In October 2001, I wrote a piece for the Prospect [see “Excusing Terror”] in which I criticized “the politics of ideological apology” — the excuses that some on the left were making for terrorism. No one was justifying terrorism, but we were often asked to “understand” it. I argued that terrorism as a political strategy […]
Michael Walzer
Michael Walzer is a professor of social science at the Institute for Advanced Study and co-editor of Dissent magazine.
Posted inFeatures
Excusing Terror
Even before September 11, hardly anyone was advocating terrorism—not even those who regularly practice and support it. The practice is indefensible now that it has been recognized, like rape or murder, as an attack upon the innocent. The victims of a terrorist attack are ordinary men and women, eternal bystanders. There is no special reason […]