The Morality of War

By Yaron Brook
Recorded September 9, 2004

As the death toll of American troops continues to mount, this three-year-long war, we are told, must drag on for years to come—and demand even greater sacrifices of our soldiers. At home, we are urged to accept the inevitability of further catastrophic terrorist attacks. Is military victory within our reach? And, if it is, then why must so many of our soldiers—and more civilians—die?

Why does Washington seem to care more about avoiding civilian casualties in Baghdad than in New York? Why does it fear torturing prisoners of war, if that could save American lives?

In this passionately reasoned lecture, Dr. Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute explains why America’s war is being sabotaged. He blames the moral code of Altruism—embodied in the “just-war” theory—that drives Washington’s battle plans. It is this code of warfare that explains why victory is within our reach, but consciously forfeited.

But, as Dr. Brook argues, there is an alternative—a morality of war that leads to unequivocal and swift victory. Drawing upon Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, he advocates a morality of war based on the principles of rational egoism. It is a practicable, rational solution to the threats from Islamic totalitarianism.

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