Just War as Principled Imperialism

Steve at Southern Appeal has weighed in our just war discussion, taking issue with my objection to the "imperialist" potential of an expanded just war understanding:

Maybe I am missing something here, but it seems to me that there is nothing at all improper or immoral about embracing such imperialism. Indeed, IMHO, [such a] view is wholly consistent with the Church's "just war" teaching. I suspect that Professor Vischer's concern that Professor Garnett's defense of the Iraq War under the Just War doctrine would justify a "whole range of imperialist motives for warfare" is grounded in a false premise--i.e., that all cultures or civilizations are to be afforded some amount of diplomatic deference, no matter how morally bankrupt they may be. I say this because Vischer posits in his most recent post that "[i]f we substitute our conception (noble as it is) of the citizenry's well-being as a basis for invasion, haven't we fundamentally altered the just war inquiry?"

I think not.

Whatever flaws the American Republic may have as a result of straying from its Judeo-Christian principles and those articulated in our founding documents, the fact remains that these principles are more than just "noble," they are grounded in truth (as is the Church's "just war" teaching).

Read the entire post here.  There are also some interesting comments over at Open Book regarding our discussion.

Rob