On the Morality of Betrayal

Let us note first that national interest is not amorality. National interest is to pursue the very great moral value of a common pooling of the interests of millions of separate individuals--to have each of these dedicate themselves to the interests of their fellows, to sacrifice oneself for the good of your fellows. It is not a saintly love for all mankind, but a particular love for your fellow citizens, and for your nation, your state. To follow national interest is to follow one ideal, not to sacrifice ideals.

This idealism must necessarily lead to nasty behavior to those outside your nation. Your nation's allies, your nation's friends--all, in a pinch, must be sacrificed for the nation to survive. National interest is a love brutal toward outsiders. And quite often it leads to cruel betrayals. Generally, large nations tend to use small ones as pawns to be sacrificed at need. (Consider how useful it is to have the Bear's nature exposed on a nation of no importance to us.) Perfidious Albion made peace with France in 1714 ... America was founded as a light on the hill toward other nations, but with no intention to provide material assistance to any of the nations (Kossuth's Hungarians, Garibaldi's Italians) whom it inspired. And whom have we betrayed recently? Poles left to Stalin after World War II; Hungarians inspired to rise in 1956; Hmong recruited to fight Vietnamese; Sh'ia in Iraq in 1991; now Georgians. Now, one can say that our true interests argued for a more aggressive policy in these various instances, and that is an interesting argument to make. But to say that we should fight for friends and allies when we have no interest in their survival whatsoever? That is a highly unpersuasive argument to make.

We should not pretend that we are not betraying our friends and allies when we do so; but neither should we shrink from such betrayals when necessary. Love of nation, love of our fellow citizens, demand such betrayals--and if we do not betray foreigners when necessary, we will betray our own fellow citizens, toward whom we have far greater obligations.