Niebuhr's realism
The doctrines of Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) profoundly influenced 20th century philosophers and theologians. The Missouri-born Protestant was a remarkable man, for along with being an active member of the Socialist party in the 1930s, he also waged a vigorous fight against isolationism before and during World War II.
In an article called "Christian Faith and the World Crisis" written for the journal Christianity and Crisis and published on 10 February 1941 he declared:
"Yet there are times when hopes for the future, as well as contrition over past misdeeds, must be subordinated to the urgent, immediate task. In this instance, the immediate task is the defeat of Nazi tyranny. If this task does not engage us, both our repentance and our hope become luxuries in which we indulge while other men save us from an intolerable fate, or while our inaction betrays into disaster a cause to which we owe allegiance."
A year earlier, Niebuhr, the intellectual and darling of the left, had rocked the liberal establishment with his essay "The End of Illusions". Although no apologist for American foreign policy, he felt that certain values were worth fighting for: "The Socialists are right, of course, in insisting that the civilization which we are called to defend is full of capitalistic and imperialistic injustices. But is still a civilization". The utopians, he argued, were unable to see the moral gulf separating liberal democracy and a genocidal tyranny.
Prior to America's entry into the Second World War there was much talk about how the "moral force" of the international community could tame tyrants. Not so, said Niebuhr: "It fails to explain just how this moral force is to be effective against tanks, flame throwers, and bombing planes." Sometimes a different kind of force is necessary, he concluded, and this meant fighting fascism with "ambiguous methods". For pacifists and idealists appalled by such vistas, he had this message: "Let those who are revolted by such ambiguities have the decency and consistency to retire to the monastery, where medieval perfectionists found their asylum."
By the way, you can read more of Niebuhr's thoughts at Religion Online, which presents more than 4,500 articles and book chapters on topics that range from abortion to Islam to women clergy.
Diarist of the day: Marie Belloc Lowndes, 12 March 1915"Mr Liddell gave me a curious account as the Lord Chancellor's secretary. He opens all the letters from lunatics. They have a right to send unopened letters to the Lord Chancellor twice a month. He says that some of the letters coming in now are most pathetic, the burden of many of them being, 'Only let me out, and I will at one enlist!' He said the war had neither increased nor diminished the number of lunatics. I asked him if he had ever discovered a sane man incarcerated unfairly. He said no, but that they always looked out for such cases, and that he makes a special note when any new lunatic's letter arrives. "
