Patrick O'Brian Discussion Forum

You need look no farther than the military.

The Last of the True French Short Bastards
ewadams@designersnotebook.com


A soldier is required to obey orders, even at the cost of self-preservation. Those who disobey orders in order to save their lives are called "cowards" and are shot at dawn. The legal principle is very clear.

I apologize in advance for serving as an example of Godwin's Law, but in the last 200 years the world has concluded that a nation cannot commit crimes against humanity in the name of self-preservation. National self-preservation was Hitler's excuse for exterminating the Jews, but self-preservation is no longer the highest good. It is better for a nation to cease to exist than to preserve itself by such means.

"Crimes against humanity" is a fairly recent concept, but it is enshrined in law -- both domestic and international law -- in a number of countries and treaties among countries.

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