In The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World, Michael Ignatieff aims to take ethics out of the seminar room by examining the role of 'ordinary virtues' such as trust, forgiveness and reconciliation in local contexts and settings. While the book travels the globe to underscore both the fragility and strength of community-based networks of solidarity as part of Ignatieff's broader commitment to ..

Smeltzer, Joshua

LSE Research Online

Book	Review:	The	Ordinary	Virtues:	Moral	Order	in	aDivided	World	by	Michael	IgnatieffIn	The	Ordinary	Virtues:	Moral	Order	in	a	Divided	World,	Michael	Ignatieff	aims	to	take	ethics	out	of	theseminar	room	by	examining	the	role	of	‘ordinary	virtues’	such	as	trust,	forgiveness	and	reconciliation	in	localcontexts	and	settings.	While	the	book	travels	the	globe	to	underscore	both	the	fragility	and	strengthof	community-based	networks	of	solidarity	as	part	of	Ignatieff’s	broader	commitment	to	political	liberalism,	thechallenges	of	today	may	require	more	than	faith	in	the	‘ordinary	virtues’	of	individuals,	writes	Joshua	Smeltzer.	The	Ordinary	Virtues:	Moral	Order	in	a	Divided	World.	Michael	Ignatieff.	Harvard	University	Press.	2017.Find	this	book:	The	morning	after	the	largest	mass	shooting	by	an	individual	in	US	history,committed	on	1	October	2017,	people	queued	at	Red	Cross	centres	in	LasVegas	to	donate	blood	and	help	strangers.	There	was	no	way	to	turn	back	theclock	and	save	the	lives	of	over	fifty	victims,	but	their	act	of	generosity	pointedto	a	simple	message	–	even	an	extreme	act	of	barbarism	would	be	met	withthe	kindness	of	ordinary	people.Such	stories	of	human	decency	form	the	core	of	Michael	Ignatieff’s	sprawlingproject,	The	Ordinary	Virtues:	Moral	Order	in	a	Divided	World,	initiallyconceived	as	part	of	the	centennial	of	Andrew	Carnegie’s	endowment	of	theCarnegie	Council	for	Ethics	in	International	Affairs.	Ordinary	Virtues	is	basedon	the	idea	that	‘the	Council	needed	to	take	ethics	out	of	the	seminar	roomand	study	how	it	shapes	people’s	judgments	and	actions	close	to	the	groundwhere	conflicts	start’	(3).	This	meant	engaging	in	a	form	of	ethics	tourism,offering	a	snapshot	into	the	meaning	of	ordinary	virtues	in	diverse	locationssuch	as	Rio	de	Janeiro,	Bosnia	and	Los	Angeles.	Each	place	forms	a	separatechapter	in	the	book	and	illuminates	a	specific	aspect	of	ordinary	virtues,ranging	from	corruption	and	public	trust	to	reconciliation	after	periods	of	intense	conflict.	As	Ignatieff	quips,	tounderstand	ethics,	‘you	need	to	get	out	of	New	York’	(3)	–	or,	perhaps	more	specifically	out	of	Manhattan,	as	thefirst	chapter	is	set	in	Queens.In	each	location,	Ignatieff	finds	a	common	emphasis	on	what	he	describes	as	‘ordinary	virtues’:	everyday	traitssuch	as	trust,	tolerance,	forgiveness	and	reconciliation.	These	are	not	the	result	of	abstract	moral	reasoning,	butare	rather	‘unreflexive	and	unthinking’.	Indeed,	across	the	world,	Ignatieff	finds	that	‘generalities	about	humanobligation	and	moral	reasoning	[mean]	little’;	instead,	‘context	was	all’	(26-27).	While	philosophers	might	think	interms	of	‘the	human	race,	some	abstract	standard,	beyond	the	veil	of	ignorance’	(208),	ordinary	people	thinkthrough	moral	situations	in	terms	of	concrete	human	relations	with	their	family	and	friends.		For	the	people	inIgnatieff’s	narrative,	what	mattered	was	‘how	they	would	look	to	these	local	audiences	and	to	themselves’	(208).Doing	the	right	thing	could	only	be	illuminated	by	the	highly	context-dependent	‘moral	operating	system’	of	theircommunity	(28).USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-10-29Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/10/29/book-review-the-ordinary-virtues-moral-order-in-a-divided-world-by-michael-ignatieff/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Image	Credit:	(Steve	Snodgrass	CC	BY	2.0)In	his	chapter	discussing	the	events	surrounding	the	nuclear	reactor	meltdown	in	Fukushima,	however,	Ignatieff’sdescription	of	virtuous	action	transcends	the	ordinary	into	the	realm	of	the	supererogatory.	There,	he	recounts	theefforts	of	the	eleven	core	staff	members	at	the	plant,	who	‘in	darkness,	with	no	electric	power,	cut	off	from	theirfamilies	and	the	rest	of	the	world’	put	their	lives	on	the	line	to	mitigate	the	impacts	of	the	accident	(150).	Facedwith	an	extreme	circumstance,	these	men	acted	with	resilience:	‘people	in	extreme	situations	do	not	alwayspanic;	they	do	not	desert	their	posts,	betray	their	colleagues,	abandon	their	suffering.	Instead,	they	seek	to	dotheir	best	in	impossible	situations’	(151).	For	Ignatieff,	such	a	regard	for	the	safety	of	others	is	firmly	rooted	in	our‘hope	in	the	future	of	such	a	community’,	and	‘depends	on	some	shared	belief	in	a	collective	future	worth	fightingfor’	(165).One	of	the	recurring	themes	of	Ignatieff’s	journey	across	the	globe	was	the	refrain	that	‘virtue	was	local’,	meaningthat	‘we	are	always	in	a	particular	situation,	a	context,	a	moment	[…]	and	we	are	always	with	others,	with	peoplewhose	opinion	shapes	us	and	whose	views	we	wish	to	shape’	(209).		In	such	a	local	approach	focused	on	theactions	of	individuals	within	a	community,	the	language	of	human	rights	has	little	purchase:	as	Ignatieff	argues,‘the	human	rights	revolution	has	changed	what	we	believe	about	the	duty	of	states.	I	doubt	it	has	changed	us’(216).	For	Ignatieff,	the	value	of	human	rights	discourses	is	only	to	force	us	to	extend	our	moral	gaze	beyond	theimmediate	community,	beyond	‘the	exclusionary	and	restrictive	preference	of	‘‘us’’	versus	‘‘them’”	(214).However,	it	is	ordinary	virtues	that	can	function	as	a	basis	for	solidarity,	offering	a	moment	of	hope	for	distraughtcommunities.And	yet,	Ignatieff	is	careful	to	note	that	the	power	of	ordinary	virtues	is	fragile.	A	sense	of	moral	community	‘is	aprecarious	achievement,	an	unending	experiment	that	violence	could	destroy	at	any	moment’	(72).	All	it	takes	is	amoment	of	‘extraordinary	vices’	to	make	us	question	the	goodwill	of	our	neighbours.	However,	while	ordinaryvirtues	might	be	‘helpless	in	the	face	of	barbarism’	–	here,	Ignatieff	specifically	mentions	the	attacks	in	Paris	inNovember	2015	–	ordinary	virtues	re-emerge	after	tragedy.	In	Paris,	ordinary	virtue	meant		‘an	inchoate,unformulated,	but	stubborn	commitment	to	live	together	again’	(221):	it	was	the	reassertion	of	community	and	anarticulation	of	resilience.While	much	of	Ignatieff’s	analysis	focuses	on	the	virtue	of	individuals	or	groups	within	a	larger	community,institutions	still	play	a	role	in	encouraging	the	development	of	virtue.	Political	institutions,	‘when	supported	bycitizens	of	virtue,	can	stop	the	elites’	downward	spiral	into	predatory	self-dealing.	Good	institutions	can	givecourage	to	virtue	and	inspire	an	upward	spiral	toward	repair	and	renewal’	(30).	As	Ignatieff	notes:	‘the	whole	pointof	a	liberal	society	is	to	create	laws	and	institutions	that	make	virtue	ordinary.	In	a	decent	society,	love	should	notrequire	anyone	to	be	a	hero’	(195).USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-10-29Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/10/29/book-review-the-ordinary-virtues-moral-order-in-a-divided-world-by-michael-ignatieff/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Indeed,	Ignatieff’s	commitment	to	liberal	freedom,	following	in	the	footsteps	of	his	former	mentor	Isaiah	Berlin,means	political	institutions	exist	to	allow	‘ordinary	virtues	to	flourish’	(191),	virtues	which	were	already	inherent	toindividuals	in	all	of	their	diverse	forms.	This	belief	in	essential	human	goodness	allows	for	the	state	to	recedeentirely	into	the	background,	stripped	of	any	positive	functions	it	may	have.	While	critiquing	the	ability	of	states	–and	particularly	the	welfare	state	–	to	predict	the	unimaginable,	Ignatieff	notes	‘instead	of	embracing	the	future,imagining	radiant	tomorrows,	we	now	think	of	the	future	in	the	language	of	harm	reduction,	target	hardening,	andrisk	management’	(143).	Ultimately,	he	is	correct	in	lamenting	the	lack	of	imagination	or	creative	potential	incontemporary	politics,	which	has	largely	abandoned	the	idea	of	the	state	as	a	catalyst	for	change;	however,	byplacing	so	much	weight	on	the	role	of	individuals	at	the	expense	of	the	state	within	the	context	of	a	broadercommitment	to	political	liberalism,	Ignatieff	himself	betrays	the	very	same	lack	of	imagination	he	criticises.	Forwhile	Ignatieff	reminds	us	chapter	after	chapter	of	the	ordinary	virtues	of	people	across	the	world,	it	will	take	muchmore	than	individuals	to	restore	faith	in	the	possibility	of	‘radiant	tomorrows’.This	review	originally	appeared	at	the	LSE	Review	of	Books.Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting.Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	authors,	and	not	the	position	of	USAPP–	American	Politics	and	Policy,nor	of	the	London	School	of	Economics.Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	http://bit.ly/2zLrcJ7——————————————–About	the	reviewerJoshua	Smeltzer	–	University	of	CambridgeJoshua	Smeltzer	is	a	doctoral	student	at	the	University	of	Cambridge	pursuing	a	PhD	in	Politics	and	InternationalStudies,	with	a	focus	on	twentieth-century	German	Political	Thought.	Read	more	by	Joshua	Smeltzer.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-10-29Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2017/10/29/book-review-the-ordinary-virtues-moral-order-in-a-divided-world-by-michael-ignatieff/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

Book review: the ordinary virtues: moral order in a divided world by Michael Ignatieff

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