Essay --

Immanuel Kant addresses a question often asked in policy-making theory the relationship between practical political behavior and morality -- how people do behave in government and how they ought to behave. Observers of political action recognize that political action is often a chastely questionable business. Yet many of us, whether involved heavily in political action or not, have a sense that political behavior could and should be better than this. In Appendix 1 of Perpetual Peace, Kant explicates that conflict does not exist between politics and morality, because politics is an application of morality. Objectively, he argues that morality and politics are reconcilable. In this essay, I will argue two potential problems with Kants position on the compatibility of moral and politics his denial of moral enormousness in emotion and particular situations when an action seems both politically legitimate and yet almost immoral if by politics, regarded as a lay of principles of polit ical prudence, and morals, as a system of laws that bind us unconditionally. In Perpetual Peace, Kant writes, all politics must bend the knee earlier right (Kant, PP pg. 125). He claims that morals, in the sense of the doctrine of right, should demand more significance in political decisions, or even be the predominant consideration. To try the lack of between morals and politics, Kant cites Matthew 1016 Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Kant, PP pg.116). Wisdom is not sufficient if it is not conducted towards a consistent purpose with an application towards morality. Kant considers the wisdom of the serpent to be used for the betterment of morality. Not only should politics be congruent with morals, but overly properly conceived poli... ...metimes it is the mechanisms that keep the political wheels in motion. If politics were absolutely subservient to morality and honesty, it would seem not only rather unrealistic but in any case undesirable. In the face of this problem, a challenge for Kant would be to defend the practicality and intuitive desirability of honesty is better than any policy. Kants claim in Perpetual Peace supplies an inspiring vision of a just, peaceful and flourishing cosmopolitan world. It is true that morality and justice demand truthfulness, civil obedience and a full suite of basic rights and liberties however, because human nature and emotion subsists of more than duty to moral law and there exists circumstances that demand lying, civil noncompliance such as revolutions and the temporary restriction of rights and liberties, there does exist a conflict between morality and politics.