Politics Among Nations

Power always inspires a “revolt against power” (243). In order to guard against this universal tendency, specific “ideologies” are used to conceal power. There are also “normative systems” designed “to keep aspirations for power within socially tolerable bounds” (243-44). Some philosophies and political ideologies, like fascism, reject these systems. Even so, such ideologies “have proved impotent and self-destructive” (244).

Systems that enforce themselves through laws, morals, and ethics tend to prevail. These three enforcement mechanisms are mutually empowering, but there are some taboo actions, like lying, that are only opposed by morality and ethics, not by law. Morgenthau argues that Western civilization has been able to “mitigate the struggle for power on the domestic scene” by replacing violent competition with peaceful competition via education, work, and wealth (247).

When considering the influence of ethics and morality on international relations, it is important to distinguish between the moral rules that people follow and the moral rules that intellectuals believe people should follow. Morgenthau also warns against forgetting that moralistic ideologies can be used to conceal actual goals. Still, he refutes the idea that international relations are inevitably evil, contending that politicians will “refuse to consider certain ends and […] certain means […] because certain moral rules interpose an absolute barrier” (249).