On Ends Justifying Means

On Ends Justifying Means

Some excuse is needed for still another attack on the question of whether ends can justify means.

Some excuse is needed for still another attack on the question of whether ends can justify means. The present attempt is occasioned by the conviction that the pendulum of thought concerning the issue seems fixed at an extreme and simple-minded point of reaction. From all too many vantage points it is nowadays a commonplace to observe that recent political experience has demonstrated that ends can never justify means. What I shall try to argue is that the watchword, “The end can never ju...