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Against the Dichotomy of Morality and Self-Interest: A Review of Power’s “A Problem From Hell”: America and the age of Genocide

Against the Dichotomy of Morality and Self-Interest: A Review of Power’s “A Problem From Hell”:... Power’s book is reviewed as a powerful analysis of American foreign policy involving genocide. Although behavior analysts will find themselves closely aligned with much of the book, they will likely find fault with Power’s conclusion that there are two contrasting determinants of a nation’s likelihood of intervening in cases of genocide internationally: a) the moral values of an intervening nation that supports human rights, and b) national interests. In behavior analysis, moral values are not viewed as causal entities, and as a result the dichotomy that casts acting out of self-interest and acting out of morality as opposites must be dissolved. The resulting re-conceptualization is in line with what Power described as “enlightened self-interest,” which is discussed as a more accurate predictor of foreign policy decision-making and a more effective vehicle for promoting human rights worldwide. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Behavior and Social Issues Springer Journals

Against the Dichotomy of Morality and Self-Interest: A Review of Power’s “A Problem From Hell”: America and the age of Genocide

Soreth, Michelle
Behavior and Social Issues , Volume 20 (1) – May 1, 2011
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Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by Michelle Ennis Soreth
Subject
Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Personality and Social Psychology
ISSN
1064-9506
eISSN
2376-6786
DOI
10.5210/bsi.v20i0.2468
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Power’s book is reviewed as a powerful analysis of American foreign policy involving genocide. Although behavior analysts will find themselves closely aligned with much of the book, they will likely find fault with Power’s conclusion that there are two contrasting determinants of a nation’s likelihood of intervening in cases of genocide internationally: a) the moral values of an intervening nation that supports human rights, and b) national interests. In behavior analysis, moral values are not viewed as causal entities, and as a result the dichotomy that casts acting out of self-interest and acting out of morality as opposites must be dissolved. The resulting re-conceptualization is in line with what Power described as “enlightened self-interest,” which is discussed as a more accurate predictor of foreign policy decision-making and a more effective vehicle for promoting human rights worldwide.

Journal

Behavior and Social Issues – Springer Journals

Published: May 1, 2011

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