Tom Piatak, in his post of May 23, has already commented on the peculiar last paragraph of John Lukacs’s review of Pat Buchanan’s book on World War II. Piatak notes that, contrary to Lukacs, it isn’t unusual for someone to think a regime evil, yet oppose waging war against it; Lukacs himself held this combination of attitudes toward Communist regimes. I think that Lukacs’s remark is even odder than so far noted. Lukacs contends not only that one shouldn’t oppose waging war against a regime that one thinks evil, but that it is a contradiction to do so. Of course it is not: there are any number of reasons why one might oppose war against an evil regime, e.g., that doing so will strengthen an even more evil regime, that one believes pacifism a correct view, etc. Suppose that none of one’s reasons is correct. It still does not follow that one has embraced a contradiction: not all wrong views are contradictory. Lukacs’s remark displays his characteristic ineptness in logic. He imagines himself a gifted philosopher, but he often is guilty of elementary fallacies in reasoning.
-
Subscribe to our newsletter
-
Help Us Grow
As a reader-funded non-profit, we count on your support. Now you can help a little every month: just commit $3, $10, or whatever is comfortable today! Thanks to you, we will reach new readers, challenge more minds, and give you more of the “best conservative magazine in America.”
Donate State of The Union
When Immigration Means Importing Terror
Patrick J. Buchanan • May 24, 2:22 AMWhat’s Wrong With Humanitarian Aid?
Jordan Bloom • May 23, 11:59 PMMumford and Retroculture
Jordan Bloom • May 23, 3:50 PM
Rod Dreher
Carbless
May 24, 12:24 AMTo Fall In Love With Another Language
May 23, 11:54 PMBoy Scouts Admit Openly Gay Members
May 23, 7:10 PM
Daniel Larison
The U.S. Can’t Successfully Mediate a Conflict When It Has Taken a Side
May 23, 1:33 PMThe Iraq War Wasn’t Inevitable
May 23, 11:12 AMU.S. Intervention in Syria Will Create More Regional Instability, Not Less
May 23, 10:04 AM
Alan Jacobs
City Meditations: Personal Interlude
May 23, 8:24 AMFor the Time Being
May 22, 5:59 PM
Noah Millman
Richwine, Biden and Me
May 22, 3:49 PMSeriousness, Sadism and Sound Money
May 20, 4:38 PM
Ron Unz
American Pravda: Barrels of Gunpowder and Sparks
May 17, 3:35 PM


