Altruism as a national and international political tool

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Altruism as a national and international political tool (12/20/05)

altruism is solidly grounded in the human psyche, whether giving money to beggars or charity, or the sort of consistent altruism needed for a successful relationship. In fact, quite a lot of our relationship problems stem from one partner feeling the other has abused their sense of altruism; taking it for granted. Yet it works for vast numbers of people, both within relationships and with the more indirect methods I spoke of above. It keeps us civil.

Why don't we do this on a national and international level? At these levels mistakes are tremendously costly, often in human lives, so caution is certainly warranted. However, often that caution prevents us from supporting something which would obviously benefit a great number of people, possibly even ourselves in the long run, even if there is a short term cost.

Example: The International Criminal Court. Yesterday CSPAN featured a fascinating talk by Benjamin Ferencz, Chief Prosecutor, Nuremberg War Crimes Trial (Einsatzgruppen Case) and Henry King, Prosecutor, Nuremberg War Crimes Trial. It was titled Nuremberg and the Birth of International Law. Mr. Ferencz and Mr. King clearly laid out the trend of a society from "the law of force to the force of law". There is a clear need for something like the ICC. Had the US supported it Saddam Hussein could be there now, being prosecuted without any hint of shadiness and with no concerns from the other nations of the process. But he isn't. Instead we face a burgeoning public relations battle due to the judicial process of a nation which isn't able to do so on it's own yet, and is entrusted with the trial and prosecution of such a high level case.

But that is one example. Over the years we will face thousands and never have the luxury of the ICC to support us because we haven't signed on. There will no doubt be allegations of fraud and corruption, much as the Iraq based ones that tarnish our reputation presently. Thousands. There will be repercussions from those allegations, even if they are untrue.

There will certainly be a cost to the US if we signed the ICC charter, one which no president can presently justify without losing political face. This is a situation in which altruism would allow us to sign the charter, weather the storm and enjoy the benefits of the ICC, all without losing political face and quite possibly gaining some because of our "wise decision".

Countries value their national sovereignty over all else. I did a model UN simulation in Mexico once and found this out in the initial negotiations over a number of issues. We can't just send everything to the Security Council because it endangers the principal of national sovereignty. Faced with this I proposed we send the problems to the ICC or ICJ, as appropriate, breaking the impasse and freeing us to finalize a number of pesky issues. It seemed countries are more comfortable sending a problem to a court rather than being a court themselves. Sounds a bit like our day to day lives, doesn't it? So if altruism can work for us personally, wouldn't it also work internationally?