons more so than I trust the Americans, since the North Koreans have no historical precedent of using nuclear weapons, whereas the United States is the only country, historically, of having demonstrated the willingness to use nuclear weapons against civilian populations.
In sum, I don't think the US has the right to demand that North Korea eliminate its nuclear weapons, until the US does so first.
quote
"There is an elementary moral principle which is called the principle of universality. The principle says that if something's right for us, it's right for others, if it's wrong for others, it's wrong for us. If you can't accept that principle, you should have the decency to shut up. So either you accept that principle or you say, 'OK, I'm a Nazi, I'll do anything I like. No more discussion of right and wrong.' Those are the choices in effect."
Basically, this principle means that you ought to hold yourself up to at least as high moral standards as you impose upon others... either that or you're a hypocrite. In light of this moral axiom, and considering that the US has stockpiles of nuclear weapons several thousand times larger than that of the North, I really think Americans "should have the decency to shut up" about North Korean nuclear weapons.
Having said that, I would note that since I come from a country that does not have nuclear weapons, there is no need for me to shut up about this issue. I think that the North Koreans have just as much right as the Americans to possess nuclear weapons: that is to say, they have no right at all. But since the North Koreans do claim to possess nuclear weapons, I would add further that I trust the North Koreans to possess nuclear weapons more so than I trust the Americans, since the North Koreans have no historical precedent of using nuclear weapons, whereas the United States is the only country, historically, of having demonstrated the willingness to use nuclear weapons against civilian populations.
In sum, I don't think the US has the right to demand that North Korea eliminate its nuclear weapons, until the US does so first.
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