Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations

(Paperback, 5th edition)

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Just and Unjust Wars forever changed the way we think about the ethics of conflict. First published in 1977 and now brought up to the present with a new preface and postscript, this classic work by political philosopher Michael Walzer examines the moral issues that arise before, during, and after the wars we fight. Reaching from the Athenian attack on Melos, to the Mai Lai massacre, to Afghanistan and beyond, Walzer mines historical accounts and the testimony of participants, decision makers, and victims to explain when war is justified and what ethical limitations apply to those who wage it.

Reviews

A classic in the field.--New York Times
A magnificent book, an honor to its writer...a book that makes for a return of civilized discussion of the question of the morality of war.--New York Review of Books
A passionate defense of the old principle of non-combatant immunity.... [Walzer] is both thorough and persuasive in his exploration of a very intricate subject.--Washington Post
One of the most significant modern restatements of just-war thinking.--Nation
A clear, humane, and startingly original survey of the moral issues that complicate modern war-making.--Atlantic

Author Bio

Michael Walzer is professor emeritus of social science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, and the author of many widely heralded books, including Spheres of Injustice, Exodus and Revolution, and The Company of Critics.