Morality Wars: How Empires, the Born Again and the Politically Correct Do Evil in the Name of Good [Hardcover]

Charles Derber (Author), Yale R. Magrass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 29, 2008

Is patriotism a good thing in an empire? Did General Petraeus betray us or did moveon.org? Does morality often serve immoral purposes? This book offers a new way to approach these questions, which lie just beneath our increasingly poisoned political conversation today. Derber and Magrass show that the problem today is not just lying but immoral morality, doing evil in the name of good. America is suffering an epidemic of immoral morality where elites in a new American empire use lofty moral values and religious rhetoric to justify immoral wars and policies. This book shows how to end our disastrous politics of empire carried out in the name of goodness and God. The British preached the White Man's Burden to show empire was a moral obligation. Neoconservatives today proclaim that the United States must occupy Iraq to spread liberty. Although the right today has recrafted historic arguments that empires bring peace and that fundamentalists battle moral decay, the authors show that the Democratic Party and the left have their own IM, with the Democrats supporting empire and the left its own political correctness. America's political divide today is a backlash to the progressive revolution of the 1960s and 1970s-secular, antiwar, and feminist-that created a radical break from traditional values and set the stage for current morality wars. In the spirit of de Tocqueville, this powerful book offers a rich and vivid portrait of the U.S. political landscape, definitively exposing American immoral morality and exploring ideas that can help move the nation to a new morality and politics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Charles Derber is one of our most astute and eloquent social critics ... His political analysis is persuasive and is enlivened by graceful prose. --Howard Zinn

About the Author

Charles Derber, a noted social critic, is Professor of Sociology at Boston College. He is the author of ten internationally acclaimed books, including Corporation Nation, Hidden Power, and the Wilding of America. His books have been translated into multiple languages, and he speaks on and writes for the mass media. He is a longtime social activist working for democracy and social justice. Yale R. Magrass is a Chancellor Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he teaches social theory, political sociology, and the social impact of science and technology. He is the author of three other books and more than thirty articles, including encyclopedia entries, served on the board of six journals, has been a recipient of several grants, and participated in numerous international forums.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Paradigm Publishers (February 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594515123
• ISBN-13: 978-1594515125
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars coins the term Immoral Morality, March 4, 2008

By 

Soc. Prof. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morality Wars: How Empires, the Born Again and the Politically Correct Do Evil in the Name of Good (Hardcover)

This is an exceptionally well-written development of the concept of "moral immorality;" the use of moral justifications for immoral actions. Derber and Magrass argue that the discourse of higher morality is used to justify any number of evil actions both historically and in contemporary America. They expose manipulative claims of moral superiority from government officials, right wing activists and leftist groups. The authors urge Americans to deconstruct the surface rhetoric in order to recognize each groups' real agenda.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for a political history buff, July 8, 2008

By 

John Williamson (Provincetown, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Morality Wars: How Empires, the Born Again and the Politically Correct Do Evil in the Name of Good (Hardcover)

This book is an easy read and read it cover to cover. It presents a number of very engaging arguments, but its real strength is in the exampling. It is chuck full of very interesting historical examples, many of which I was not at all familiar with, which often add up to compelling support for a number of what are sometimes controversial arguments. The book is a real eye opener on a number of issues, particularly in the areas of contemporary politics and foreign policy. In many cases the analysis of what is going on today become much more understandable when put into historical context. The authors are very successful in their efforts to connect the dots.

As I see it, the core argument of this book is that the US Government has long been involved in immoral actions that have often been justified using arguments suggesting that the action was being taken for moral reasons. When stated in general terms this is a proposition that I was willing to accept prior to reading this book. So what did I get from reading it? When defending this broad argument Derber and Magrass bring in a huge number of very interesting examples, many of which I was not aware of. It is one thing to know in advance that over the years the US government has often justified immoral actions using moral arguments, it is quite another to realize how pervasive this behavior has been and how early in the nation's history it began. They do not limit their analysis to the long list of immoral actions taken by the US as extensive reference is also made to exceedingly bad behavior by other nations which was justified in the name of doing good, for example, the moral language about the need to purify the German population used to justify efforts to exterminate the Jews.

We learn that, "In 1783 George Washington characterized the colonies as `a rising empire,' and nearly all the Founders saw America as destined to become one of the world's great empires. A great deal of attention is given to examples drawn from prior empires such as the Roman empire, the Spanish empire and the British empire to name only a few. This brings us to what I consider the second major theme of the book, that of "empire." The authors make a persuasive case that all prior empires have engaged in the practice of taking brutally immoral actions that were justified using the language of morality. The authors' broader point is that: (1) the US is an empire today and has behaved like an empire for a very long time, and (2) it, like prior empires, is guilty of a lot of bad behavior that has been justified using the rhetoric of morality. One value of the book IS to make it clear that what many readers will agree has been a bit of a problem over the years has actually been a hugely pervasive problem for US since its inception and continues to be a serious problem today. The authors tell a story of the evolution of the American empire or more precisely what they refer to as the five American Empires: (1) The Fledging Constitutional Empire, 1776-1828, (2) Manifest Destiny Continental Empire, 1828-1898, (3) Allied Global Empire, 1898-1945, (4) The Good Empire versus the Evil Empire, 1945-1991, and (5) World Hegemon: 1991-Present. This section of the book basically reviews the many ways in which the US behaved badly - in the name of high moral ideals - like other prior empires during each of these periods.

In the second of the three major sections of the book the authors shift away from a focus on the theme of empire to what might be described as "immoral awakening." In one chapter the focus is on the emergence of fascism in Germany and Italy. They relate the story OF MORAL decay and rebirth told in Mein Kampf. I had not read Hitler's book so I found their summary very informative. They do a good job of attempting to explain why so many ordinary German citizens were resonant with the message of fascism because it so cleverly couched evil behavior in the rhetoric of traditional German values. The discussion of the rise of fascism in Germany and Italy is followed by a discussion of the rise of immoral morality in the Southern states in the US during the post Civil War era. Here they trace the rebirth of the Southern nation using the same decay and rebirth metaphor used to trace the emergence of fascism in Germany and Italy. The parallels are very interesting. This section of the book concludes with a discussion of how the Republican Party gained power under Reagan. Here the authors return to the themes of immoral morality as well as those of decay and rebirth. They provide a detailed analysis of how the Republican Party was able to put together a powerful coalition of three major groups: (1) Wall Street and corporate elites, (2) national security elites including the pentagon, and (3) evangelical Christians. They review also describe how the neoconservatives used moralistic rhetoric to justify US involvement in Iraq.

I see the third part of the book as being less integrated with the major themes of the book as a whole than are fist two parts (six chapters) of the book. The major thesis of Part III is that political correctness (PC) is "...yet another form of evil done in the name of good." The argument is that PC puts limits on "the range of acceptable thoughts, seeking to outlaw or marginalize those ways of thinking that might challenge the powers that be." For example, in the slave South it was not acceptable to criticize slavery. In Chapter 7 the focus is on the way in which the political Right uses PC in the US. As one example, Right PC uses the concept of patriotism to intimidate and silence those on the left who are critical of the war in Iraq. They are vulnerable to the criticism of being unpatriotic. The following are two examples of questions that they argue Right PC has had success in getting defined as off the table for mainstream discourse: (a) Is patriotism always good? (b) Is the US a terrorist state? In my opinion, much more controversial for readers on the Left is the discussion in Chapter 8 on Left PC. Here they argue that the Left is guilty of its own variant of PC. Their discussion of Left PC includes a review of the intolerance of the Jacobins in late 18th century France, the Communist Party in Russia, and the Communist Party in the US. They bring the discussion up to date by reviewing the PC of the New Left during the 1960s as well as the current identity politics of feminist, gay, and race movements. Their focus is on the ways in which these movements use PC pressures to keep certain issues off the table. For example, in connection with feminist PC such questions as: (a) Do fetuses have any rights? ( b) Or are fathers discriminated against in marriage laws and divorce courts?

I have read several books that Charles Derber has authored or co-authored and in my opinion this clearly is one of the best. Maybe the secret is working jointly with Yale Magrass.

John Williamson, Provincetown, MA.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Star Book, May 16, 2008

By 

Geraldine Gamburd (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morality Wars: How Empires, the Born Again and the Politically Correct Do Evil in the Name of Good (Hardcover)

Morality Wars describes three `moralities' that are immoral: those of empires, born-agains, and those who espouse Political Correctness. All three do evil in the name of good. They justify inequalities, cruelties and wars in the name of `good' traditional values. The Progressive Morality of the 60ties with its emphasis on equality and peace opposed the Traditional Morality of hierarchy and war. Now Progressive and Traditional `moralities' war with each other for the loyalty of citizens. This five star book confronts the classic dichotomy good and evil, but also emphasizes the harm done by the deception of calling evil good.

In their perceptive and lucid style, the authors, Magrass and Derber, illuminate the basic issue of immoral morality. They show how throughout Western History, from Roman to British to American empires, traditional moralities have done harm in the name of good. These traditional empires have all lived by immoral moralities. Magrass and Derber illustrate how the born again philosophy (illustrated by Hitler's born again nation) and in a very different way, the Politically Correct, both in the guise of dogmatic big brothers, support empires and harmful traditional values. They silence opposition in the name of patriotism, god and topics that may not be discussed. Born agains and the politically correct take things off the table.

In spite of a dismal past, Magrass and Derber pull success out of defeat and give us hope for optimism. They point to the possibility of a moral future. In Europe, there are signs of countries developing a moral morality after losing empires, that is, they do good in the name of good. As it loses wars and the power to dominate and exploit at home and abroad, the hope is that America too will develop a moral morality.