Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century (review)

A gripping account of inhumanity as an attribute inherent to human beings, Glover's book is aptly and chillingly titled. Partly it consists of analytic sketches of some of the better-known horrors of the past century, and partly of commendable, if perhaps naive, advice about how to restrain the human potential for atrocity. Glover's argument is that several cultural features are likely to encourage and contribute to the development of savagery. One, the domination of social thought by a single, big utopian idea, as in Stalin's Russia and Mao's China; two, unbridled tribalism, as in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Nazism was particularly lethal because it combined a grandiose utopian program to create mankind anew with a tribalist and racist drive. A climate of thinking about people with reference to abstract categories (nation, race, class) rather than as concrete individuals can also lead to inhuman acts. Similarly, a climate of evasive thought, the moral inertia that elicits unaccountability, and the escape of a nation's military from civilian control can all have dire effects. Glover's prophylactic recommendations include the encouragement of respect for the dignity of opponents; the encouragement of criticism of political authorities; the avoidance of social identities constructed on the basis of a single parameter; and the development of an international military force for policing the world. He also suggests modifying the concept of nationhood to permit "soft-edged borders"—a reform that could lead, for instance, to locating several national capitals in one city. Finally, the author feels that the international community ought to take an interest in tribal relationships internal to sovereign states. These recommendations may appear anemic in comparison with the anguishing, burning problems that the author raises, but one dare not ignore his prescriptions, given the importance of the topic he so aptly analyzes.