Creatures of Cain: The Hunt for Human Nature in Cold War America

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 363 (6425) ◽  
pp. 354.2-354
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Human Nature

The Uses of Tragedy: Reinhold Niebuhr's Theory of History and International Ethics

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 171-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
World Order ◽  
Philosophy Of History ◽  
International Ethics ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Political Ethic ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
The Cold War

As Smith points out, Reinhold Niebuhr's political ethic is closely linked to his philosophy of history. This view of history blends a dualistic understanding of human nature and rigorous contingency of experience - all sobered by a creative sense of tragedy. Niebuhr's modest sensibility was forged amid the early catastrophes of the century and fell on fertile ground early in the Cold War. But in the ironic wake of that superpower struggle there is much in Niebuhr's anitriumphalism to commend to today's international relations theorists and practitioners. Following Augustine, Niebuhr offers no escape from the complexities and contingencies of history, but neither does he view history as gloomily fixed. Rather, Niebuhr's complex and often contradictory sense of historical destiny reflects a sober hope for a more just and peaceful world order.

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